Oh Kippy-the-Hippy

It was me, or I was one of the people on this forum! Thank you so much.

I have Belinda's Dream and have no doubt about placing the order for Young Lycidas ( for the color). Unfortunately, I cannot stop looking at your Lady of Megginch. It is so beautiful!!

Lynn

Yes, indeed, the Lady is boggling. How large is that bloom? Wow. How large is the typical Belinda's Dream bloom? I think I am going to have to get Lady of Megginch, she is just so gorgeous. I remember your other post featuring her, and I was very impressed with her beauty. Diane

Kippy, my Lady of Megginch is 3 years old & a very small bush - about 12" high. It's grafted & I bought it online from David Austin's site. I expected it to be more robust since my other 3 year old Austins are doing a lot better than this one.

Another thing is that the stems are very thin & weak. This morning we had a soaking rainstorm and when the (only) flower got wet it was leaning over as it was too heavy for the stem.

I notice that you're in a warmer zone than mine but was wondering how long you had to wait to get a nice-sized bush. Also, are the stems strong and able to support the blooms? thanks for any info.

Lynn

If I was going to pick between Lady of M vs YoungL, I would take Lady of M. I like the shade and the holding time of her by far and the foliage of YoungL always looks sort of like it needs water-but that is the way the leaves seem to look.

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These sat in the house for days even after being picked at the end of a hot day and driving here.

Kippy-the- Hippy,

Young Lycidas has her place, with plants in front camouflaging parts of the bush but supporting and showing the flowers. Now I want Lady of M too:) Lady of M appears to grow into a nicer looking bush, with better looking foliage.

Lynn

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Tue, Aug 13, 13 at 21:07

Thanks Nana, I really like Lady of M, but will wait and see how that massive cane affects the entire plant. The bowl with the spring blooms is about 6 inches.

View, I bought this plant at a large nursery south of me, Otto's. It was in a 5gal pot and bloomed fairly consistently it is about 24 to 30" tall now, but threw a 6-7 foot cane that is full of buds. It is not a strong upright necked rose, but not nearly as floppy as YL or or Janet.

I have Munstead Wood and Darcey Bussell, Darcey has been a much better bloomer for me but I like Munsteads scent better.

My own root Belinda's Dream arrived with, and continues to have paper thin leaves; nothing like what I see on your plant. It has been on my covered patio for almost 3 weeks. It has one rosebud that I am going to allow to open just to make sure the rose is at least pink.

Lynn

Lynn,

I think that is a perfect spot for YoungLycidas! I should take a picture from a different angle. He has thin flexible canes that bloomed and flopped over BUT put out laterals that are the growth you see now that all have buds or candelabras on them Kind of like it pegged itself. It flops in the birdbath, I like the effect but not sure it is for everyone. Then again, I loved Janet when it was a big mop of green canes and knodding blooms.

After seeing the picture of the bush of Young Lycidas, I'm a little disappointed with its growth habit. Mine is still a young plant and so far has a nice shape, but I gather that will change. Still, the flowers are the most important part, and I can't wait for the buds on mine to open. I'll be very interested to see how this rose does in the summer heat, and what the color will be like. I like the color of YL in Kippy's picture, and to me it looks deeper than fuchsia pink, at least a light purple. Darcy Bussell is also very nice, and would have been another good choice.

It's great to see these pictures and to be able to compare the different colors and growth habits. That is really valuable information.

Ingrid

I will bring a different lens tomorrow and see if I can get a better shot on the shapes of the two (YL and LoM) My bed is a "tad" crowded so it is a little hard to tell on some photos where one starts and the other starts. And there are my two filler HT's in the back that I will probably move them next year as this bed fills up (It looked so empty last year so I picked up a pair of roses I did not care too much about and put them in as fillers)

Kippy,

A bush shot of your Lady of Megginch to show her size and the bush structure would be appreciated.

I went to Otto's last Sat. and left empty-handed when I noticed how viciously thorny the Lady of Megginch and Munstead Wood were: the former I didn't mind too much because the thorns were larger--or am I wrong?--and weren't as nasty as Munstead Wood, which I find painful to handle.

I purchased Lady of Megginch this year, partially because of pictures on this forum. It has proved to have one of the longest-lasting blooms in my garden. The blooms are very fragrant, large, and darker than the picture show, and last about a week for me on the bush. I'm not sure if that's partly because we have had a very cool summer here in Illinois.

Thanks for a beautiful and informative post. Looks like YL would be good to wrap on a tripod. I hope others will comment on the habit and performance of these roses in different climates.

Kippy,

I also wanted to ask you about the rust and mildew resistance on Lady M--whether she's as clean as YL for you? Any info on her disease resistance would greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Michaelg,

I agree with you about YL being grown as a sort of climber, especially so in SoCal here or zones with warm winter: be it wrapped on a tripod or fanned out onto a fence or some kind of support etc...

I peg mine because YL has a tendency to throw out long thin canes and long thin laterals all over the place--a dishevelled messy! Pegging makes the bush more manageable and visiually more appealing, I find; also YL blooms on new wood, pegging increases the numbers of blooms on the bush. Does anyone else in here peg him or train him etc...? I think I remember reading someone has been growing YL or some sprawling Austin in a tomato cage?

