Altorama

Is 'Nightmoss' Paul's rose? Ooo, pretty purple pretty pretty purple! Was your zone too cold?

I used to share a (chunk of) garden with 'Veilchenblau.' No room for another rambler on my current postage stamp. In fact, I don't really have room for those that are growing here, but I'm trying to fake space.

'Purple Tiger' was awesome! Purple. Stripes. I moved. 'PT' is hard to find, and (drum roll, please) I have no room.

Your Lady Hillingdon. A tea rose. Yes, I can relate. I currently have a couple of rather (very) unhappy tea roses in my garden. I gave my others away to people in sunnier climes. Then I bought two more. What was I thinking?

'Othello' the stingy, serrated octopus. Not a bush but an ambush. Need I explain why he no longer resides in my garden? I moved away and left him to the unsuspecting victims who purchased my last house.

'Souvenir du Dr. Jamain.' I gotta get you back in my life, baby! I moved and abandoned him. Forgive me, 'Dr. Jamain'! l love you!!

Carol

Yes it was a Paul Barden, I also had Mel Hulse and Ellen Tofflemere,,,,,,,,,,as far as Veilchenblau goes. Steven Scaniello told me that when he was working at the botanical Gardens..;.They would cut back all but three strong shoots and wrap them around whatever they grew on' i figure if worst comes to worst that/s what I can do/
(i cleaned my keyboard and now all the punctuation marks are in the wrong place haha

There are those that were lovely but simply would NOT grow no matter what you did.
'Louise Clements', 'Purple Tiger'.

Those that grow like wildfire but you hated them and replaced their spot with six other roses you like much better.
'Bow Bells', 'Sally Holmes'.

Those lost to random bad luck, like moving yourself, or moving them, or deer, and you couldn't or didn't find another.
'Comte de Chambord', 'New Day'.

Those you had when you were not yet experienced enough a rose grower, and they were wonderful roses unintentionally mistreated, so they died, or you lost patience and dug them out, and you've felt guilty about them ever since.
'Sonia Rykel', 'Reine des Violettes'

Those that are wonderful roses somewhere, just not in your climate.
'Lady Hillingdon'

The reasons may be more interesting than the particular rose! Our landscapes are also landscapes of our minds and personalities.

I've lost about 50 roses for different reasons, most often in a cold winter without snow cover which is especially bad for climbing roses in my climate. In some cases I didn't do my research well enough as a newbie rose grower. Some roses were too tall or had the wrong colour, or were entirely wrong for my climate, like Graefin Esterhazy, the china. I still think I might one day find the right place for Gloire de Dijon that I had on a rose arch in a cold and windy position. I hope I know better now.

I think Graham Thomas is a beautiful rose but the colour was all wrong among all the pink roses in my then new garden. I know where to put it now. I used to plant species and near species roses in my tiny wood, thinking they would feel at home in the company of the native roses already there but they didn't. It was too dark for them. Last year I moved an ownroot Ayrshire (Capreolata) that had struggled for years in shade and it took off at once in its new sunny place.

Ownroot roses are a problem in my rich and heavy clay because they wander all over and I finally have to get rid of them. Too many behave like Charles de Mills. Many were given to me during the five years that we investigated unknown roses all over Sweden and I felt a duty to take care of at least the local foundlings. But a rose that has barely survived in a roadside ditch for 50 years gets too happy in good soil. I have realized that I am not alone, all found roses are grown in a trial field in the south and will later be planted in local gene banks.

The picture was taken in 2011 when all the investigators (rustlers to you) met for a two-day seminar to discuss our 1500 foundlings, lead by staff at the trial field, a botanist and a head gardener.

