I live in British Columbia and there can be wet, cold weather in spring. My Dark Desire is now 8 years old. It never, ever gets black spot and it is not overly thorny (the worst possible thorns are on Falling in Love.) These aspects are apparently very variable according to location. It would grow too tall and become leggy but I cut it down every sprng. I have to because the cold winter always causes some die off, but each spring it renews itself again. It needs a rejuvenation but I have no idea what more it needs than the fertilizer I provide each year. Too bad they can't talk.

This is all very new to me. I've never heard of Palantine Roses before now. So I must ask, why do you all have to order at a particular time? Are they no longer available after this date? Or do they run out of the most popular quickly? Is there a cut off date for ordering? Surely they don't ship them out now? Do you pay for them now and anxiously await for them to show up on your doorstep the first day of spring? Sorry for so many questions but you all seem to know more than any other place I've looked at that talks about roses and growing them. First off I need to know where to buy them. I'm not a big fan of Lowe's bare root roses. They seem to struggle to grow. Anyway, thanks for your time. ~ Annie

I have both of these roses in zone 5, and they're pretty different roses. Both are reliably hardy and bloom most of the season. I can't smell most roses and I don't reliably cut them for inside, so I'm no help on that one. Dark Desire is much taller and gangly as others have mentioned. The color is a to die for purplish red, but if you're looking for something closer to fire engine red this isn't quite a match. Because it's so gangly, it needs something to lean on or some supports when young (only had mine 2 years so it may toughen up). Mine is close to 6' by the end of the season, which is big for Nebraska. It might get bigger in warmer zones. It blooms off and on, with scattered blooms on the bush most of the season rather than the impression of a profusion of bloom. Here's a bloom shot: Here's what I think of as a typical bloom on Dark Desire: One reason I love the color is that you can get this nearly black effect in cool weather: Here's the closest I can find to a bush shot. The Oriental lilies are about 4' high, and there are other roses supporting DD as well as a stake or something nearby. DD isn't on the trellis, but I think I wrapped this clematis around both DD and the lilies to hold them up in my usual lazy fashion: Archbishop Desmond Tutu (or Tutu Sunbelt that Chris says is the same rose) is kind of the opposite of Dark Desire. It's compact and a bushy vase shape, never getting above 3' and suited for the bed around my mailbox. When it blooms, it looks like a bundle of roses clustered together because of the small size of the bush. The color is more true red with just a hint of blue/purple. This is as dark as the blooms get in cool weather: You can see the more typical color in this July shot. This is a full bush shot and shows the nicely branched shape as well as more buds on the way. For prolific bloom, I'd have to give ADT the edge over DD: So bottom line, you need them both (smile). If the color and form of DD makes your heart go zing, then that's the one you want. If you want a more traditional looking red rose that stays mannerly, then ADT is a better bet. If I had to choose only one, I'd probably reluctantly edge ADT for frequency of bloom, but the color of DD makes MY heart zing and I really wouldn't want to choose. Different roses, both good for different things. Cynthia

Thank you so much everyone! I do enjoy this rose a lot! Lilyfinch, if I can get a good picture of it when more blooms are open I will show the whole bush. Dianela’s looks fantastic! Vaporvac, I was so pleasantly surprised by the fragrance, even though I have many fragrant roses, there have been quite a few that the fragrance eludes me, it’s truly special when that changes.