I've grown a half-dozen and they were all good roses. I can't say that I have a favorite, but 'The Fairy' is the only rose I've kept continuously for 30-odd years.

The local rose society keeps a no-spray garden where I noticed last week that 'Perle d'Or' is about the healthiest rose in the garden after this summer of continuous rain and dreadful disease pressure from cercospora and blackspot. This is a big plant, about 5', with dense attractive foliage and lots of pretty little fragrant flowers. I started one in my garden too late in the 2012 season. It barely survived winter and has hardly grown, but we'll see.

One that should be grown more often is 'Katherina Ziemet.' She has a low spreading plant with good disease resistance, and the flowers are very fragrant.

La Marne, "Caldwell Pink" (if it is a poly) are absolutely carefree & ever-blooming here. Marie has been wonderful, too.

New to me this year: Little White Pet--very good & Anne Marie de Montraval--has tiny fluffy blooms like Flocon de Neige but is more robust than her for me. And they have fragrance.

Picked up a Sweet Pea the other day--it looks like a poly--& I'm impressed with its vigor & blooms.

"Sally's Compact" Cecile Brunner from Forest Farm last fall has also been a nice bushy plant, full of blooms despite the heat.

Polys are very good healthy plants for the climates I've lived in. Only gripe I have is for a bit more fragrance. They sure put out an enormous number of blooms, virtually all year.

Little White Pet, hands down. It stays below 2 feet high (which is a rarity in my climate!), has gorgeous blooms, and needs very little to no care. It re-blooms all summer. Gets no diseases here. I have three plants of it, and no matter where I plant it it is a star.

Jackie

I love polyanthas. However, mine are not doing so good. But that might be location. I have two Marie Pavie which are in a tough spot. Some others--Britannia, Baptiste Lafaye--may not like their pot culture. Not sure. Leonie lamesch is healthy in a pot but not reblooming. Some roses took of like gangbusters after being planted in the ground. Those are the HPs Grandmothers Hat and Old Town Novato, the poly or poly-tea Perle D'Or, and the dwarf Cramoisi Superior sold by vintage as Mableton Crimson. MC was especially miserable looking until I planted it even though it supposed to be a small plant. Your GH and Snowbird may do better once in the ground. I do not seem to be successful growing roses in pots.

Anne

I think it was mike_rivers who opined that 'Sweet Chariot' should have been classed as a polyantha rather than a mini. It makes mauve pompons in clusters. It has multiflora parentage like polyanthas. SC might be the best repeat-blooming mauve rose. It's a tremendous bloomer, very fragrant, and very winter-hardy.

I love my pair of little Marie Pavies. They seem to be on opposite bloom and growth patterns. I will look at them one day and the one on the right or left is clearly the happy one busy blooming and full of green. But come and look at them again in a few weeks and it is exact opposite. Only the one that looked sad the last time will now be several inches taller and ready to bloom.

Renae finally decided that if I was going to pinch off all of her buds that she was going to climb to where I can't reach them. She has a couple of more feet to go, but is getting closer to the top of her arch.

Weeping China Doll is between flushes and looks a bit sad, but sure that will change shortly.

I like this thread. Verdun is MARVELOUS. Gorgeous color and reliable flushes.
I have Flacon de Neige who never stops blooming but you do have to dead head her.
I second SC as a great rose.
My Marie Pavies are great too and smell lovely.
I like to plant lower growing polys near the front of borders and add fragrant roses or flowers nearby.
They are so cheerful, workhorses, and great bouquet filler.
If they start looking cruddy I just chop them back and they pop right up again blooming like crazy.
I had one flower on a very young Leonie Lamesch and I just thought it was so pretty.
Susan

High Country Mignonette is my favorite. I would like to add more.

My favorite polyantha for years has been the little-known Aunt Margy's Rose which is almost 7 feet tall against the house wall and has beautifully formed flowers with a lovely fragrance. The leaves are also pretty and completely without disease for me.

