Ooo, nice picks! I saw that the Fall Restock included Hoag House Cream and almost pulled the trigger myself! It looks like it could be a terrific rose. I'm a big fan of Paul Barden's roses, but I haven't tried Golden Buddah yet. Distant Drums is a favorite of both mine and my mom. My mom has several grafted plants that do very well for her. I hope it fares well own-root for you! I did happen to order a Yolande d'Aragon. It is one of the relatively few HP/Portland roses I've heard should do well in my area and does best splayed/fanned out against a wall which is my intention. I gave myself a little time before deciding upon what has to be shipped along with it, but tentatively a replacement Mme. Berard (Adam). I have yet to fill in the spot formerly occupied by Adam. Whichever between Gloire de Dijon (from High Country) or Mme. Berard performs better will get the spot and the other will go on an arbor at my parents' home. At least that is my current plan, but things always change. Jay

Good point Chris, though I have Indigo and the color is different in person than the blooms on this rose. I really am not good at rose ID so I'm relying on the input of folks who know Gallicas better than I do to keep it in that class of guesses. I haven't found that my Indigo suckers (yet), since it only just survives my winters, but time will tell, eh? So far this mystery rose has stayed pretty contained but it's only coming into its third season this spring so it hasn't found its wings yet. I'll post more photos if I can catch it blooming, and welcome input. And Anne - I didn't mention it, but Alice Vena is also a RV rose and a gallica, so it's entirely possible. My impression from the HMF photos is that it's a bit more purple than this rose, but I'm sure that depends on the weather conditions. I don't recall if that one was in stock during the period this rose was a mystery rose, but we'll see as it develops further this coming spring. Cynthia

Well, as a little update, I think I figured out what my NOT 'Mme Platz' actually is. The blooms opened white, and looked a lot like those on the baby 'Mme Hardy' I got for the cemetery. But the rest of the plant was totally different. I checked alphabetically, and I'm almost certain that what I got is 'Mme Plantier'. And that's a good thing, because I was considering it for the cemetery, anyway, but didn't order it. So one less for me, one more for them. I'm not contacting RVR about a replacement, since the error is something I'd have wanted, anyway. On a related note, the second error from RVR arrived with the tag 'Duchesse de Rohan', but the plant looked a bit odd, being rather stiffly upright and showing China-influenced-but-still-OGR foliage. Then it sent forth flower buds, which began a deep dark purple-tinged red, opening "old rose red". Looking through the alphabetical list again, I think it's 'Duchesse d'Ossuna', which was another I was eyeing but didn't actually order. So, again, since the error turned out in my favor, I'm keeping it, and will re-order the other eventually without mentioning the mix-up. :-) ~Christopher

Thanks Noseometer and Rick for the extra info on mystery #1. The tips for October Moon are very sound and consistent with my own experience in zone 5. My most recent October Moon was stepped on (by whom, I refuse to admit), but the one before that didn't survive the winter in an average zone 5 spot. I have now put this October Moon in my most protected spot near the teas that I also overwinter. I totally agree that it would be better kept warm over the winter, but I absolutely cannot keep pots alive even in the summer, and trying to overwinter it even inside a garage much less house is simply asking for a gruesome rose death. To pamper my "fussy pants" rose, I stack filled leaf bags vertically like sentinels around the edge of the bed and within the bed wherever there isn't a rose, to provide a down coat effect. The teas sometimes have surviving cane, but mostly not. It's surprising that some teas can handle this - for instance, Maman Cochet is maybe 7 or 8 years old and lost all her canes to the ground this winter, yet bloomed along with the rest of the spring flush. Not a large plant by any means, but a survivor. It's good to know that teas are in the breeding history of some of Paul's roses, since that explains their dislike of the cold. There aren't enough people incorporating OGRs particularly teas into their breeding so that's still a welcome feature. I've found among Paul's roses that Oshun is normally hardy in my zone 6 pocket and Jeri Jennings finally survived on the 4th try in a protected spot. I'll have to try Treasure Trail there next year as it didn't like a full sun regular zone 5 spot. Joyce Barden and Dragon's Blood haven't survived even in my best spots, and Pam's Choice only gave me a couple of years in the tea bed (but oh, what blooms...). Won Fang Yon actually survived winter a year ago and the jury is still out for this past winter (I knew he was a long shot). Thank heavens Paul is also incorporating Gallicas into his breeding so cold zoners can benefit from his creations. Cynthia