Teka2rjleffel, it is rare that I get a single flowered rose,
but there is a purpley one called Yesterday that I will get
next season. So I understand why you go back and forth
and want Dainty Bess, I'm the same way.

The only roses that I will be getting from now on are flori-
bunda's and shrub roses, such as The English Roses and
climbers. I'm done with trying to grow hybrid-teas, for
example. I think in our warm climates, hybid-teas grow
too tall and leggy. Where as in those colder climes, they
stay shorter and so look better and bushier. Other's can
grow them well, but I can't. But singles are rare for me,
as full and double roses are my favorites.

Many of my favorite roses are singles.

Jeri

I grow a few and love 'em. The rose family is so varied, celebrate the diversity!

Cheers,
Michelle

And repeat blooming singles repeat fast as long as they're deadheaded. Without deadheading, you get great hips.

In general I think they really lack something. I appreciate a few of the singles pictures but never get that kind of dizzy feeling like when I fall in love with a rose:) You know what I'm saying.

Having said that I just adore my Rosa Rugosa Frau Hastrup and read quite a bit about 'Lyda Rose' after seeing a picture of it this summer. It really caught my fancy for some reason. So I guess I am a little open minded when it comes to singles but given a choice I would probably go for a something with many, many more petals.

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: Lyda Rose

I love them: Mermaid, Rosa rugosa alba and rubra and Rosa carolina are some of my favorite roses.

Ann, someone forgot to deadhead me.

ramblinrosez7b, what are the names of your two beautiful singles. I love the dark red one. But then the pink one is gorgeous, too.

teka2rjleffel, I also love Dainty Bess. Why don't we just go ahead and get her!
Sherry

Sherry -- I don't know about the blackspot thing -- but you might also check out Mrs. Oakley Fisher and Irish Fireflame.

Dainty Bess doesn't want to grow for me at all, and Ellen Wilmott mildews here like mad -- but the aformentioned duo are very good in my conditions. And they are very fragrant.

Jeri

Sherry, you are too funny. My hips are OK, I wouldn't call them nice. Isn't it funny that we don't get Dainty Bess. I have been wanting her for probably 2 years. Any other rose I would have gotten long ago. I have so little room that I wonder if I would give her the space that a full-bodied rose could be living in. OK, let's make a pact, we both buy her.
Michelle you make a good point, why not celebrate the diversity, now where do I put them.
Ramblin' those are lovely. They look so healthy. Is that another feature of the singles, the less complicated the less fussy, like an old black and white TV that just never dies but a new one with remote, etc. are problematic.
Nancy

Is that another feature of the singles, the less complicated the less fussy,

*** One of the things I love about them is that they never ball.
That gives singles a big leg up for us here, where many petalled blooms that are thin and delicate are often
reduced to slimy brown globs of goo.

Jeri

I love Irish elegance, Flutterbye, Irish Fireflame, My Wild Irish Rose, Mrs. Oakley Fischer and Dainty Bess. Just something about those singles that just seem so simple.

Just do it! I got Dainty Bess and Golden Wings this spring and adore them. Maybe pictures don't do them justice because in person the blooms are exquisite. They have also been in bloom nearly contiuously for me since May.

seil, Golden Wings is lovely. I am doubtful that I can grow it. Hybrid Spinosissima is not one I have seen recommended for hot, humid Florida. But it's a beauty. I love the stamens.

I have a friend who goes weak in the knees for Mutabilis which does grow well here. It's pretty, and perhaps I'd flip too if I saw it in person, but I really don't have a place for a room-sized bush.
Sherry

Singles have their own irresistible qualities. I'm smitten with my Golden Wings, Dusky Maiden, Erfurt (although I don't know if it counts as a single), Lyda Rose, Flutterbye etc. I just planted Ann Endt---we'll see about that one. Singles also make a nice contrast with many-petalled roses, making both styles look more special.

Based on Jeri's recommendation, Mrs. Oakley Fisher is going to be part of my next buy.

Colleen

How do they do in a vase? I cut some of my Lady Elsie May the other day. She is a double and didn't really expect much and she is still going strong.
Nancy

I have no problem making up my mind...I LOVE 'EM!

I also love the lack of balling on the single blooms. Souv. de St Anne and Mutabilis smell great and have a fast repeat bloom.

Lance

I have Mutabilis on order for Spring but I am a little concerned about the room sized comment from Sherry. Of course with a winter maybe it will just be car sized. It makes me rethink the spot I had picked out for it.

Anyway at my last house I had a single which was mislabeled, I thought I was getting a different rose. I thought who would like this? It doesn't even look like a rose. Then all of a sudden I started to like them. I guess tastes change.

RedSox -- Tho I mostly don't, you CAN prune Mutabilis, if you need to restrain it.
I would avoid pruning it like a HT -- but you can rein it in some.
Tastes DO change. Hooray! How boring if they did not.

Jeri

There's something about the simplicity of Basye's Blueberry's single blooms that I like.
And I think Lance is right about Souvenir de St Annes. Few roses are as beautiful as that one, and it's almost single.

