I found one last spring at a discount store....there was only one nestled among hundreds of Peace, Mirandy and Fragrant Cloud. I buy all my roses from mail-order companies and try to resist the urge to look at the cheapo bodybag roses when I go shopping, but this rose spoke to me. It wasn't in the best shape, with only 2 heavily-waxed & puny canes but I considered myself lucky to have it. I can only go on last summer but it did well, considering its humble beginnings. It got about 3 1/2 feet tall and had about a dozen blooms. I don't detect much fragrance but the blooms are very large. Mine was mostly healthy all summer, and like Terry said, the Japanese Beetles weren't interested in it much. I hope it makes it through the winter, esp. considering the WAY-below zero temps. out there right now. Here's what mine looked like.... Celeste

Dana - I have swollen buds also on MM. I was worried cuz the roots were so short. The other Peaces have some some big swollen buds also. I have about 40 roses arriving next month plus some other perennials. I'm planting a hillside so DH doesn't have to mow there. I'm lucky; have 2.5 acres...lots of room. I am getting Country Dancer also along with some other great Bucks. Yesterday was great outside - 69 degrees!; cut down all my clematis and cleaned out some hydrangea beds. Now talking snow again tonight and tomorrow. What a tease! Also forgot ...have lots of clematis to offer also. They can be white or purple..they spring up all over the place. -t

Hi, Jasmine and Beth, Jasime, I am sorry your rose didn’t make it. Where do you live and planting zone? Do you have other roses? Do they do well? If I can be of any further help let me know? roses can be amazing with a little TLC. Dont be discouraged,, try again. If you tell me about your property areas where you can plant roses, your soil and what you tried I may be of assistance? Beth, I am happy to hear of your wonderful new location. Where do you live, zone? Location, climate, sun, good soil, fertilizer, amd some TLC weekly is everything to roses. My first 2 roses, 30 yrs ago, I ever had , bloomed once then didn’t bloom for a year until I read a book on roses and I learned to remove the wilted roses/& rose hips weekly, (ha, ha!) so then they started blooming every week. Then I became addicted to roses and reading about them... lots of TLC and they may thrive on much of the US or elsewhere. IDEAS ON SELECTING ROSES: I have been reading about grafted (budded) /and own-root roses, lately. Own root roses are more hardy growing from their own roots. Grafted roses are a new roses gradted to another hardy rose’s roots. Buying bare root roses in bags from cheap suppliers such as home improvement stores may be grafted roses I have read. I am going to check my roses to see which are grafted which don’t last well in cold winters. grafted roses after 5-15 yrs send out suckers that are the original root rose with a different color which then dominates your rose. They are cheaper to grow so suppliers grow them in fields, pull them out and wrap them in bags to sell as bare root. I prefer own root roses as I need hardy roses that will last a lifetime. It costs more to buy them as they come in pots. Heirloom roses only sells own root roses. I have a list of other suppliers and I am checking them all now... Some bare root roses are grafted and some are own root, though. You have to look at a illustration of how they look different. Grafted roses have a graft on stem above a bud. Own root roses have no graft. So I will check all my bare root roses to see which have the graft. David Austin roses have many grafted which I purchased. DA have own root roses, too. DA roses are so beautifu! I prefer ”own root,” but I love all my DA roses. Princess Alexandria of Kent (from David Austin Roses, in Texas) i can’t wait for spring.... to see your roses Beth in photos? I’m sure they will be beautiful! Happy Gardening, Kitty

Crapes tend to have a not very promising outlook in the Puget Sound area. While the plants will generally survive okay, flowering is typically very limited in all but the most heat reflective situations - it simply seldom gets hot enough here for long enough to stimulate blooming on a reliable basis. Some of the older hybrid cultivars - like 'Natchez' or 'Cherokee' - will produce flowers in most summers if well sited but have yet to see any of the more recent introductions have similar results. In general, these shrubs just tend not to be great selections for the PNW. For a somewhat similar effect, I'd look at one of the dark leaved ninebarks or Sambucus (elderberry). At least you will be assured of flowers with them.