The individual flowers on Basye's Blueberry won't last as long as those of the more double types (they're single, or nearly so, depending upon the season and climate), but the plant is wonderful. It can get large; it's THORNLESS; deciduous, so there is autumn foliage; it sets gorgeous hips for added autumn/winter interest; and I've never seen it contract any disease in any garden (including mine) I've ever encountered it in. I don't know if it would be a bit "rustic" for your tastes, Ingrid, but you could do far worse as far as a quality "plant" is concerned. Snowbird is gorgeous for an older, white HT. It CAN mildew, but it's remained in my garden for over thirty years. I'm not familiar with Grand Dame, other than what I see on line. Kim

Ingrid, if Grand Dame is the one you really want, you should try for that one.

I looked at my local nursery to see if they carried it, they did last year in their rose fields so it was probably in their first of January bareroots. I would guess it would be grafted coming from Weeks or Star or who ever is supplying it.

If you are interested, I can ask there and see if they are getting it in.

We live in a warm climate and have both Grand Dame and Snowbird. Our GD has been in the ground for 3 years and has grown into a very dense plant around 6 feet high x 4 feet across. It is a fast repeater and is spectacular in full bloom. This was one of our best roses during the summer of 2014. We picked many to bring indoors throughout the summer-nice long cutting stems and excellent fragrance.

We got Snowbird from Burlington Roses around 4 years ago and it is now around 3.5-4 feet high and now 5 feet across. It also repeated fairly quickly and the flowers were quite nice with flowers in the 4-6 inch range.

We grew BB some years ago and did not care for it as much as GD or SB.

In my opinion, both are worthwhile roses-glad that I don't have to choose between them.

Grand Dame is fairly new and was everywhere locally this spring. See if you can pick it up somewhere near you. I like the old fashioned sort of Grandma's rose look of it and the color seems to hold pretty well on it.

Ingrid,

Grand Dame is sold ( grafted) at local nurseries and gardens here. It appears to be a good choice for dry climates with hot summers, and is on my list should I find it feasible to place a second rose order this season. Based upon research, I have also considered Snowbird; for my climate.

I would only place Basye Blueberry in a micro-climate area protected from afternoon and late day heat.

Good luck deciding.

Lynn

Thank you all so much for your very helpful comments. Kim, BB sounds wonderful in the right place, but the spaces I have left are not that large so something more upright rather than spreading would be much better.

I have asked around locally but it will be a few weeks before the nurseries here get in their new stock. I think I'm going to wait for them to arrive before I make a final decision. John, thank you for your detailed answer; it really helps that you have both Snowbird and GD. Since GD takes up less space horizontally that would work best for me. "Fast repeater" and "spectacular in full bloom" are stellar attributes. If Kippy and seil have seen it locally then that makes me hopeful that I can find it here also. There's the added benefit of it already being a good size. My garden is chock-full of "junior" roses, some of which are growing very slowly, so a more mature plant would be most welcome.

Ingrid

Lynn, your message arrived while I was composing mine so I didn't see it. Your comments have solidified my decision to choose GD and to look for it locally. I didn't realize that this rose was so popular and easily available at nurseries. I don't have many grafted roses but will certainly make an exception for this one.

Ingrid

Ingrid: Grande Dame here is entering its second year and not yet fully established. I'm looking forward to showing its stuff next spring. It has a great fragrance and the bloom is quite large. The color is a bit more intense than most in your garden and it would blend well with a light pink such as SdlM. As mentioned earlier it should be locally available. -Nancy

Nancy, Grande Dame will be next to Bishop's Castle in a bed that is close to the house and not in a place where it will compete with the wild landscape. It won't hurt me to have a stronger color as long as it's not bright red or orange, which are two colors I cannot bring myself to like. I hope you'll show off your GD here next spring, as I'd really like to see more pictures of it. I can't wait for the nurseries here to get in their bare root roses; it shouldn't be much longer.

Ingrid

Hi Ingrid,
IâÂÂve had my Grande Dame (purchased grafted on Dr. Huey from a local nursery) for several years now. She loves my hot (but humid) climate. One of my favorite roses for wafting fragrance, bloom production (literally hundreds of blooms per flush and quick repeat) and long lasting, non-fading, beautiful flowers. As John stated, she's a very dense plant. She throws lots of new canes each spring which need support to hold the immense quantity of blooms produced. By late season those new canes are usually strong enough on their own, but I would advise adding support early in case itâÂÂs neededâ¦sheâÂÂs a quick grower and not easy to handle once sheâÂÂs put on some size. Here are a few shots from this year:

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Pat, I don't know whether to be thrilled or scared. Thanks so much for the lovely pictures. I'm not sure I've ever seen a rose that's so crammed with buds and flowers. It will be interesting to see whether it acts similarly in my dry heat, but frankly, given the space I have for it, if it were a bit less exuberant that might not be a bad thing. One thing is certain; I must have this rose. I'll let my husband figure out how to prop it up if it needs it. I so much appreciate your posting these photos. I feel really inspired now. My drought-plagued garden has been so dismal this year but this rose will really make a statement.

Ingrid

Those are mouthwatering beautiful pics of Grande Dame.

Since ordering a Snowbird alone from Burling would likely be under $20, I would just wait till bare root season if you can make it out to any nurseries that have a decent selection to get Grande Dame.

I've had good luck finding newer releases as bare roots at nurseries around here. I'm sure San Gabriel Nursery would have it if that is accessible to you, though I've never been there myself.

I would try both though, as they are quite different, lovely, and should be available for decent prices as a bare root and band from Burling.

Have you ever grown Perle d'Or, Ingrid? I feel like PdO could do well where you are and it is also carried by Burling.

Jay

Perle d'Or would grow like a house afire for Ingrid, but the petals are extremely soft and will fry. Kim

Shoot Pat, another grafted rose just does not fit with my plans......but that photo sold me.

Don't shoot the messenger :)

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Ooh this is sooo bad! Now I want a Grand Dame too!

Wonderful isn't it... can't get it over here...

Pat, if my rose looks anything like yours, I won't shoot you; I'll put you on a pedestal!

Ingrid

I'm happy to say that as of today I'm the proud owner of two 5-gallon Grand Dames. I looked for bare-root plants but couldn't find any. When I heard that a local nursery had it in containers I couldn't resist even though they cost over $50. Okay, I also now have an own-root Snowbird from Burling and so didn't have to decide between the two roses after all. Since I had already run amok, I then decided to order another rose from Burling 'The Faun'. After three years of nail-biting I decided to finally get rid of Spice which had really suffered in the drought and basically only looked good for about five minutes in spring. I had 'The Faun' before but in poor soil, and I want to give this pretty rose a second chance. In order to accommodate two 'Grand Dame' roses I removed a really substandard 'Intrigue' which didn't have much more than one cane. With these four great new roses now I really can't wait for spring!

Ingrid

Congratulations, Ingrid. You wanted to make a statement with Grand Dame, and with two you should be able to do that.

I also have Faun. It's a pretty little rose that does well enough in a shady location.

Best of luck with your new treasures.

jannike

Thanks, jannike. I'm glad to hear that The Faun flowers in the shade for you since I'm putting it in a place that does have morning sun but not a great deal in winter. I think that, contrary to my usual practice, I may pot it up to a one-gallon size before putting it in the ground since it's a tiny band, and give it more sun than it will have in its final location.

I must say that I'm a little tired of small, young roses since I have so many, and the humungous canes of the Grande Dames are a welcome sight.

Ingrid