Randy

Dainty Bess' red stamens just break my heart with their beauty. My tastes in roses have changed, but I loved it the first time that I saw it 20 years ago, and still love it today.

I like single roses just fine - roses like Secret Garden Musk Climber and Sparrieshoop and Altissimo and Dortmund and Betty Prior, along with the species roses. But there's something special about Dainty Bess!
Anita

Yes I agree
There is something special about Dainty Bess.
Its that red stamen on that pretty wide pink ruffled bloom
I love her to pieces.
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Niecey

Don't forget Darlow's Enigma and Sally Holmes.

And I agree about Mrs. Oakley Fisher and Mutabalis. I grow these and love looking at them. They've all been in continual bloom, even during this hot dry summer. Annie

I love 'em too. My comment is my same old comment which works into threads about Knock Out or Exhibiting: Some roses are appreciated for the individual bloom and others for the bush and the splash of color they provide.

Those of us who also love the individual single blooms get extra credit.

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Don't forget the white singles, Sally Holmes and Darlow's Enigma. And I completely agree with others about the beauty of Mrs. Oakley Fisher and Mutabalis. These are some of my most favorite roses.

Annie

I love them. The blooms can be breathtaking.

Nothing beats a good single for productivity. If you want color, a single can be your best friend.

My big rave right now is the Buck rose Prarier Clogger, single dark red, fragrant, clean, quick repeat, big bloom production.

I grow Dainty Bess - she does have one of the most beautiful blooms in rosedom.

I grew Betty Prior for years - one of the easiest shrub roses on the market - it doesn't require deadheading to keep blooming and you can prune it with anything - even a chain saw - and it bounces back with tons of blooms and a nice shape. I had mine combined with butterfly bushes and lavendar.

Those of us that can't remember what we've already said get credit subtracted. Annie

Meg Merriles, Altaica, Fr Hugonis, Frhulingsmorgen, Altissimo, Hibernica all favorites!

There is a white ht single called Snowcream. I show Dainty Bess a lot and win a lot with it.
Don't forget the mini singles like: Single's Better,Grace Stewert,and many more.

You're making me want Dainty Bess. I've looked at that picture at least five times now.

Does anyone know where I can buy Dainty Bess on fortuniana or at the very least own root? I'm going for it Sherry.
Nancy

Johnny Becnel Show Roses has them on fortuniana. That's where I got mine. They ship too. You need to get ahold of Calvin at : Bcalvin508@aol.com

The phone number is 337-394-5662.

My favorites are Mutabilis, Route 66 and Betty Prior. Sparrieshoop was viciously thorny and awkward, Dapple Dawn and Nearly Wild just didn't excite me, and ditto Bloomfield Dainty and Mrs. Oakley Fisher. A lot also depends on how the individual roses perform and the first three have been the best for me, and also give me the most visual pleasure. There may be more in my future. As someone said, they provide a good contrast to the double roses. I also love the fragrance of Route 66, a seldom mentioned rose.

Ingrid

I love singles, simplistic beauty. I like that they close up at night, fascinates me.

This is one of my favorites, Tangerine Jewel. When I first planted it this was definitely a single then when I transplanted it this spring it is a semi double half the time. I put it in totally different soil. The first was heavily amended, the second was not.
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I have one that's single but the petals don't open fully - Vesuvius. It was recommended to me on this forum and I have gotten compliments on the color. Here is a pic from HMF.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vesuvius

Sandy, does Johnny Becnel Roses have a minimum? Thanks.
Nancy

I wasn't much enamoured with singles but i planted dainty bess, goldenwings, sparrieshoop together on a whim. I have 3 db,1 sparrieshoop, 3 goldenwings(one was mistake). now i couldn't b without them. db is the only ht i have (is she really a ht?) that has eliminated any predjudice i had before. i am thinking about getting white wings which is a sport of db, not golden wings. they have done rather well in all the heat and humidity here.

I love these singles:

good'n plenty
Gypsy Dancer
Knock Out
la belle sultane
Mighty Moe
playgold
Soaring Spirits
starry night

Love 'em. betty prior, flutterbye, The alexadria rose, I would replant them all if I moved.

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One picture is worth a thousand words. Two must be better.

Golden Wings as recommended by Ann Peck. Thanks Ann.

Barbara

Used to hate them. Then I bought Jacqueline Du Pre and Dainty Bess, and I love both of them. Both have fragrance to die for, and although I'll never have lots of singles, I'm glad I have these two.

Scott

Playboy, Playgirl, Playtime. Lyda Rose, Lavender Dream and Darlow's Enigma.

How I wish I could grow Golden Wings here!

Mermaid rose has great big single yellow blooms with beautiful stamens. I really love her flowers.

My favorite semi single is Paprika, it's always covered in blooms and the foliage is so healthy! If I could attribute a mood to this rose it would be a happily shrub

Paul Ecke Jr & Happenstance

Love them! I did get Dainty Bess, but it blooms in clusters and the blooms are small. Do I have the right rose?