Ruth does not post here, but she has written quite a lot, especially about Noisettes. The Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Heritage Roses, wich was held in Charleston several years ago, contains some articles by her, and it is available from the Heritage Rose Foundation. Also, the Charleston Horticultural Society's new book on the history of the Noisette class of roses is just newly out. As soon as the supply arrives, the HRF will be selling it as well. That book is dedicated to Ruth, and contains a couple chapters by her. Here is a link that might be useful: The Heritage Rose Foundation Web Site

Mine was a late season buy from an Agway that I think neglected it - on black pavement, no elevation for pot, near traffic, and it looked stressed. But the color is my daughter's favorite, she had just gotten engaged to a baseball fan, I figured it was supposed to come home. I planned to nurture it and give it to her when they bought a house. It died. But two years ago I was given an OSO Easy rose, Cherry Pie, with many of the same positive attributes. It is now in a giant pot on my deck, since it really isn't the right color for any of my rose gardens. If daughter doesn't want it, I'm keeping it as a deck plant, wintering it in a ditch under protection.

I planted a CRAMOISI SUPERIEUR (from Countryside Roses) in my mother's coastal Virginia USDA zone 7b garden about three years ago. It is very humid year round in her garden and the blossoms have never balled. The foliage (what there is of it) has shown very good resistance to black spot. Here is where I think your dissatisfaction lies. Like most China Roses, Cramoisi has thin wiry canes that are sparsely foliated. The leaves are very small in comparison to other roses. The effect is very "airy", i.e. the shrub looks naked. I compensate by growing lots of lavender around it. There is some debate about how to differentiate CRAMOISI SUPERIEUR from LOUIS-PHILIPPE because the globular flowers and growth habit are so similar. According to Vintage Gardens, Louis-Philippe is the only one of the two that has the moderate-to-strong cherry candy fragrance. My advice, given the similarity, is to stick with Louis-Philippe. Another option is to take a look a the new DOUBLE KNOCK OUT shrub rose. I saw it recently at a garden center and the rounded clear red flowers reminded me of Cramoisi Superieur. The bush on the other hand was lushly foliated. Of course, the light fragrance didn't give the same level of satisfaction, but alas you can't have everything. BTW, I'd really like to know if CLIMBING CRAMOISI SUPERIEUR has the same fruity fragrance as the shrub version. Here is a link that might be useful: What is your favorite red Old Garden Rose?

I also have this rose and grow it in a climate probably more like yours in terms of humidity and heat. It does indeed ball in damp weather, though it is more floriferous than most and also has a fuller shape than some unpruned teas. I don't, however, think I would buy it again. The flowers are good, of medium tea rose size, and in spring and fall have an attractive mix of pink, apricot, and creme. However in hot weather the flowers can be almost indistinguishable from Madame Berkeley. They both bloom continually through the hot months but the flowers turn a sort of pale apricot for me. I guess I'm saying that it's not an indispensable rose but if you have the room for a lot of teas then it certainly would be worth a place.