I miss this rose so much. My mom had one that covered her fence and it always bloomed right around Mother's Day. One day, two little boys came to the door to ask if they could have some roses for their mom, because their dad had left them and they had no money to buy her a gift. I asked them if they had a card for her, and they said no, so I took them to my son's room, pulled out his art supplies and we made her a gorgeous card. Then we picked roses and I wrapped them in a cone of pretty silver paper and sent them on their way. Every year after that, I wondered what had ever happened to those boys. Many years later, I was over at my mom's working in her yard, and this really ha dsome young man came up and asked me if I remembered him. I didn't, and he told me he was the smaller of the two boys that I had given roses to for his mom on Mother's Day. He said she told them it was the happiest day of her life. His brother was off at college, and he was going to Clemson the next year to study -- wait for it -- HORTICULTURE! I never saw him again, but I'll never forget those sad little faces begging me to help them make their mom's Mother's Day special.

O.K., enough of my silly stories. I just remembered that today when I saw the rose bush someone posted, and wanted to know if they will grow here. Everywhere says hardy to zone 9, which I know is 9a, because I've already tried growing them in 9b --- no go.