yay! Honeymoon! I got one last fall and can't wait for it to grow up!.

It's absolutely beautiful!!!

Thanks Diane, Carolina girl and everyone. My garden is a mess. I bought these from Chamblees last summer: Beverly, First Crush, Summer Romance, Zaide, Lion's Fairy Tale, mme Anisette. They're still small, didn't bloom much. Also have 3 Laguna climbers (2 grafted, 1 own root), the grafted ones repeated well. This year I have 2 Kordes coming: Earth Angel(grafted) and Karl Ploberger(own root). I might pick up more grafted Kordes at Palatine's in April.

Carolina girl, love yours! Have to collect one.

I ordered Michael Angelo (a romantica) from Edmunds and have since kind of regretted it. Ive read not so good things about it. After reading about Karl Ploberger on this site I decided to change my order and switch Michaeal Angelo to Honeymoone (edumunds carries it) and get Karl from RU. I think it will be a better yellow for me. At least I hope so. I'm hoping to replace my Golden Celebration with it as its a black spot magnet here and didnt do well for me.

I have 3 small Michael Angelo bands in rose tree pots, I think they get BS if I remember right.

Summers, I don't believe your garden is a mess. I'd like to visit it. I have a question, though. How do you keep track of all these orders, roses' names, own root or grafted, where they're planted, pot or ground, etc, when you grow such large numbers of roses? Diane

I hope she has a spread sheet. I only have 17 different varieties and 36 total bushes in the ground and think I already need one. Wow! I didn't realize I had so many. :0

Omg I have a spreadsheet too. It includes the name and aka's, breeder code, how tall it should get in my climate, color, special growth habits or needs, what it's grafted on (if I know) or if its own root, and where I got it from. Recently I also included whether it's under patent or not because I'm learning how to graft. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit my obsessive nature. But I'm glad to meet others who are the same!!!! I kept a small spreadsheet before this big yard remodel, but after the remodel it grew and grew and grew and now it has so much info. Are we nuts or what?

Thanks Diane. I just started a spreadsheet a few weeks ago, I saved all the rose invoices from the last 3 years, a pile of paper. Lol. For the roses are older than 3 years old, I'd have to count them again when the weather is warmer. :-) I always marked the roses on the invoices to identify them own root or grafted. A lot of roses are still small, they'd need 2-3 years to grow up. I can remember most of my roses where I planted them since I hand water my roses and I check their tags often. I don't have a lot compare to Beth and others, I have about 700 that includes 250 easy care landscaping roses, a lot of them are duplicates, like 41 Heritage......getting 3 more Ascot this spring. Your Ascot photos are so beautiful, can't just have 1. :-)

I am not quite there yet Denise. I have to have fragrance!!!! I would spray 2 times a day if I had to in order to have fragrance.... not really. But one of my worst performers was actually Kordes Perfecta. I thought it stood for perfectly infected. The thing was a stick. Hardly ever bloomed and hardly had leaves. If I had not found this site and got encouragement, I might not have kept going. You and Kublakan kept me going when I was so close to quiting. Well, anytime you are going to yank a rose out, it needn't go to rose heaven (or hell) if it is an Austin. Just give me a call. :) Of course that doesn't mean I won't kill it with kindness.

So relieved to see others are as obsessed about keeping track of the roses as I am! I thought I am the only nut out there!

In my spread sheet, I capture almost everything what Cori Ann mentioned, along with a note section which includes my observation and Garden Web member's comments/Helpmefind member's comments about the rose. Things like "Watch out for thorns", "Does well in part shade", "Turns into a monster in couple of years" "Slow to start"...etc. These notes are helpful when I need to replace a dead rose, reorder a same one or move one to new area.

I also download flower close-up shot and full bush shot of the rose and link the images from a cell. (I know I am going too far... but this is extremely helpful to imagine color combination when I need to plan a new bed).

So far mine are in a little notebook, but the spreadsheet is coming soon, since I'm planting 27 more varieties this year and also hope to grow some cuttings of about five (5) others. In my log I also include what I paid, from where i ordered them, date they arrived and planted in pot and/or in ground, date of shoots, first flower and anything thing else of note ie. date of first sign of BS! I love to monitor my plants from year to year. My little notebook goes back manyyears, but is quickly being filled with these roses! I had to start a new one just for rose growing links and gardens I visit!

rosemom, LOVE the idea of linking a pic. CoriAnn, GREAT idea to include breeder's code and patent info.!

