Julie, you're funny. If I showed, I'd be bummed over this one. Carol, thanks for your thoughts. 2 of the 4 normal-looking buds have opened in the last week or so. For those 4, it was easy to tell there was only one bud on each little stem. Then there was this strange-looking "ball" at the end of the spike. Now that it's opening a bit more, there are 3 buds all bunched up at the very end of the spike. I haven't seen this before, but my experience is limited. I love the pelorics. This is the first blooming for this one, so later bloomings may be more normal. I'll keep you posted. Whitecat8

Anybody else want to run out and rent "Best In Show" with Fred Willard & Eugene Levy???? I was also going to add "what Jaxondel said"; however, I had to look up "cotton buds" because I was not erudite enough to know they are "cotton swabs" (I thought we were talking about cotton balls). The bright side of this coin is firstly, that I can now share some wonderful information on the history of the cotton 'swab' (if I may, Suzy?) or what we call the Q-tip (not to be confused with the rapper): Cotton swab - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_bud I also feel duty bound to mention that the "Q-tip" moniker is now owned by the British conglomerate Unilever who bought Cheesborough-Ponds, so perhaps in a few years you may have to transition, Suzy! And for those who've been titillated by this information, I have only scratched the surface on the history of the humble cotton swab (which I must admit I thought was interesting because I know I can safely do so in this company): Q-tips: History http://www.qtips.com/history.php Finally, in the interest of full confession, disclosure and, dare I say competition? I fully admit cotton swabs are one of my rare brand snob purchases, I prefer Johnson & Johnson swabs because the 'buds' are bigger ;-) G'night all...

The early April freeze was 27 F and overcast in my garden, narrowly avoiding any visible shoot damage on the cane-hardy roses. First blooms are just starting to open, so I don't yet know whether I'll have mutant flowers or not. I'm hoping my plants being a little behind Buford's when the freeze hit will protect them. 'Aloha' is one of the most sensitive to the vagaries of spring weather. My impression is it doesn't even need a freeze, but just a couple of weeks of chilly dark weather as the buds mature. The one I've pruned into an upright shrub has set a huge flush, so I'll be very disappointed if all the flowers are scaggy. Here's how I use the lingo, but I'm not claiming to be authoritative: Proliferation: mutant stems and buds grow out of the centers. Vegetative centers: green grassy growth where the stamens should be. Bullnose: buds are sawed-off and stumpy with extra carpels. (Compendium of Rose Diseases uses the term "bullhead.") Some roses are genetically predisposed. I'm convinced it is precipitated by the weather, and not, as sometimes said, by an excess of nitrogen.

Looks more like the nymph of a borer to me. Perhaps the nymph of a green fig beetle, or a june beetle.