Annie. I grow both and I would definetly recommend Ebb Tide. Angel Face for me is black spot pron here in zone 8b.
Heirloom is also a great rose. I may shovel prune Angel Face next year if it doesn't improve.
Arlene

I Agree!

Angel Face is a disease magnet -- all diseases. Don't know Ebb Tide, but I would recommend a similar one I do grow called Route 66 that is available at most Armstrong Garden Centers. It's a single, but a very nice one -- makes good sprays. I don't recall if it is fragrant, however.

Singin' the Blues is supposed to be the new improved Angel Face that is coming out for the first time this year. So you could also try that one. It will be widely available as a bare root in 2 months time.

Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: Singin' the Blues.

I agree with kstrong (Hi, Kathy!). Angel Face is not in my garden because it is too disease-prone. My Route 66 has only a slight fragrance but it is happy and clean here, and dark purple.

Singin' the Blues looks good, and Love Potion has grown well for me, a very fragrant lavender similar to Angel Face on a healthier plant.

-- Janene

Here is a link that might be useful: Love Potion

Thanks everyone! Looks like I'll go with EbbTide then, I liked the darker purple anyways.

Well maybe I have a mutant, but I love Angelface! I got it as a $6 clearance in a bodybag budded rose, but in its first year as a tiny plant (about 2 feet tall), it has produced 3 moderate flushes of perfectly formed and colored blooms, in hot direct sun no less! They fade to lavender/white and don't pick up any hot pink like a lot of the other roses in my weather zone. And the new foliage is a shiny dark red, and no diseases either, except for powdery mildew at the beginning of the summer. Most of my other roses had it worse though, FWIW.

On my hot hillside location Ebb Tide did not do well and I got rid of it since there was little rebloom and it hated my heat. It was beautiful in the spring though, and very fragrant. Angel Face from HD is fine with the heat but is not a shapely bush to say the least. I loved Route 66 but it hated the heat and the blooms shriveled up in a few hours. A pity, because I really liked it. Love Potion was a very good rose for me but a bit too modern for my taste, but that may not be a problem for anyone else. Intrigue has beautiful flowers and did well but I just didn't like the bush. The lavenders and purples have been a difficult bunch for me and my favorite has been Wild Blue Yonder but again the bush is nothing to write home about. Hopefully one of these days the right one for me will come along.

Ingrid

I have a flock of lavender/purple floribundas including Ebb Tide, Singin' the Blues, but not Angel Face. Ebb Tide is purple in cooler temperatures. In the heat it gets to be more on the red side. Singin' the Blues has done okay its first year in a pot, but from what I see, I think Simply Marvelous, Blueberry Hill, and The Prince do better.

I love purple roses. As much as I like the spring and fall blooms on Ebb Tide, it really struggles during our summer heat. I grow ebb tide's sibling- midnight blue and it seems to handle the summer much better with similar blooms and fragrance. WIld Blue Yonder has struggled for me also. International Herald Tribune is a winner. It reblooms steadily and doesn't seem to mind the heat.

I agree that you are more likely to be successful with Ebb Tide because of the disease problems that Angel Face brings to the party.
Angel Face is beautiful and fragrant and if I lived where BS wasn't an issue I would absolutely have it. It is superior to Ebb Tide in most areas to my eye, but that disease tendency is so bad it defoliates for virtually the entire year. I finally got rid of mine after it's third year when it was apparent the problem wasn't going to improve with plant maturity. Some roses actually do get more disease resistant with age.
Ebb Tide is intriquing and sometimes frustrating.
Ebb Tide can be beautiful, but can is the operative word. As the other said, it doesn't bloom nearly so nice in the heat of summer. They are smaller, lighter colored, and fewer in number. Sometimes the Spring flush puts out some--not all-blooms that have funny diamond shaped very small petals and it isn't attractive. On a spray, the petals are either all afflicted or not at all. Fall blooming is generally the best. Blooms are plentiful, good sized, deep purple, and fragrant. They make good cut flowers as well.
When Ebb Tide is good, it is very good. But, sometimes it can be somewhat contrary to what I want my roses to do.
Good Luck.
Blessings,
John

I grow both. I prefer the flowers of Angel Face, and it is also my husbands favorite. It IS a problem child here, although the one I planted this year has done better than last year's planting. My Ebb Tide did very well and stayed clean for a long time in my no-sprayed garden. The purple is breath-taking, but the flower form is not as appealing to me as Angel Face. They are both very fragrant, but different. AF is intoxicating. ET is interesting.

Thanks for the pictures Kathy! Anyway, I guess we figured out the secret to Angel Face, so this thread has been very informative... hot and dry weather, you will love Angel Face, otherwise, not so much. I think that those of us who deal with dry 90 degree weather on a regular basis are so happy to see some flowers, we really don't care what the rest of the bush looks like at all. Every flower I get is a treasure, well at least every one without the crispy edges, (like Angel Face!)