Marie Pavie is also a very good performer as is Baptiste La Fay; the latter needs more time in the ground to show what it can do.

I love Mr. Bluebird but it has shown problems with blackspot and has not been a vigorous grower. Nevertheless I'm not giving up on my three plants of it and hope it will pull itself together.

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Aunt Margy's Rose

Ingrid

I have enjoyed your photos of Aunt Margy's rose for a while. What a pretty face it has.

That is one that I hope some one shares, it is only listed as available from Rogue Valley Roses

This post was edited by Kippy-the-Hippy on Mon, Aug 12, 13 at 0:13

Oh, wow, what a pretty rose!

Oooh, Aunt Margy's is a gorgeous winner. Why don't we see it more? What lovely form and rich color, Ingrid. Does anyone sell it? Diane

Diane, it's available at Rogue Valley Roses and I've seen it on someone else's list but can't recall the nursery. Keep in mind that the flowers are smaller than they appear in the pictures, probably about 1 1/2 inches, but I still love it. I think it's much more impressive planted against a wall, but I've honestly not seen it grown as a free-standing bush.

Ingrid

I have 3 polyanthas--the Fairy, Cecile Brunner bush, and Mother's Day--but am not quite sure what to think of them. They are all rather stingy bloomers and re-bloomers.

Perhaps they need a better location--more sun? better soil? more water? I'm just not sure.

I don't dislike any of them, but its hard to actively "like" a rose that rarely blooms.

Kate

If you have the space and the right location for it climbing Cecile Brunner is amazing- but it is a strict once-bloomer. And personally I think the foliage of Lady Banks is much nicer in the "off season." A friend of mine has one eating a tree right at the back of her 5 acres here in 9b and it's a terrific place- with flowers it's a cascade of pink, without it fades into the background.

I have an Anne Marie de Montraval (I think) and I'm going to have to move it again- it was too hot in one place and now it doesn't get enough sun. I have a 10' cane that's using my jasmine for support to get out of the atrium. Next move is to the back yard. When the big cane blooms I should get a picture I think the whole thing is pretty funny.

That Aunt Margy's rose is just so lovely- in particular the glossy pine-green leaves. Margy should be proud to have her name on that.

michaelg that is so funny. I was just looking at gourmet popcorn the other day ( approaching waist high ) and thinking the same thing. I planted 5 Sweet Chariot in a 1/2 barrel and it was a beautiful sight.

Perle d'or almost made it on my top 10 list for the unique way that the flowers look as if they are made of party ribbons. That and Mutabilis could be the easiest roses to grow here. Speaking of that, I saw a Mutabilis sheared into a cube outside a Hometown Buffet as I was traveling to San Francisco and it had the bright flowers all over the top and a few on the sides. It looked like a big present.

White Pet has always been a favorite but I can't help thinking of it as Little White Pet as RoY&T used to in the catalogs. The Marie Pavie from Vintage has always been outstanding. Rita Sammons is a good rose and I like the deeper coloration of this sport but it seems like an over large mini to me in the flower shape. Minis and Polys kind of merge together in my mind anyway. Yantai is another outstanding mini that fits right in and grows robust trouble free . What about this with Julia Child or White Licorice? Wish I had the space to try it.

New to me is lullaby from Vintage and I wanted Yvonne Rabier but they were sold out.

I don't know what makes them bloom so much and be disease resistant here but I'm not complaining. I feel as if I don't have to do anything but plant them and mulch and water a few times a week. Of course I feed them along with everyone else but it's rare that I have to do anything except keep them from overgrowing the roses next to them.

This post was edited by kittymoonbeam on Tue, Aug 13, 13 at 0:08

I checked on the little bits of 'Weeping China Doll' that I put in a pot after it was knocked off the plant accidentally...lots of new little growth.

Little White Pet is probably the best continuous bloomer I have ever had, and it comes faithfully every year even after the worst of winters or even cold and wet summers. With just a few days of sun it looks fine.

