thanks to all of you for helping me with a new rose selection for my garden. I ordered the Duchesse d Brabant yesterday from the Rose Emporium in TX.

Doing a little googling this am I found this article:

"Here is another Earth Kind rose for you to consider for your landscape.

Earth Kind roses have been through rigorous statewide testing and evaluation by a team of horticultural experts and found to possess a high level of landscape performance and outstanding disease and insect tolerance or resistance. Earth Kind roses are among the most thoroughly tested and environmentally responsible plants for the use in Texas landscapes. Earth Kind roses are certainly not immune to pest problems. However, their tolerance to pests is so great that they rarely require the use of chemical pesticides.

We will be covering the 15 different Earth Kind roses that are currently available. The ninth rose that we will cover is Duchesse de Brabant.

Duchesse de Brabant was introduced by Bernéde (France) in 1857 and named for The Duke of Brabant, who was a Belgian prince. President Teddy Roosevelt was very fond of this rose and often wore a bud or flower as a boutonniere. This cultivar has large, pink, extremely fragrant flowers and blooms continuously throughout the growing season. The flowers are very double with a unique cabbagelike appearance.

Cultivar name: Duchesse de Brabant

Blossom color: Rose Pink

Blossom and fragrance: Very Full

Fragrant blooming period: April-November

Mature height: 4-6 feet

Mature width: 4-6 feet

Rose category: Tea

Growth habit: Medium

Shrub landscape uses: Like so many of the old roses, Duchesse de Brabant works well as a stand-alone specimen, providing a useful accent in a perennial border.

This shrubby bush has a spreading form that reaches 4 to 6 feet. Adequate spacing is required for this selection to maintain optimum growth and flowering.

When planting Earth Kind roses in the landscape be sure to plant it with plenty of room around it to ensure air movement will occur around the rose. This will aid in the reduction of diseases on the rose. It is always a good idea to plan enough room when planting your Earth Kind rose that it will have at least 1 foot of extra space around the rose based on the mature rose size. Earth Kind roses also need to be planted in full sun, as this will reduce disease problems on the roses as well."

www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2009/feb/07/duchesse-de-brabant-rose-roosevelts-favorite/