This post was edited by mariannese on Tue, Jun 25, 13 at 17:17

Um, surprisingly, given my oft-stated prejudices and passions, there are a mere handful because it is fairly difficult to neglect a rose to death (in the UK) and because I am a cheapskate with a minuscule income, I rarely remove a duff rose but instead, I practice selective vision or grow huge perennials to disguise roses which have fallen from favour. However, there are just a few which have vanished to the compost heap: Blue Moon (shudder) horrible, horrible sickly colour. Queen Elizabeth - boring within the first month or so and gone within a year. Jenny's Rose - a little Cants floribunda which faded to the nastiest greenish cast. The one which I most regret was a rather good Harkness rose with the dull name of Many Happy Returns. Because I am shallow, I was already predisposed to dislike this rose, just because of it's name (this was early days in my gardening life) - somehow I utterly failed to recognise the supremely healthy vigour, fast rebloom and delicately graceful habit, considering such traits as irrelevant compared to stature and aesthetics. Would like to get it back someday.
There are a couple destined to be ex-roses this season though - Nahema had better pull its socks up, as had Hot Chocolate. Both of these roses are pretty borderline for my tastes and style anyhow so not even a delightful fragrance can make up for graceless architecture and miserable leafage.... Oh yeah, having the annual Phillippa battle again (looking currently marvellous with the greatest cutting stems, fragrant blooms which last for days) - expect the blackspot will kick in soon enough and I will be waving the spade around.

Ah, the roses that are gone! Leaving me with regret or guilt! I too have some of those.

Happy Child--I adored this Austin beauty, but she just wimped out in my garden. Three times I tried to grow her, but she just faded away. I finally gave up--regretfully.
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Gertrude Jekyll--perhaps the only one I don't regret spading! Those awful prickles drove me nuts and she almost never bloomed and she wasn't a very attractive bush either. Fragrance was all she had.
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Here are the beloved roses that were victims of RRD. I miss most of them.

Golden Showers--about 15 years old when she succumbed to RRD.
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Pink Prosperity--loved her. The first victim of RRD in my garden.
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Viking Queen cl. --poor photo. Another victim of RRD, almost before she had a chance to do much blooming in my garden.
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Wildeve cl--this Austin bloomed once--the cluster you are looking at--and promptly came down with RRD. Very sad.
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These roses were ruthlessly thrust out of my garden because they had too many blackspot problems. They were adopted by others, however.
Crimson Bouquet--the most brilliant red BIG blooms ever! I still miss her.
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Love & Peace--loved this color combination, but she'd break out in BS after every bloom cycle.
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Don't remember why I spaded Gold Medal--and I've often missed her since. There was something about her I didn't like, and I wanted to try a new rose, so fickle me tossed her. I feel very guilty.
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Cherry Parfait--I just didn't like it, so I put it out for adoption, and planted Pompanella instead--which I do not regret since I already adore my Pompanella.
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The Mayflower--I liked this Austin when it bloomed (it was always the first bloom of the year), but never loved it, if you know what I mean. One day I ripped it out and planted Scepter'd Isle instead--which I don't regret. Scepter'd Isle is still small, but a real sweetheart!
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If I searched my files, I'm sure I'd come up with a few more, but gee, now I'm missing all the departed roses. I hope some of them at least got good new homes.

Kate

I will have to check my old files----there are several roses that I loved and lost

Florence

Lost Loves:
Alba Semi Plena and "Reve d'Or'
I moved and left them behind.
what was I thinking???
Now they are both large plants, I miss them so much.

regrets...
Lux.

Lux

I have Semi Plena. If you ever decide you'd like another and can't find a vendor, just let me know and I'll try to start one for you.

Carol

I forgot SDLM! I don't know how I could forget that, it was my first OGR.

RRD is so devastating. I remember a few years back hearing that wilt-pruf could be helpful, I think it was Anne in TN.

I looked through my photos from 10 years ago when my garden was younger and I'm sad to say it was in much better shape then. It is now too big to care for well, and I keep wishing I had the energy to get it back into shape.

I lost most large roses to RRD and some to cold winters and some to voles and neglect. I could name more roses that I lost but here are some that were favorites but I never replaced them. I stopped planting roses because of RRD, although last month I bought an unnamed rose that was reduced at Lowe's .

I had Westerland and its sport Autumn Sunset, both lost to RRD.
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New Dawn, here with delphiniums and clematis, lost to RRD. I do have another ND in my garden.
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I loved the fragrance of Madame Isaac Periere. I think it was too cold and the voles snacked on the roots.
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Isabel Renaissance--the roses were really red and full. Not sure what happened but guessing cold and voles.
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Enchanted Autumn - I had several other Buck roses that no longer grow in my garden, although I still have Prairie Sunrise. I love apricot/peach/coral colored roses.
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Reine des Violettes - while still surviving, this rose is just hanging on with one thin cane. I should dig and move but not sure it would recover. Such a lovely colored rose.
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Altorama-
Lovely photos! I see why these roses were in your garden at one time. How many roses did you say you grow?