Wow, I'm impressed with everybody's records!

I started out making a chart that showed where everything was and that's been hard enough to keep updated since I keep adding more!

A long time ago, I used to just keep the tags of plants I had bought in a huge ziplock bag and I would just make notes on the tags with a little sharpie. That worked great for years. I actually still do keep most of the grower tags in a huge ziplock bag. The spread sheet sure helps make things faster though!

Another 'nut' signing in....

I used to keep a spreadsheet, but found that I changed things so much, I couldn't keep up. I had every single garden plant listed. I do keep labels alphabetically [fail],

but now I try to remember all the names in my head, I figure I might stave off dementia that way... but I go out in the garden and see a plant and think ''what's that called again''?... oh dear...

Whew I'm glad I'm not the only one! I start a wish list SS every year too, with a page for what I ordered, from who, when I ordered, and when it's supposed to be delivered. Once I plant it, it gets put into my garden SS - I have different pages for roses, trees, etc with planting locations. I did one for seed starting this year too.....

Marlorena I keep every plant in my spreadsheet too. Wow we are all nuts! Dingo I haven't added this year's seeds to the spreadsheet yet... I figure I will do that once they come up and actually have a presence. but I did keep all the seed packets with my labels.

Marlorena I am super impressed that you try to memorize them. I don't have my labels alphabetically organized. I have them organized by area of the yard instead. Oh my. Like I said. Nuts.

Cori Ann, I still keep the tags, as well. : ) I also note what I have in different areas and what additions I put in every year and obviously, what didn't make it. I also have small charts in my log of the plants' locations, but I number them according to my list usually to save space. Since I lost everything when I had to dig up my entire upper back yard and didn't plant anything save the original New Dawns and a few perennials until 2015, it's been much easier to keep track of it all.

OK, I think I have a serious problem though because this year I decided to do for the garden what I do for my house. (Gee, I didn't realize I was so much this way.) I drew a scale model of my upper bed as a plan and elevation view and use little scale representations of the roses to see where they'd fit. I'd love to learn an easy program on the computer to do this. What is wrong with me? You'd never think I was this way, at least my neighbors wouldn't.

I feel like such a slacker. You guys are sooooo good keeping track of everything. I keep some tags on them down low but that's about it. I used to keep tags in a drawer of everything I bought then quit doing that too. Y'all are sooooo organized. I'm impressed. Judy

There's nothing wrong with you vaporvac. Maybe you would make a wonderful architect or designer. :)

Wow, we went way off course on this thread. We are definitely all obsessed though. With all sorts of things! Back to Kordes..... :)

I have to laugh! Half-way around the world and continents apart I do the same thing with spreadsheets on all the plants I have as well as the plants I want. My rose spreadsheets on my roses include the names, demo photos, breeder names, height, disease resistance, fragrance, personal notes e.g. sun and shade tolerance, whether it sets viable hips, and when and where I bought them :-) I also have separate spreadsheets separated into colours and positions in my garden. I really must show this post to my husband - he always just shakes his head whenever I update my spreadsheet. It seems like I am not so far from normal after all :-) Liezel

I have a calendar for my roses . I write everything like what I planted and s/p , fertilizers , soil amendments . plus I have a notebook in which I write any good info I find important for my climate/soil .

PinkRose, I think I'm going to steal your calendar idea as well. That would make it very easy to see at a glance what I've done and I could keep it in my little "supply" cabinet. I'd probably still transfer the into to my log so I could track how that care corresponded to change. Thinking about it, I could probably even use a computer calendar and just copy the info to the individual plants. Hmmmm. My GW threads here also help to see how things progressed. It was amazing viewing the visual change in just a matter of two of weeks.

Last summer my favorite ritual was sitting in bed thinking over what new thing happened in the garden that day and noting it, but I can see how having it in a calendar would make it much easier to retrieve. I'm so glad that my South African houseplants have started putting on buds and I have something to record. Spring can't be far behind.

(Oops! Took this post OT AGAIN!) Back to Kordes. : )

Aside from keeping records, does anyone have a good method of identifying plants in the ground? The plastic marker from the seller gets brittle and shatters over time. I read that mini blind slats, cut to size and written on with a regular pencil is the most long lasting. I'm thinking about cruising my Salvation Army store for some old blinds and giving it a try. I have learned that permanent Sharpie isn't permanent. There is a Sharpie for decorating plates and glassware and baked on in the oven that might be better - haven't tried that one.

