Phil, it is similar to Abba Dabba Do- except much lighter - I got good contrast on the pic above , contrast is much more subtle - so we'll see in a few years how much different. I have Abba Dabba Do about 20 feet away and it is much darker. I saw a similar plant in the Dean Garden from the tours - so I'm guessing not an unusual sport. Here's Abba Dabba Do and the above sport both taken July 4th for comparison- I'm gonna label it "Abba Dabba Honeymoon" from song Monkey and the Chimp. Paul

Well, it's been a while, folks, so here's an update. Ken's 1000% recommendation of Whirlaway as "the best mini/miniflora" regardless of color sold me on getting it; that and the fact Ken's in the Gulf Coast climate too, or close to it. Whirlaway actually arrived for me last week. No blooms yet, but Ken, I expect good things! I have to apologize for my comments on Peter Cottontail. The first misshapen yellow bloom turned out to be just one of those early "practice" blooms. It took a little time to establish, but by this mid-autumn it's produced some wonderful big, ivory-yellow blooms, perfect hybrid tea shape and floribunda size. Not very many blooms yet, but they have each lasted one-and-a-half to two weeks on the bush. Pretty darn good. I wouldn't call this rose white, though. To me its more yellow and less white than, say, Fairhope, which is classed as a yellow. Moroseaz, Linville is definitely a keeper for me. I've had one for 4 years now. I actually have a second one that's about a year and a half old. But Linville has not been pure white for me. That's probably your 100+ temps that give you white. Mine is antique white with a wonderful soft eggshell-pink blush to the centers, very reminiscent of how French Lace looks in cool climates (which is dissapointing for me in my climate). In winter, Linville's blooms get bigger, close to 2 inches across, open more slowly and are the softest icy pink rather than white. By the way, how's your Memphis Magic doing in Arizona? Mine is also nearing the end of its first year and has not produced a lot of blooms but HAS slowly but consistently produced gorgeous and long-lasting nearly black roses. One of my favorites already, just from its sheer beauty.

Haahahahaa! Karen this is SO funny. I'm bursting into laughter reading these posts again, and remembering writing and reading them at the time. Well done! And my favourite part about Martha Stewart dropping in with her dish towel parachute!!! WAY too funny!

'I'm wondering if another rose somehow started growing with Tiara' From what I can make out from your photograph of the whole plant, there's a possibility it could be your plant's rootstock. If you look at the stem of the 'different' bloom, then at the cane it's growing from, then follow that cane down to the cane it's growing from, etc., all the way down to the bottom; does the original cane come from below the thick knobbly bit (=the bud union) that all the other canes grow out of? If so, it may be the rootstock. If it is, then any other blooms that have grown from that particular basal cane's offshoots, should have looked similar, at least in form, to your 'different' rose (they may not necessarily have had the pink flecks). It's a bit of a long shot, because all the canes look pretty similar to me, whereas usually a rootstock will look quite distinctive from the rest of the plant. However, it depends on what it is. If it does appear to you to be the rootstock, and you're interested to know the name, you could contact the supplier and ask what rootstock they would have used for your Tiara. Hope this makes sense, and do ask again if there's something you're not clear about. Comtesse :¬)