I ordered three GCs a couple weeks ago and can't wait to get them in the ground. I've been growing a few other Austins here in Michigan. Jude the Obscure, Pat Austin, Bishop's Castle, and William Shakespeare 2000. I'm quite a novice, but have had success in Michigan planting bare root with either Austin's Rootgrow that contains mycorrhizal fungi or Espoma's Bio-tone® Starter Plus which is an all natural plant food enhanced with biostimulants, beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae. These must be in direct contact with the root to maximize effectiveness at planting. So planting bare root is a great way to go when using this approach. The theory is the fungi tap back into the soil to draw massive quantities of minerals and nutrients, mainly phosphorus, which a Rose desperately requires to bloom. I follow a regular schedule of Bayer All-in-One (3x per season), Rose Tone(3x per season), and Alaska® Fish Emulsion(4x per year). I know I contradict my otherwise organic approach by using the All-in-One, but I'm not a sprayer kind of guy. Someone told me that the Mycorrhizae improve plant growth and help the root system be more resistant to soil borne diseases. The roots give the Mycorrhizae sugars in exchange. They supposedly help improve performance for less-than-perfect soil, watering, and fertilizing. Again, I'm a novice. Very much so, but so far, this has worked for me.

I'm not sure what you've been reading but most sources state that it is exceptionally fragrant with a perfume that is a mix of tea rose and fruits like citrus, strawberry and lychee. Other sites call the fragrance "magnificent".

The Drift series has about a dozen different varieties including yellow. Each Drift variety has a different growth habit and a different flower form. The different named varieties of Drifts not only have different colored and shaped blooms, but varying growth patterns, from more upright to more spreading, all specific to each variety. What unifies the Drift group is their short stature, small foliage, disease resistance, and small, no dead heading needed flowers. They all are perfect front of a rose bed plants, hiding the 'naked ankles' of the taller roses growing behind them. Their relatively low thorn count, at least for the three varieties I grow: Popcorn Drift, Sweet Drift, and Apricot Drift is much appreciated. Dead heading is not mandatory for repeat blooming, but does make the bush neater and fresher looking, and causes quicker repeating, IMHO. Of the three Drifts that I grow, Apricot Drift stays the smallest and grows the most upright. The blooms are heavy petaled. In my garden a mature bush gets to be 18" tall by 20" wide. Sweet Drift is very heavy petaled, with distinct quilling of the petals as individual blooms age. It has a more spreading habit getting about 18" tall and 30" wide, but the width can be easily controlled to less width if desired. Popcorn Drift is my favorite. The 12+/- petaled blooms are cup shaped, starting off yellow then age to white, lasting a long time on the bush before getting tired looking. The bush itself is very nicely shaped neither very spreading, nor very upright, perfect, to my way of thinking being 20" tall by 24" wide. Moses

I loved my St Tropez when I first got it but no-- it rarely blooms. I have moved in ground it three times with no luck,  and I think I'm going to put it in a pot this winter to see if that helps Diane: Yes it has always puzzled me why your Julia Childs are always so beautiful and Sacramento's  always look so awful. But every time I go to the nursery in summer I make sure to take a picture of their Julia Child's to remind myself it's not just me! Carla in Sac