Brighid, I know this post is ancient by now and that you've probably ordered already and moved on, but I loves red roses, too, and so have to chime in. (WARNING: I'm on holiday break, so I expect to ramble here) Regarding Papa Meilland, it is certainly variable in its performance, depending on where you are growing it. But the fragrance is on par with the very best rose fragrances you'll encounter. And at its best, the blooms are also terrific. For me on the Gulf Coast, it has been disappointing in the garden, primarily because its blooms don't last at all on the bush and have inconsisten form, and because it is a quite gangly grower, which in the compact garden dimensions I work with is not ideal. But if you've got a space where the bush is not prominently displayed, perhaps behind other roses, its definitely worth trying as a source for cut flowers. As unappealing as mine has been in the garden--we're hot and humid here--the cut flowers last quite respectably long in a vase in my air conditioned office. And the color is wonderful, starting out a deep red and aging to a deeper purple-red, but an intriguing almost blackberry color, not the ugly bluing-magenta mess that some crimson roses suffer from. Despite its reputation for disease, Mine from Heirloom has had no particular problems. Powdery Mildew is hardly a problem here, but blackspot is, if anything, even worse here than in the Pacific Northwest --yes, I know, hard to believe. I spray preventively all my roses, and Papa M. has stayed clean for me. I've never grown Janice K., so can't comment. But Ingrid was just so-so for me. Again, climate probably matters a lot. Mine had intensely red blooms, very lovely, but never had the impeccable exhibition form that others rave about. And no scent at all, but maybe that's my nose's deficiency. My wife tells me that even roses like Olympiad and Vino Rosso are very fragrant to her. Go figure! Anyway, you're growing conditions are quite different, so I'm glad you've ordered it. I really like S&W as a nursery source, btw. I did not notice you mention what other reds you have. I just feel compelled to make a few plugs. I grew up growing roses as a kid in the Puget Sound, WA area --Olympia specifically. This was in the late 70s to mid-80s. Mr. Lincoln was hands-down my best red then. You Must get it if you haven't and if you don't mind a tall 7ft+ bush. Intensely fragrant, big fat, rich red blooms. Wonderful! Another one to grow for sure in your climate is Deep Secret. Its fragrance is on par with Papa M. and Mr. L., a much shorter bush, only about 3ft tall, but very bushy and nicely shaped. Blooms only measure up to 4 inches, but are nevertheless very pretty; one of the deeper reds, nearly black outer petals with intensely red centers. It starts with decent exhibition form then opens out into an old-fashioned quartered look. Anyway, mine suffers through our summers here but in early spring and mid- and late-fall it is spectacular. I know it will like your climate. Heirloom sells it. got mine from Just Joey's, which I think no longer operates? Veteran's Honor is superb, I believe wherever it is grown. Consistently superior form, big blooms on thick stems. A very robust, spreading grower, and even has a very pleasant raspberry fragrance. True red, if not the most intense color. Opening Night thrives in modest tempts, too, and its color rivals Ingrid in intensity. Its the offspring of Ingrid B and Olympiad. Unfortunately its got virtually no fragrance, like Olympiad. But its beautiful and healthy. I haven't (yet) grown Pride of England, which you can find from Heirloom Roses, their "English Legend" section, a beautiful rose that reportedly loves that climate. My most beautiful red has to be Vino Rosso, aka Vino Rossi, which I've only had a year so expect to get even better. It's from Steve at Wisconsin Roses (an online source). He has great prices. You just have to email him to get on the list for this one. Rich, rich, wine red blend of shades, with stunning form, and blooms that last easily 2 weeks. It looks like a beautiful sculpture and holds its pinpoint exhibition form, seemingly forever. I forgive it is lack of scent (this is one my wife considers fragrant), : ) It has been a great bloomer. Steve says it takes its time getting established, then is a powerhouse prolific bloomer. Mine's done great even its first year. Now toward the end of that year I'm starting to see the blooms get bigger on thicker, longer, straight stems, wonderful for cutting. This is a winner. Red Intuition --also from Wisconsin Roses, has just ok form, but terrific prolific bloom performance, healthy, trouble-free. This is really a red-blend, a red-on-red striped rose; it is absolutely unique in coloring, but the overall effect is medium red. Blooms last a long time for me. No scent at all. Alec's Red --a Scottish rose, I think. Should love your climate. Really only starts out true red, then finishes deep deep pink. But the blooms are big, very full, and intensely, sweetly fragrant. Only average disease resistance; needs protection from blackspot. Others I've grown: Dame de coeur --just ok, but healthy and easy. I could not detect any scent, though others do Erotika --deep, rich red, quite variable form, which was frustrating to me, but terrific intense raspberry fragrance Black Magic --gorgeous, scentless, very tall but bushy, not gangly. Needs protection from blackspot for sure. Proud Land --a bland, shapeless mess for me, but that might have been just an aversion to the Gulf Coast. Chrysler Imperial --still have it, a consisten performer for me, very fragrant, parent of Papa M. and Mr. L. Average height, a lighter red than either of those. Its reputation is that it prefers warmer climates, so I don't necessarily recommend it to you. Certainly get Mr. Lincoln before Chrysler. Olympiad --a fine red rose, healthy, good production of blooms, true red that doesn't fade. But scentless, and not the richest of reds. I am not excited by this rose, but it is good and trouble-free. Someone mentioned Europeana above. That floribunda has classic ruffly floribunda form, not the newer pseudo-hybrid tea form of some. Terriful bright red color and very prolific, but mine was one of the worst blackspot magnets I've every grown! Watch out for that. Beloved, aka Cesar Chavez, deep deep, intense red, sparkles in the garden here. Slight fragrance, tall and bushy. I don't know how it will do in the Pacific Northwest. I'm sure I'll think of others after I hit "send" but that's enough rambling for now, especially since you probably finished ordering months ago. ; ) Mike

I can't remember when it riped. Thanks Bass for the photo. Maybe Bass can remember. He lives a little further up from me. I also purchased a Lemon fig at the same time. It is a decent fig (yellow). Produce a few figs. Hopefully a lot more this year. The end of last season I purchased a Monticello Marseille (different than the one listed on the site)and Italian Black. I didn't get any figs. It was to late. Petals from the Past will send you a decent size fig for that price. Also, before you purchase anything. Ask them what do they have that's not on the list. It seems that they have added a few more figs since I made my last purchase. Jazz

Thanks everyone for your posts. It's so interesting to see what other people are seeing in different locations. :-) I've seen several albino and leucistic birds in the West Desert of Utah in the last few years. It's funny this thread started, because my BF and I were just commenting on the fact that we seem to see a large number of these birds - compared to other areas of the country I have lived. The best (to me) was a White Raven. After it fledged, I never saw it again. We routinely see leucistic Eurasian Collared Doves with various amounts of white. And last summer we had a white House Sparrow for many months. We also have various colors of House Finch - from the normal red to other shades of orange and yellow. I have been birding for 30+ years, but I'll only comment on these ones I've seen in the last 4-5 years in Utah. It's always fun seeing something a little different :-) Candy This post was edited by zaffisc on Tue, Feb 26, 13 at 13:15

He's gorgeous, Sandy! I think that our baby is six weeks old today - I'll have to count up! LOL I, too, am dreading "mom" having to go back to work. Sigh..........