I have Katharina Zeimet and Schneewittchen (1901), which is very similar (I suspect it is the same or perhaps "twin" seedlings of sort). It flowers well, is fragrant enough to be noticed and live for long time.

The Fairy was the first polyanta I planted, and it is still fine. Flowerbuds doens't like cold and wet for too long, but is healthy and very charming.

I found Raimond Privat and Baby Faurax this year, and both have grown and flowered well; dense growth but seems to be smaller than some varieties. I hope they tacle winter with ease. Polyantas often need lots of pruning in spring here.

Regarding the most beautiful rose; it is such a shifting thing I think. In early summer Rose de Recht often gets all attention, but later on other varieties takes over. Some years Jacques Cartier have been my best rose, at other times Duchesse de Montebello has been very good, and Charles Lefebvre is a favorite.

There were a couple of winters my roses were hit hard by the freost, and among the roses which sprouted back well were Katharina Zeimet and Scheewittchen 1901, hardly affected at all. I have a cottage by the sea some once bloomers needs winter protection or mild winters to survive well enough to set flowerbuds. The polyantas do not, and seem to have no trouble sprouting back. Those winters the polyantas were my best roses, and every year they have a week or three where they are the most beautiful plants.

Taoseeker, I love Rose de Rescht because it is not only beautiful but very fragrant. I have an area next to my patio with heliotrope and that is where RDR will go. The only negative thing I can find about the polyanthas is that they have very little fragrance. I hope Marie Pavie and Marie Daly will be fragrant once they bloom. I am also eagerly awaiting a bloom from Lullaby. I like to have a rose from the year my favorite people were born and Lullaby is my mom's rose.

I like the polys with cupped blooms. Margo Koster is blooming today in a stupendous coral IMO and I think I will plant her with Penstemon "Thorn" in the front of a border. Lady Reading I would have never known about until I saw it at the Celebration of Old Roses in May and was charmed.

Brenda,

Some of my favorites are already here: Clothilde Soupert and Lullaby.

I also like Britannia, Gloire des Polyantha, Merveille des Rouges, and Rosenprinzessin.

Perhaps the most beautiful is Madame Taft, but this has also been a slow starter for me; it looks almost like a mini at this point.

Let me also mention the amazing Heinrich Karsch, more in the purple direction, though a great bloomer.

Best,

Larry

Little White Pet and Cecile Brunner (shrub) are both near-continuous bloomers and nicely scented here. Very reliable, sturdy plants.

One that I have often enjoyed at SJHRG and never managed to snag from Vintage is 'Baby Alberic' -- great little pale yellow flowers and pretty leaves.

How could I have forgotten to mention Lady Ann Kidwell? Without doubt the most exuberant personality of them all and another near-continuous bloomer.

Larry, thank you for sharing some polyanthas I hadn't heard of. I especially like Rosenprinzessin and Madame Taft. Much like Lady Ann Kidwell. Would this color be called cerise? Cherry crimson? I really like it. For such a bright color it is sort of old fashioned.

Off topic, I'm reading a book set in the 1930s and one character mentions another wearing a lime green tie, not the neon green we're used to today, but the actual color of a fresh ripe lime. It reminded me of Red Radiance, which is more of deep pink than a red. It makes me wonder how the words we use to describe colors have changed over time.

Spray Cecille Brunner , would top my list of favortie Polys for its'
-long bloom season and quick re-bloom.
-great damask rose type scent which wafts away from the bush for a few feet.
-gorgeous healthy leaves.

followed by:
Little White Pet' the most constant blooming rose of this class that I've seen.
Leonie Lamesch' the leaves appear to me to belong to a tropical plant or some exotic, and I love the tropical punch colors of the blooms which range from bright pink and coral to orange and red, with yellow too at times.
Borderor' though mine was a badly rooted "dogleg' and the last in the bunch of its kind at a nursery, the flowers are lovely. Pav
Perle d'Or ' which I've seen grow to be 10' tall at sacramento cemetary. In my garden I hope to keep it closer to 5' tall.

