Hi, just wanted to be sure to thank everyone!!! for their time and thoughtfulness about alternate roses, vendors, etc. Curlydoc thanks very much for the extra effort and for your Hortico pics... If I was an experienced gardener, I'd rush out and get the Hortico, but am thinking that because I am a first-time gardener I really need to make sure I can do a decent job with my 2 tree roses, the 2 Lincolns and the 2 Special Occasion first so indeed 2010 I will be making a full blast to 3! Sutter's Gold roses to add to the collection for next year... Roses Unlimited says that indeed they can hold the order and since I have heard so many terrific things about them, I will go ahead and wait for the 3. If Special Occasion does indeed flourish I will update everyone on what I think about the fragrance. According to Heirloom rose and a few other American growers it is "one of the most fragrant hybrid teas" but a bit too belatedly I found some U.K. sites that only listed it as moderate so we shall wait and see. It's a Fryer rose...

There must be a good clone in Italy because I've seen handsome plants of it around. We have it. My husband brought home a pitiful late-season bagged specimen a couple of years ago, which I planted in poor, dry ground where it was shaded by a buddleia. The thing not only survived, it grew and bloomed. This year, shaded, unwatered, unsprayed, with no fertilizer beyond the usual hay mulch, it's becoming a handsome plant, completely disease free, and blooming just fine. Amazing. I don't usually grow Hybrid Teas because I doubt they could handle our spartan culture (and experience confirms this suspicion), but 'Peace' is a remarkable exception. I personally don't like that style of rose, but I'm getting fond of it just because it is so tough. We're Zone 8, inland Mediterranean climate, and the only significant rose disease here is mildew (which 'Peace' doesn't have). Melissa P.S. Those photos are beautiful.

Peace is an amazing rose. Its one of those that no rose lover should be without. However, since its probably the most popular rose in the world, its constant reproduction has made it somewhat weak. At least that's what I read in "Right Rose, Right Place" an awesome rose book that I recommend. However, there are still good strains of Peace out there. I got one from Aldi 2 years ago and its been the only Peace rose that has thrived in my garden. (I've bought at least one Peace rose each and every year, I just love it so much, but they always died on me). This one Aldi Peace rose has been the healthiest of the bunch and has produced tons of beautiful blooms. I'm thinking I may have gotten one of the good ones. In the rose book I mentioned, the Author says that if your rose bush produces a very strong good cane, to try rooting that cane to produce a superior plant. I'd like to try that with my Peace rose.

Diane - if you love roses, you are in the right place! When deadheading, you can either just cut off the spent bud, or you can cut down to the first 5 leaflet - I do the leaflet as I think it gives the plant a more natural shape. Then, in spring before the rose starts sending out new growth give it a good pruning - here's an article that describes how to do it: https://www.heirloomroses.com/info/care/how-to/pruning/ Good luck!