Thank you for the "Benny Lopez" suggestion. It does seem to be an interesting and beautiful rose. Do you think it has some China influence, though? I wanted to try and get the Portlands which showed little or no China influence, following the lead from Vintage Gardens' list of Portlands. The roses commonly placed into that class which showed China influence were considered Hybrid Perpetuals by Vintage, and "Benny Lopez" gives me the impression that's more like what it is. I'm not against the idea of it in the garden by any means, but I have a little hobby-project going on in my head for the next few years, and I wanted to use the non-China Portlands for breeding experiments. The "true" Portlands (or Damask Perpetuals) get their remontancy from Autumn Damasks rather than Chinas, and I wanted see what could be bred without using genes from Chinas for rebloom. That's why I ordered 'Blanc de Vibert', 'Indigo', 'Pickering Four Seasons', 'Rose de Rescht' and 'Rose du Roi (original)', as well as 'Quatre Saisons Blanc Mousseaux', 'Rosa fedtschenkoana', 'R. moschata', 'Reverend Seidel' and "Secret Garden Musk Climber" and the old Gallicas for the garden -- with ulterior "mad scientist" motives. :-) ~Christopher

Here in my coastal So. Cal. garden, 'Rose de Rescht' 's leafing out is about par with everything else--neither early or late. I have a 'Rose du Roi' (the original, not the "of commerce") immediately adjacent to a 'Pickering Four Seasons'; and, in light of the theory that Pickering represents a sport of Roi, it's maybe worth pointing out that my Pickering's leafing out is about two weeks ahead of that for Roi. About 'Jacques Cartier' and 'Marquise Boccella', the difference is the height of the plants. The *Magazine of Horticulture* of 1849, as well as Rivers in at least 1846 (keeping track of the differences between Rivers' various editions would be an interesting task!), find the Marquise to be "dwarf"--more so than the likes of 'Baronne Prevost', 'Duchesse de Sutherland', and 'La Reine'--while 'Jacques Cartier', in my experience, always quickly reaches six feet plus. Alice Flores had nursery rows of the short and the tall, and kindly provided me with one of each years ago. I grew them next to each other, under exactly similar conditions, and the height difference remained constant; also, for me, the 'Marquise Boccella' was not as profuse as 'Jacques Cartier', and I eventually got rid of it. With some observation and hard work, commerce could straighten out which of the two is being offered and could present them under their right names. It makes a difference, as I'd definitely recommend 'Jacques Cartier' (the tall one), but am dubious about 'Marquise Boccella' (the short one). 'Rose de Rescht', however, is always good; and the original 'Rose du Roi' is really a magnificent rose. Hurrah for the Damask Perpetuals/Portlands!

I garden in coastal So Cal, and the Pickering Four-Seasons rose is one of my favorites. Mine is own-root. It comes an intense bright shade of not-exactly-cerise not-exactly-rose but somewhere in that area, and has the quality of looking as if lit from within. The fragrance is a delicious spicy damask. The bush is well foliated with handsome leaves. Mine is planted in the best soil in my garden--the natural adobe was moderated first by its falling heir to lots of sand obtained for use in mortar for a brick edging, but in excess of need, as well as to a quarter century of leaf mold from a row of eventually-removed Catalina Cherries. It grows to maybe five and a half feet each year, and is of an erect habit. Its exposure is a rather strange one, as it is hemmed in on one side by a wall, and on the other, at a distance of perhaps ten feet, the house; consequently, it only receives full sun from about one PM to three or four; but during those hours, it gets it from all directions between the direct sun and the sun reflecting from the various surfaces. To make your choice about container or soil: The critical factor, I think, is the nature of your natural soil. I had a specimen of this growing in the usual hard adobe; and while it grew and bloomed, and the flowers were beautiful, it wasn't very enthusiastic. In the splendid soil it is in now, it's passionate about life. Hope this helps!

Portlands have been one of my two favourite rose types since I discovered OGRs. Hope you enjoy the photos. I find them small lovely tight bushes for the most part and very floriferous.Unfortunately I am not a fragrance buff so can't tell you much about them. I am more a form and color fellow and this rose type is perfect for my one (with protection). i have lost a couple to winter but retain the photos but for the most part they -do well with protection. Arthur Sansal Duchess of Portland Indigo in Transition Panachee de Lyonais Jacques Cartier Joasine Hanet Marie St Jean Miranda Rose du Roi Sydonie