nope, i too dislike great big blossoms. I want lots of small,( 3inch is perfect) blooms, all over the plant. I don't want stiff upright canes, either so I guess it is mainly old roses for me although I will also buy moderns if they fit mt garden.

Oh, I'm sure you're not alone, but I personally love the big blooms. That being said, I ended up getting rid of all my HT's because I was tired of the ugly bushes and I didn't want to spray anymore.

This was a picture I took of MAAB and my hearts still melts when I see it, but I won't go back to HT's.

{{gwi:336188}}

Laurie

Now that is a big bloom. MAAB? I agree Campanula, 3" is perfect. I do have one HT called Sunny Delight that has about 3" blooms and is covered all of the time. It's great.
Nancy

My HTs don't have huge blooms. I think it must depend on the rose.

Gaudy is a bad thing?

I didn't know.

Forgive me.

Well, it depends on what time of rose it is. For instance, I never get tired of looking at Evelyn. I love the light,pastel, feminine apricot colour. I remember last year, the blooms were huge and I just love the way how the petals were formed.

However, my first year, 'Golden Zest' has just started to bloom and I'm not excited about it . The color is bright yellow and shape of the bloom looks mundane - a typical feature of a hybrid tea rose.

Lol, Windeaux. ;0)

Duck, Nancy ;O) Just kiddin'.

Personally I prefer large or med-large exhibition HT blooms--those which have perfect form and long stems to use for bouquets. But in my cutting garden, I GENERALLY don't really want super-huge blooms (nor medium or small blooms either).

Wow, Ms Rose, that bloom on your former MAAB practically has me swooning!!! :)

Debbie

I prefer blooms 2.5" - 4"

Nance, MAAB refers to the HT MISS ALL-AMERICAN BEAUTY. :)

Debbie

Here is a link that might be useful: MISS ALL-AMERICAN BEAUTY at HMF

Gaudy is good.

Not gaudy at all to me; I like them. But I like them mixed in with other sizes. If all my roses had blooms of that size, it would trouble me. The only time I don't like them is when they get weighed down after a rain shower, and try to bend their stems. The bigger the bloom, the harder they fall.

I'm an OGR buff, very few of which have huge blooms and none are gaudy. So I'm with you. I can do without the Dolly Partons: roses, boobs and stage presence. Loud in any form is not my idea of beauty.

Sorry, but to me the bigger the bloom the better. Although I do love my minis.

Variety in folks opinions on what constitutes beauty is one of the spices of life. For instance, if styles of decor and architecture were worldwide all the same--what a boring planet this would be.

Debbie

WOW ! that is one huge rose ! I don't know, Nancy, I sure wish I had some huge gaudy blooms, it seems all I'm getting are tiny dime-size and pale muted.... Bermuda Kathleen is blooming and has these tiny blooms pale pink-whitish....Ducher is growing good but has had 3 dime-size blooms, period... and they drop the next day... I think because of the heat this summer they have all gone into a sulk and hope they come to their senses once the cooler weather comes.... and for bare-knees, I have companion plants across the front, and they are not noticeable.... the OGRs don't have bare-knees but they are shy bloomers, so guess it's a trade-off.... sally

I LOVES me some gaudy blooms!! My favorites?
Dolly Parton
Color Magic
Medallion
Valencia
Chicago Peace (ok, Peace isn't bad, either)
Big Ben
Lagerfeld

True, some of these definitely are a little bit needy in terms of care. But if I wanted trouble-free roses,I'd grow all knockout roses. Boring! A little pampering is part of the fun of growing roses. I actually have 3 china shrub roses in my yard. Actually rather pretty, but you have to walk up close to them to really notice the beauty of the flowers, and I never have to do anything to them and so I tend to forget about them. Funny psychology, but there it is. Big HTs are just so obvious, and I like that.

In my hot climate, blooms tend to be significantly smaller, except in November and April. So my Peace rose, instead of having 6in blooms will have 4 1/2 to 5in blooms, depending on the time of year and weather. Oh well.

I love little roses, too, and almost half my roses are minis or mini-flora, but big roses stand out in a vase or the garden without needing a large number of them. What matters more to me than size, though, is form. I've always been partial to florist-style high-centered blooms. There's nothing right or wrong about that. It's all subjective, I guess.

(Sheesh, I can ramble sometimes.) lol

I thought I like 3 inch blooms also when I first started expanding my rose gardens, but one day I looked around and realized I missed those big, fat HT blooms--so dug up a narrow bed over by the property line and planted 5 HTs -- love those blooms. Even then, I thought I didn't want them to be too gaudy, so I only planted 2 Peter Mayles there (hot pink!)--now I'm sorry I didn't plant at least one more. They are hot, all right--a regular eye feast!

Kate

For the most part 3-4 inch blooms are fine for me which is a good thing, since I grow mostly old roses. But I have to say, I love the blooms on Yves Piaget and would never want to be without this rose. It's not just the size though, but the unusual peony-like character of the blooms and the fuchsia color which turns more pearly pink as the bloom ages. It's all good. If this rose were orange or a bright red I'd run screaming out of the garden.

Ingrid

I have only one HT with really large flowers, most of my roses are OGRs, species roses or modest floribundas. But my Rose Gaujard with flowers like a young Savoy cabbage amuses me, it so outrageous it makes me smile. I have only one but Sean McCann once offered to send me one from his Irish garden because he mistunderstand me and thought I didn't have it. I am so sorry I stupidly thanked no because I would love to have more than one plant. I never get more than one flower at a time and don't want to cut that single flower for the house.

I like all kinds of roses, but some in small doses!

Marianne in Sweden

I like all types of blooms..sizes and colors. My Parole rose had huge blooms. I think small blooms are sorta boring! What I DISLIKE is that ugly blue red and raspberry color that some red roses turn when they are spent..I think for me color is more of a factor than bloom size. To each his own eh?

I hear you on that Mike. I have no issue with the care. If I did, I'd grow all old roses instead of my garden full of modern floribundas and Austins. Or I'd just grow tropicals that take care of themselves here.

Flaurabunda, you make a good point, a mix of sizes are nice.
Nancy

I'm with zyperiris on that icky blue/raspberry fade phenomenon. Some reds just outright turn me off. Ingrid Bergman is exquisite at her peak, but the fade turns me off.

World War II Memorial Day is my largest-bloom rose right now. It's about 5 1/2 inches across. I posted a test rose in the gallery today that has massive blooms. They had to be 6 or 7 inches across. It was in an AARS test plot in Chicago.

Falura, I like Ingrid..what I really dislike is Mr Lincoln at fade time

Love gaudy: big blooms and colors that make your eyes water and your cheeks hurt.

I also love tastefully done romantic gardens in pale pinks and whites.

I need more gardens.
Renee

I inherited the gaudy gene from my Grandma Pearl. Enough said.

You mean like this:
{{gwi:336189}}

I love them, esecially when they are at the stage of half way open, they look so pretty in a vase. That does not look gaudy too me. This is Johann Strauss and I love them big. "Size matters". LOL!!
groroses