I got my 1st open blooms in Zephirine Drouhin and Abe Darby just this week in Columbus. Then again, my roses are not "mature" plus I think I kind of fertilized them to the point where they threw out a ton of growth(too much actually), which put the emphasis on size instead of blooming. I just wish it would stop raining as it's making the rose bush's fall over and increases the possibility of balling...which I never really never have an issue with...but I don't like it to be relevant from the rain. We are on day 3 straight of rain in Columbus. My Pat Austin fell flat on it's face...went from an upright shrub to an arching shrub...as long as the winds stay low, I think she will be OK, but a lot of my roses are getting a HARD pruning after the spring flush. I really underestimated the scope of how much new growth I would get from 2nd year roses coming out of dormancy and they really need a stronger foundation. Live and learn.

Leslie my ROSs aren't blooming yet but they all have lots of buds. I really didn't expect to see buds a week or 2 ago as they usually don't flower until last week of July, usually first week of August. My spring flowering plants were late this year but my summer flowering ones seem to be early. Strange year.

Kate -- I do not know much about Akebono. I recently became interested in Japanese roses after falling for Mikado and looking into the history of the hybridizer. (even though Akebono and Mikado have different hybridizers) That's one thing I just love about roses, all have a story and there is so much to learn. I looked up the minis on the Kordes site (the label said it was a Kordes rose) and I think it is Pink Poetry Kordana. Lothlin -- Yeah, George Burns makes quite a statement! Grimaldi is loaded with blooms, so even though the opened form isn't my favorite, the splashes of color make it a keeper! Sara-Ann -- thank you! I was surprised at how nice the Dick Clark bush looked on only it's second year. Jim -- thanks! I am a huge fan of the striped roses. They always put on such a show!

All the plants have buds and Munstead Wood is the first to bloom-- 9 flowers have opened and 9 more developing. I gave them water and nothing else for weeks, then as they started getting bigger, sprinklings of bloodmeal and half-doses of fish emulsion. At some point I tried giving them a bit of diluted potassium with indeterminate results. (Maybe because I got muriate of potash instead of the potassium chloride, sulfide or whatever it is that's supposed to be better?) Once I gave them water left over from cooking beans (no salt) and they seemed to like it fine. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the whole plants yet, but they do seem like they are taking off. Though Munstead Wood, Lady of Shallot, and Jude the Obscure are growing with big open spaces between canes-- I don't know if these are the reported David Austin octopus arms, or pest damage to terminal shoots that would otherwise fill out the center of the bush, or particular growth habit in Houston, TX weather, or if it's just something it'll grow out of after a year and some pruning. The other, younger two plants that I've messed with the least, Lady Emma Hamilton and Brother Cadfael, have much more attractive foliage and look more bushy/shrubby. LEH has sixteen buds already and is nicely rounded, while BC, who has been growing tall thick canes and took the longest to leaf out and bud, looks more like a sturdy column shape. They are all at least two to three and a half feet off the soil level. So far the scent on MW is very sweet, like berry candy and rosewater (rather than dried rose petals), and seems stronger after a fish emulsion feeding. Can't wait for the others! Thanks to everyone for being present on this forum. I've been going through a lot of posts and learning a bunch!