Marie Pavie, for fragrance and blooms in winter.
Anyone here grow Violet Hood? I've often been curious about it.
I wish there were more yellow Polys.

Lux.

Brenda,

You are most welcome. Maybe the color of Madame Taft is madder red; that is at least close. Btw, I think Burlington is still selling MT. Mine is from VG. (Throat clearing noise.)

Good luck,

Larry

Violet hood is pretty, but the blooms crisp quickly in the sun.

Sweet Pea is a really nice one--the color varies sometimes with the temperature.

I tried many times to get "Baby Alberic" from Vintage, but never was sucessful. :(

My favorite is probably Lullaby. Just a gorgeous, healthy little rose.

I'm reading this with great interest. I love my three polys and would like to get more. Of my three, Zenaitta, Verdun, and Blanche Neige, I think Zenaitta is my favorite. It's about 4 x 4 ft and blooms continuously all season with small bright red blooms in huge sprays, very little trouble with any kind of diseases and quite winter hardy. Verdun and Blanche are both still very small and not as vigorous and do spot.

I had La Marne and LOVED it's blooms but it didn't winter for me. Margo Koster didn't winter for me either although she was lovely the season I had her. The problem is they come as such small bands that I can't get them big enough in one season to make it through their first winter. I may just give them a second try though. I've been looking at Perle d'Or too since we had a program at our rose society on the Earth Kind Roses. I really liked the blooms!

Seil, see if you can order them from Roses Unlimited or Chamblees. Both do NOT send little bands, but nicely growing, usually already blooming roses in a larger container (sorry, don't know how large those containers are considered, but they are NOT band size). Roses Unlimited sends to me--Zone 6-- about the second week in May (can't remember on Chamblees). They are both own root (I think).

They have always sent me vigorous, healthy, actively growing plants that take right off in the garden. They might work better for you since they are larger and settle in so quickly.

At least it wouldnt' hurt to try. : )

Kate

Lux, I grew Violet Hood but gave it up because mine also crisped in the sun and the flowers were small and a very dull purple color. It looked much better on-line than in my garden.

La Marne I thought would be great but, alas, it turned into a dirty white color after one day of sun. It's been replaced by Baptiste Lafay, which is still too young to comment on fairly.

Ingrid

I recently discovered my new favorite at Fuller Gardens in North Hampton, NH - Mrs. R.M. Finch. The shape of a plant and the beauty of the foliage are as important to me as the flowers, and she was perfect all around. What a lovely graceful, healthy plant, flowers were abundant, delicate, the softest pink. Definitely going in my garden next year.

Thanks, Kate, I'll take a look!

I complained above that my three polyanthas were stingy bloomers, but I need to correct that statement a bit. Two of them--The Fairy and Mother's Day--are bursting into good bloom now that the grey skies have departed (which we've had for weeks and weeks now) and the sun has come out. I guess they both just needed more sun. I also moved The Fairy to a spot where it got more sun in the morning and it is starting to respond positively to the move.

I think I was under the impression that polyanthas don't mind some shade, but my experience is that they definitely miss the sun if they are not getting enough. (Mine do get late afternoon shade.)

Kate

The original polyantha breeding lines were heavy on multiflora, which is shade tolerant. But 'The Fairy' has wichurana rather than multiflora heritage.

'The Fairy' is late to bloom and blooms with the wichurana ramblers at midsummer. But thereafter it should repeat almost constantly with average conditions.

Thanks, Michael. That is helpful info. to have. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with where I planted them or how I was feeding, etc. them. A little more sunshine and wait for midsummer--that may be the key!

Kate

ratdogheads, I saw that particular rose at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden years ago and I still remember how lovely it was. It was quite a short rose but the flowers were large for a polyantha and so pretty. I hope you do get it for your garden.

Ingrid

Mrs. R.M. Finch was one of my first rose purchases. She's still one of my favorites. Her pink color is especially lovely, and she stays a perfectly round little bush.

