That sounds beautiful, Ingrid!

Ingrid, which Aloha are you getting, the Boerner or the Kordes, they're both climbers & beautiful?

Jane

I wish I could get you a "Setzer Noisette," Ingrid. It's DNA matches 'Blush Noisette,' so it's apparently a sport -- but it grows as a nice, mannerly pillar climber.

I actulally had that rose, Jeri, years ago, from Joyce Demits ,but then had to leave that property and never really saw what it could do.

seil, I'm glad you approve. I think it will blend well with the color palette in that area. I've always wanted Blush Noisette because it's such a graceful bush in many pictures I've seen.

My MIL always cut her Mutablis to the ground every year. It came back nice and full and rounded very quickly. Worked for her. She did that for 30 years.

I was astounded when visiting Portland last year to see how Mutabilis behaves there. It gets some freeze damage and goes dormant, but comes back in July simply covered, covered with flowers. It looked like a far better performer there than it ever looks here. Not a great picture, but look at it here in Portland--stunning! Mine sure never looked that good.

hoovb, if my Mutabilis had even ONCE looked that good, I couldn't ever have given it up. As it is, I'm grieving its loss. I suspect that all that rain up north makes for a much more robust and happy rose that can take that much pruning. I did cut it way down once but was afraid to do that too often. Perhaps (for sure, I think) because of the drought it began to accumulate a huge amount of dead wood, which had not happened earlier. I plan to do some things differently with the new roses which I hope will give them a better chance at success.

I was going to mention that RdO is quite large, although spectacular. If you do get room for it, you must grow it. Mine was fabulous, but I lost it to RRD last year (right after I won best tea noisette with it at the Atlanta Rose Show!) But I do have a replacement. A long time member of our Rose Society is going into assisted living and wanted his roses to go to people who could care for them. So a bunch of us went to his home and dug up what we could. I saw RdO and thought, I can't dig that up. But I knew I wanted it. So with a little help from his son, we got it off the arbor and out of the ground. It's doing quite well in a large pot and I'll be planting it soon. The retiring rosarian seemed very pleased that his roses were going to good homes.

I love my RdO, but it did take 3 years to get big and is really blooming now for the first time.

Buford, I had grown Reve d'Or before, which is how I learned to love it so much. Unfortunately I planted it against a house wall and that spot was too hot. It grew backwards and is no longer with me. I don't think I'll ever have a spot on this property large enough to contain it, but at least I had it for three years and the memories are forever. What you did for the rosarian who had to leave his roses behind is so wonderful. I'm sure it made leaving his garden much easier to know that his roses would be loved and cared for instead of the new home owner coming in, taking one look and making it all a giant lawn "for the kids". I hope you'll enjoy his (your) Reve d'Or for many years.

Kippy, strangely enough my Reve d'Or began to bloom in its first year if I remember correctly, which is pretty strange. The Cl. Lady Hillingdon I have did the same thing, although I remember when I had it before elsewhere it also took three years for it to really begin blooming. Roses do whatever they want to do........

I was just at Chamblees Roses last Monday - they had plenty of Rev d'Or and they ship. I have a small one in a pot I bought last fall - doesn't look like it will get that huge right now, but have seen this rose at the Antique Rose Emporium and its huge. I have Aloha and like it a lot - its more of a tall shrub than a climber for me. Blooms lots.

Judith

Judith, on line Chamblee's indicated they had none available of Reve d'Or. In restrospect I'm glad I chose two roses for that spot, and one reason I chose Aloha is because it's more of a pillar rose than a climber so it shouldn't take up too much horizontal space. I'm glad to hear you like it and that it blooms a lot. I think it will be great.

Ingrid, like the Antique Rose Emporium, maybe Chamblees sells out of things online in order to supply their greenhouses. I know when I go to ARE - I call ahead and have them pull roses that say sold out on the website. I am rarely disappointed. If you call Chamblees, ask for Ron and ask when it might be available.........same with ARE. You will definitely like Aloha - it reminds me of Belinda's Dream with those lovely, formed blooms - which have no scent, its only drawback. One of these days, these nurseries will have a Rev d'Or - maybe get on their waiting list and they will contact you. My Rev from Chamblees is small because I got the one gallon rather than the larger one, so potted it up and will grow it in a pot until next year. Aloha will be a wonderful substitute!