Kate and Marcia-
I'm so sorry about the RRD! I wish I could reach out and give you each a hug. The roses you posted are lovely. If pictures are worth a thousand words, yours tell me plenty about your gifts for gardening! Marcia, I hope your mystery sale rose is a wonderful surprise.

Hoovb
It's funny that two of your shovel pruned roses--Louise Clements and Purple Tiger--were those that performed so beautifully in my last garden. Location, location, location. Gosh, how many of us have tried and failed to grow Lady Hillingdon in unsuitable situations? That could be a whole thread in itself, I imagine. She is so pretty...in all those garden books.

Carol

Gorgeous ladies! I agree....location location location. AND I am quickly realizing that I need assistance keeping these roses in best shape. I already have too many in the pot ghetto. They will never fit in the ground here.
I admire the strength it takes to SP roses and I feel sick when I think about losing a gorgeous mature rose to RRD.
Thanks for sharing photos and experiences.
Susan

altorama--

Thanks for starting two of the most interesting threads we have had here in a long time--this and, especially, Most Embarrassing. I'm glad to hear that others wax nostalgic for roses they no longer have. I've had tremendous turnover across 30-odd years because space is very limited, I'm impatient and keep changing my idea of what the garden should be, and, lately, it has suffered terrible damage from RRD. My list overlaps considerably with yours.

'Kathleen'! She was wonderful for 20 years and I need her back. Being grafted and not planted deep enough, she died of old age and cumulative winter damage, and I wanted to try somebody new. Shame on me.

What a good thread. I love reading this kind of thing: climate comparisons are always interesting, but the question of taste is so subjective and SO fascinating.

And Carol, I laughed out loud about 'Othello'...LOL!

So many, mostly HTs and floribundas ill suited to my garden. I'm going to try Angel Face again, though. Caught up in a mild hysteria over Vintage closing just when I discovered it, I have been ordering from them like crazy. And, I thought I would give an own root, VI Angel Face a try. The flowers were a revelation to me--the color!--the ruffled petals!--the scent!--but it was weak with many leaves showing the distinctive marks of RMV and riddled with rust.

Marco Polo had beautiful flowers and foliage but talk about a jolly green giant! It would shoot straight up in the air eight foot canes. Tropicana's color didn't look good with all the other roses but I would have lived with it if not for the mildew. A few other HTs went to my neighbor because I wanted the room for Perle D'Or.

The mother of all difficult roses that had to leave (but will NOT) was American Pillar. Holy Cow! So beautiful the ONE year in bloom draping over an old fig tree. Every other year the two APs planted five feet apart, mind you, covered in PM so thickly the blooms were ruined. And, it rambled alright with prickles that rivaled Mermaid over my gate and in my vegetable beds. NOT worth the effort! But they keep shooting up more basals. I WISH I could say it is a rose I used to grow. Unfortunately, it is a rose that grows itself--all over the place!

So many, mostly HTs and floribundas ill suited to my garden. I'm going to try Angel Face again, though. Caught up in a mild hysteria over Vintage closing just when I discovered it, I have been ordering from them like crazy. And, I thought I would give an own root, VI Angel Face a try. The flowers were a revelation to me--the color!--the ruffled petals!--the scent!--but it was weak with many leaves showing the distinctive marks of RMV and riddled with rust.

Marco Polo had beautiful flowers and foliage but talk about a jolly green giant! It would shoot straight up in the air eight foot canes. Tropicana's color didn't look good with all the other roses but I would have lived with it if not for the mildew. A few other HTs went to my neighbor because I wanted the room for Perle D'Or.

The mother of all difficult roses that had to leave (but will NOT) was American Pillar. Holy Cow! So beautiful the ONE year in bloom draping over an old fig tree. Every other year the two APs planted five feet apart, mind you, covered in PM so thickly the blooms were ruined. And, it rambled alright with prickles that rivaled Mermaid over my gate and in my vegetable beds. NOT worth the effort! But they keep shooting up more basals. I WISH I could say it is a rose I used to grow. Unfortunately, it is a rose that grows itself--all over the place!