Kippy, gorgeous! If they were mine I would put them in a bed and let them all mix and mingle and flop all over each other and a cane in the birdbath would be just fine.
One question I have, what about color? Would my soil cause radically different bloom color? Dark Lady here is crimson...
Thanks for sharing your photos.
Susan

Susan, my Dark Lady was pretty well bright red in my garden but YL for some reason hasn't done that and is much darker. It's taking forever to open its buds into blooms but when it does I'll post a picture here for those interested in what it looks like in a hot climate in rather poor soil (decomposed granite).

Ingrid

I do not have a Dark Lady, but guessing in my yard she would be some shade of pink. Maybe I should get one next year and see.

I forgot to bring the camera today, one of those days when you leave the house a dozen times and still manage to forget something.

My Lady of M is maybe 30" tall for most of the plant, but threw that mega cane that is a good 6-7 feet and I think it put its energy in to it rather than the rest of the bush. It gets a bit of extra shade than YL and maybe a bit less water. Right now the normal canes have mostly prickles and a few thorns, but not huge ones. On the other hand the mega cane is 1" at least and has no shortage of thorns.
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I am hoping to try and wrap that cane around a post and see if it will throw some laterals. Last year was the first year in the ground and I do not remember noting any real rust issues with either of the two roses.

YL is a much taller and wider plant, I think it is getting some extra water (the daisy hedge is much thicker by it too guessing water) The leaves always have a kind of wilted look. It is very very flexible, I could see how it would be nice wrapped around a tripod. It has a lot of thorns and is about 4 1/2' tall.

And yes the whole bed kind of melts together, I look forward to move of that blending. The bees, hummingbirds and butterflies all like it too

My YL bloom opened today and it was such a disappointment compared to the few I saw in the spring. It's almost single and shapeless, and the color is garish. I'm thinking of taking off the remaining buds and waiting for cooler weather before I let it bloom again. It's very hot today and I imagine that's the problem.

Ingrid

Ingrid_vc,

Discussing blooms and color, I purchased Belinda's Dream after seeing yours, reading your recommendation of it, and conducting research. Some folks described the color of Belinda's Dream as being Pepto Bismol pink. My 1 month old own root had one bloom on it, and my curiosity kept me from pinching it off. Well, it is not Pepto Bismol pink in my garden, and I know Pepto Bismol pink. It is a gorgeous color. I like it so much that I am going to order another one. Thank you!! Again... :)

Lynn

Thanks you all for sharing your experiences. Susan

Lynn,

I was thinking about you today as I looked at Belinda. Last year I bought her as a 5g after seeing how bullet proof and covered in blooms in others posts. I was really wondering about what I did wrong when I brought her home because she seemed to do little more than thin growth and flopping giant buds and not in a shade I really really liked.

But this year she looks much better. Those thin canes are thicker and she holds up her blooms better,

But for me the best part is how much Mom loves her. I put her in a prime spot that she walks by a million times a day going back and forth to the garden and chickens. Mom comments that she likes all the roses, but Belinda is her favorite and she loves showing her off.

I see what I wish was different, but mom sees her beauty.

I checked out the structure of Lady of M today, seems she had thrown a similar cane that was cut shorter probably when she was packaged as a bareroot so I am thinking I can expect more mega canes.

Here Belinda's Dream is a rather light pink which I find quite pleasing. Perhaps it takes a cooler climate for her to achieve true Pepto Bismol coloration.

Lynn, I'm so pleased that you like the bloom of Belinda's Dream. I believe this rose was bred in Texas and I doubt it would have been put in commerce if it had been Pepto-Bismol pink there. What it may do in cooler climates I have no idea.

Kippy, was your plant grafted? Mine was own-root and never had the thin, floppy canes you mention, and the flowers were always a soft medium to light pink. I hope your plant wasn't mislabeled, although by now you should be able to tell if it compares to pictures in HMF and those posted here.

Ingrid

Ingrid,

Mine is supposed to be own root. For me in cooler temps and being planted late in the season and after a summer of being pushed to be in bud and bloom at the nursery, it put out a ton of new growth and I think way more than a young plant with out an established root system could handle. The photos of mine this season are the ones above, are they different than yours?

Kippy, your plant is beautiful, as are the flowers. I can't see the whole plant but it looks denser than mine, but then mine is also more mature, and it's had a rough spring and summer without enough winter rain the prior year. The flowers look much the same color and shape as mine.

Ingrid

Kippy-the-Hippy,

What I saw on my first bloom looks really similar to your fifth photo, but a tad lighter in color, likely due to the heat here.

Lynn

I thought I would update for today.

Since Lady of M threw such a thick cane, she has taken some time off blooming and only had 3 or 4 today. On the other hand YL had dozens of blooms. It is roasting hot, 102 in the shade, so at the end of the day I figured I might as well cut the roses off and enjoy what is left. The LM blooms have short necks, but thick petals that the heat did not fry (yet) YL had lots of nodding blooms that looked very tired in the heat and still do indoors, but it is hard not to enjoy a couple dozen of them.