Judith

Ingrid,..I'm sorry to hear that Mutabilis will no longer be seen gracing your garden, at least for the near future.... but you can look forward to this... I find Blush Noisette to be equally pretty in bud....

Judith, I'm glad you think I'll like Aloha. I trust your judgment and so far it's been very pretty in all the pictures I've seen.

Marlorena, what a lovely picture, thank you! Now I'm very eager to have this rose for myself. It's so soft-looking and graceful.

Aloha is a nice plant. I've never grown it in my own garden, but have admired it many times at the SJHRG.

Are we talking about the Boerner Aloha? The old pink 'shrub' HT? I planted that last year as a grafted plant. Can't offer a serious opinion since it is still young. FWIW it didn't bloom much last season and showed a definite tendency to mildew. But I've learned to be patient with roses. One thing to note is that it seems to have those octapus tendencies, the same ones that many Austin roses are often blamed for by some. I have read somewhere that it was extensively used in DA's original breeding program, I don't know if that's true.

I did notice on HMF that there seemed to be two different Alohas. I wish they wouldn't give the same name to different roses; it's so confusing. Now I'll have to check which one I have since Nik's description is a bit of a downer. I am NOT a fan of octopus arms.

I just checked and I do have Boerner's Aloha. Mine is own-root, if that makes any difference. Guess I'll just have to cope with the mildew and octopus arms. I will be growing it as a pillar rose, actually against a house wall, where it gets a lot of afternoon shade, so that might encourage the mildew. If it doesn't work out there are always other roses, but I'll certainly give it a few years to settle in. It really is quite pretty.

I was very surprised to see the performance of 'Mutabilis' in the PNW; another So Cal grower there at the time also remarked on how much better it was there than here. Just goes to show how rose performance can vary by climate.

I think even more true now since the So Cal climate has changed rather dramatically for the worse.

I was thinking of planting mutabilis in my 'real' Med climate. So what's the concensus about the conditions it prefers? I'm not sure neither what PNW is (Pacific north west google says) nor what it's climate is like....I suppose wet and temperate? A bit like England? Sorry for the ignorance, some things escape me since I'm thousands of miles away! FWIW Old Blush thrives here (with some supplemental watering in the summer).

...'Mutabilis' for me, is at the centrepoint of my garden, but near a window... at this time of year I so enjoy looking out on its reddish/ brown - mahogany foliage, well ahead of any other deciduous shrub.... it's about 5 foot tall from its cut back last summer.... I grow it with silver and purple leafed Pittosporums... and dwarf Narcissi....all looking good right now... later Geranium macrorrhizum in purple and white will flower around its base, for it is surrounded entirely by these.... and later still in July when the rose will be 7 or 8 foot...clematis viticella 'Etoile Violette'.. will force its way through the upper reaches of the bush and cascade downwards....

...it's a lot for any plant, but this rose can take it all....I simply cannot be without it...

Hi Nik--

Mutabilis thrives in Austin, TX, which may be a little closer to your climate than PacNW. We're definitely not cool and moist--rather, hot, droughty, and med-hi humidity. My hedge of 5 Mutabilis is currently blooming its tail off. We're Zone 8b, also, if that helps.

It rarely has any disease issues--we've never sprayed, and it's very free-blooming for us. We do have it on twice-weekly water, though. The only drawbacks to this rose for us are (1) it gets huge, and (2) sometimes its limbs get long and heavy and flop over in a graceless way, leaving empty spots in the middle of the shrub. My husband disciplined ours alarmingly vigorously last year with the pruning shears (cut them back about 1/3 and knocked any of those lanky limbs back to stubs or removed altogether), though, and they're now looking much tidier.

I really love ours--they have this riotous, hippie/flower child vibe that I find very endearing.