I have a project on my to do list to use my dremel to engrave names into metal tags... like dog tags for the roses. An engraving pen might work too. I have more experience using a dremel though so that's what I'm planning to use. I grew up with all brothers and used to engrave my name into all my tools since they would swipe them. :)

Oh, geez Cori Ann. Now we'll all have to have engraved nameplates for our roses. Any underemployed dentists out there? To continue OT, I will just say that as a card carrying member of the Flat Earth Society, I believe spread sheets are the devil's work (or whatever evil spirit you choose). So, I use photo albums with the plastic pockets to store the plant tags, seed packets, etc, and keep notes on each in the spot next to the pocket. I have a drawer full of albums. It is fairly messy, but works. I also keep watering records every summer. They are really messy. Long Live the FESs! Diane

LOL, nanadoll! All of these newfangled inventions are hard to keep up with!

Very impressed with everybody's record keeping though I admit to trying Marlorena's system of using exclusively the brain to remember with the same results!

I'm chiming in pretty late, but better late than never.

In a knock down, drag out bust up between the strengths and weaknesses of the Austins against the Kordes roses, I, as the referee of the event, have a hard time in declaring either one as the victor.

Here are my OPINIONS as to why it is so:

Austins just do not repeat bloom as reliably as the Kordes do.

Kordes roses are more winter hardy than Austins.

Austins have a sameness of flower form (quartered blooms), that Kordes do not have.

Kordes blooms do not have the charm, character, or poise of the Austin blooms.

Austins do not have the disease resistance of the Kordes roses.

The colors of the Austins blooms are more alluring than the Kordes roses.

The fragrance of the Austins is superior to Kordes roses.

Kordes blooms have stronger necks than the annoyingly nodding necks and even thin, wiry stems of many Austins.

Kordes roses bush characteristics ( height and width, columnar or spreading, arching or upright, etc.), are more reliably stated in their marketing literature. The Austin bushes can go in any direction. G. S. Thomas and Tamora are examples of what I am talking about.

Austin roses drop their petals very quickly, two days in many cases.

Kordes have longer lasting blooms.

Kordes has a more extensive class range of bush types. Austins bush types, whether tall or short, almost all have the same form. Are there any single stemmed Austin blooms? Only cluster bloomers are what I know about.

Which company is now in the ascendancy? I can't tell for sure.

And here I thought I'd heard the end of FES.

Very well put, Moses. I can't wait to judge for myself with time, but better to shorten my learning curve! The only Austins I had all season were two (2) grafted Munstead Woods and they were blooming machines and gems of a plant. Everything else is either a climber, grown from a band or small gallon, or bought distressed as an end of season cheapie, so I don't think it's fair to comment yet. I mainly have Kordes (4) and Austins (6) due to serendipity.

Nanadoll, LOVE the photo album idea for plant tags, etc. So much neater than an overflowing envelope! Plus, I have so many empty ones waiting for me to get on them, and that doesn't ever seem to be happening.

Moses, I disagree with every one of your assertions, except for the size estimate one. Suffice it to say, I have only two Kordes left in my garden. I stand with Cori Ann and her Meilland and Austin roses, (plus Tantaus and Carruths). I have thrown down my mutilated (New Dawn) goatskin gauntlets. Diane

My method is little scraps of paper, napkins, backs of magazines, and receipts, scribbled on and scattered among my computer desk, writing desk, mudroom and handbag. Lots and lots of information, but not always at hand when I need it.

Cori Ann, engraved metal sounds classic and definitely long lasting. Would be a beautiful addition to the garden as well. Where do you get your metal tags?

Moses, THANK YOU! That is a wonderful resource. You covered every detail. My Kordes and Austins are exactly as you described.

I wonder if some of these differences are just due to geography. I always hear PA is a BS haven, and Idaho and most of CA isn't. I;m also in BS heaven, and while almost all my roses got some BS by the eoseason, my Kordes were the last to succumb. They are also all very fragrant chosen from their Parfuma line. Both Austins and Kordes (with a couple of exceptions) seem ANXIOUS to bloom as soon as they got some good care.

I think we are all suffering from withdrawal. Having now reached the point where the winter break was nice but enough already. Dear me it's only half over. At least I have these crazy posts to keep up with.

Speaking of spread sheets you all should have seen my daylily ss. A thing of beauty it was. I have note books for roses with two sheets devoted to each variety so I can add notes later.

