Carol, check out the bottle tree post and you will see the source of the bottle. I'm still debating what to do about the bottle trees...whether they go or stay. I think when the plants underneath them get larger they will look better; however, I only need one at the most.

"Do hybridizers dedicate entire greenhouses to a single rose like Old Blush in order to ensure a more pure/controlled cross and then let the seeds fly and "do their thing"?" While I'm sure some professional breeders isolate their parent plants in greenhouses to eliminate insect pollinators, I myself do not attempt to isolate plants from insects, nor did Mr. Moore. In many cases, his breeding plants were scattered around the nursery in blocks of five or ten plants per variety, and they were often out in the open in proximity to hundreds of other varieties. I remember seeing his pots of 'Sheri Anne' and 'Golden Angel' out in the back on benches alongside many other roses, receiving no special treatment. I'm not sure what you meant by "...let the seeds fly and "do their thing"? ", so I can't address that part of the question. The question seems to imply allowing seeds to drop wherever they fall and from then on they're on their own, but I doubt thats what you meant by that. Can you be more specific, please?

You have some nice flowers there, but I do not think that the red one is Rose du Roi either. My Rose du Roi is more red than violet, but I know there are two versions of the plant in commerce. One of the marks of the Portland Damask roses such as Rose du Roi is that the flower sits atop a very short peduncle. That is, the part of the stem that is between the flower and the first set of leaves below it is very short. The flower almost sits on top of the leaves. Your picture is more typical of some of the hybrid perpetuals and early hybrid teas. What you have in your picture resembles the hybrid perpetual Henry Nevard, but without a close comparison between the two, and, ideally, a DNA match, it is hard to say. It could be any of a number of varieties.

Strange that the GE Constant Color looks so purple. I have not known those bulbs to look that way. One solution might be to use an MR16 with a coated back, silver would my choice. That coating blocks all the backlight from the bulb. It will however only provide light down. There are also some specialty MR16 bulbs on the market that are rated 4600K which is very cool. Try getting some GE's from a lighting showroom, they should be in a small silver box. Sometimes there is actually a difference in the quality of the bulb that is made for the commercial market (showrooms will have them) and the ones in those retail packs you have. Perhaps the manufacturer of the fixture can tell you what the bulbs is if it came with the fixture. Glad to help with the coated back bulbs or the 4600K if you can't find them locally. ginger@yourlightsite.com, if you need me. Here is a link that might be useful: My web site