Mrs. R.M. Finch is still at the U.C. Berkeley Botanical Gardens and somewhere between 3 and 4 feet lately. The one at the SJHRG was a bit taller (5' or so?) the last time I saw it. It does always seem to be in bloom and mannerly.

catspa, thank you for the update. It's heartening to see that this rose is still there which I last saw some time before 1983.

Ingrid

Oh how I DO love the polyantha roses. I wish I could have them all. They are such good performers for me and their size is better for my small plot of land. (Though I have some big lasses too.) Marie Pavie, of course, is a favorite for me. Borderer has been a great addition- took two years to settle in but has bloomed so nicely this year and is providing a lovely border around a pee gee hydrangea. Clotilde Soupert- also wonderful. Thank you all for more suggestions. I must get some of the Mrs.polys (RM Finch, William Koning) and Rita Sammons has been on my list. More roses! I must have more, more...

I had Mothersday & Mrs. R. M. Finch way back. They were both good plants & excellent bloomers. I love the little cupped blooms of Mothersday & the color didn't fade. No fragrance to speak of but a good plant.

Mrs. R.M. Finch was carefree & the blooms had a nice scent.

I'm a polyantha fan also. One not mentioned that has been clean and blooms a lot in my garden is 'Petite Francoise'. 'Baptiste la Faye' does well here and 'Verdun' is good here also. I agree about 'Schneewitchen01'/'Katherine Zeimet' - very bloom happy and healthy here.

I have 'Sweet Pea' and 'Sibelius' and both have more foliage issues and bloom less for me, but in the spring they were lovely. They're both pretty young, though so maybe next year will be better. I have 'Pookah' and like it too. 'Tip Top' is a great little rose too.

I really would like to get 'Lullaby' and 'Leonie Lamesch'. I don't have it at this garden but 'Perle d'Or' is a great rose also.

Remember I did that little program on polyanthas awhile ago for my rose group? I've wondered if anyone would like to see it - if so, I'll try to figure out how to post the slides on you tube. I used most of the pictures you let me use to illustrate a short history of polyanthas. Nothing profound, but fun, I think.

harborrose, I would love to see your slides on youtube. I have been asked to write an article about polyanthas for our rose sociey quarterly, probably for lack of a better candidate because I know very little about them.

It will have to be a very theoretical article because polyanthas are quite uncommon in Sweden. I grow only three myself, Marie Pavie, Katharina Zeimet and Mevrouw Nathalie Nypels plus I used to have The Fairy 25 years ago. I remember seeing a small collection of polys in a manor house garden many years ago. I'ts a museum so I mailed the head gardener for a list of the polyanthas still in the garden. I was shocked and sad to see the short list of remaining varieties: 'Mrs R M Finch', 'Marie Pavie', 'Yvonne Rabier', 'Schneewittchen', 'Orange Triumph'.

I have noted all the polyanthas mentioned in this thread with mounting envy and will definitely try to find some of them.

taoseeker, I believe it has been decided by gene mapping that Katharina Zeimet and Old Schneewittchen are one and the same in commerce in Scandinavia.

I have always loved Phalenopsis, have 2 of them. Last week my Vintage order came in with Carol Amling among them. It had 2 beautiful candy pink blooms and I detected a nice scent. Its very healthy and I look forward to this one doing very well. Perle d'Or is always lovely. I have Baby Faurax, Raymond Privat and Heinrich Karsch growing in pots and they are beautiful.

I also have Phaleonopsis and really like this rose. It has been in a container for 3 years, but I plan to plant in ground this fall. I had Mrs. R.M. Finch for about 6 years and loved that it stayed a small, compact shrub and the blooms were really pretty, but it always suffered from chlorosis, so it is no longer in my garden.

Clothilde Soupert for pure feminine charm and Katharina Ziemet for dependability and flower power but if I had to choose it would be Clothilde. I must say that I like her better than she likes me. I have to give her credit though, she has clung to life until I figured out how to make her happier (pine bark mulch and alfalfa) but she is still small and her leaves are still a little too yellow green. Maybe with time we'll work it out.

Cath