I agree, Patty. If not for this forum, there would be no willing soul to talk with about roses. None of my friends or neighbors garden.

With the mention of Meilland, Carruth, Tantau, it would be interesting to see a comparison of those including Buck, Delbard, et. al. Maybe Carruth / Buck, then, Guillot / Meilland, and so forth. Anyone have enough of these roses to contribute? I don't, but I can say the Carruth roses I have are always reliable as are my Meilland roses. And, the Canadian roses are absolutely fool proof. I have a hard time not liking any rose. :)

Nanadoll and Flowers... I haven't done the engraving yet because I keep starting other projects instead. But it is on my to do list. And I also have been going back on forth on if I want to dremel... or if I want to do metal stamping like this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U75QH5Ky_PA

(Don't worry Diane it's all old school... by hand... no newfangled technology involved.)

Because then I could stamp my own jewelry too. But doing them all by hand one letter at a time... I just don't know when I will have time for that! I thought over the winter, but I filled myself up with other projects instead. Oh the projects, the projects, the projects. You can buy the dog tags either at local craft stores if you only have a few roses to label, or you can buy in bulk online for much cheaper.

Yeah so this thread in and of itself shows how obsessive we all are. About all sorts of things! ;)

We are all in good company.

Thanks, Cori Ann. Either way looks time consuming. I guess you could do as many at a sitting as time allows. I have a Dremel, but not the letter stamps for metal. Now, if we all lived around the corner from each other, we could have a Rose Marker Metal Stamping Party. Always a reason to get the Pink Party Bus out of retirement.

The way I shovel prune poor performing roses to make way for new hopefuls, I should tag all my roses with hospital ID bracelets.

My Sears and Roebuck, 30+ yr. old shovel knows the shovel prune drill so well, it quivers with joyful anticipation of doing its favorite job every time I just walk by it. It behaves much like a Spinoni Pointer, the Italian truffle dog, when it sees its master reach for the truffle basket. It knows an imminent truffle hunt is on, the pooches favorite occupation.

I like the metal stamping idea., but that's too much time to make just 10.......I am thinking about cut a sheet of metal into little tags and just use pencil write rose names on it. It's much cheaper than buying the metal tags......

Oh Mose, I have never done any "shovel prune" , if they are still alive I'd keep them. :-)

Summers, you are such a softie. I just bought myself a new shovel on Amazon, in fact. Way too expensive. I think it's called the spear shovel, or something similar. When you are out of space, then out comes the shovel---but only after 3-5 years of wait and see. Diane

For all you record keepers, here is a check list you're sure to like. Sorry to be off topic again, but Diane's spear shovel reminded me I had seen this a while back.

I'm sure there is an App for It ,the garden keeping everything organized. I have everything in an big envelope where I keep all Tags and receipts. I tried to keep a note book but too lazy ,SS is probably the best way to go but just thinking about starting one I get a headache Lol...I know I have to record all my buys and do it soon...

I think the advantage that David Austin has compared to other specialist rose nurseries is that they able to market their roses better and their brand is very well known and stands out. I do love the green logo and the fact they refer to their roses as "English roses" which conjures up images of drinking tea outside the garden. A lot of the Kordes roses don't appear to me much because they lack the defined shape and form of English roses. What I mean by that is when you look at the shape of David Austin roses, they look fascinating! Their appearances look like a piece of art : delicate petals and the complex arrangement of petals inside a shallow cupped blooms. Yes, most of them are not as healthy or bloom as much as other roses but I don't mind. It gives me work to do in the morning - keeps me healthy and fit. If a rose bloom too much it can ended up being boring so a shattered blooms here and there makes me look forward to see it bloom. Having said all that I do noticed a lot of their latest releases are very similar to their older varieties. Unless they change the look people will end up trying out newer roses from other companies. Take for instance Boscobel looks a bit like PAOK... but I love the name Boscobel and usually refer it to a "he" and I needed a "male" rose in the garden. If this rose was named something else like "The Endevour" I don't think I would have fallen in love with it.

I know what you mean, Tangles. Very well said.

For labeling I bought a Brother label maker and waterproof label tape. I stick them on the plastic plant markers. Holding up so far!

Wow Dingo. How long have they lasted so far? What an awesome idea.

Super idea Dingo!

They look brand new still, starting using them last summer. Someone else on one of the forums suggested it, I can't take credit lol. The printers and tape are pretty reasonable on Amazon.