Won Fang Yon; it is a huge rose now. Blooms are starting to dry out due to heat here.

Debby, that is a beautiful deep pink!

Beautiful Debby !! I've never heard of that one .

Heres some of mine , I posted on the gallery but in case they were missed . Tomorrow I should have more if the rain stops

flamenco Rosita

Queen of Sweden ( it's good side )

Teasing Georgia

Sylvia - your Chicago Peace and George Burns look so wonderful!!! Especially your George Burns - wow!!

Debbie - wowza!!!! That's a show stopper and a scene stealer!!!

lily - Your Teasing Georgie is amazing!!!! And you really know how to prune a rose bush!!! Queen of Sweden's blooms are such a pretty color!! Mmmmm!!

Carol

Lilyfinch, that well is so cute! It looks great next to Teasing Georgia.

And another handful....

@hcarnevale - where do you live? What zone? Your plants look great for a cold climate. I'm trying to jot down roses I see & like that grow well in lower zones. Sorry if I sound nosy!

Louise Clements -- incredible! I never heard of this rose before. Alchemist and CPM - just the way a rose trellis should look.

Everybody, thank you!

I'm in zone 5 Wisconsin. Most of my roses are own root but I do also have some grafted (mainly Dr Huey and a few on multiflora). A lot of mine have to be pruned to just a couple of inches above ground due to winter kill. I plant everything deep and have never lost a rose yet (knock on wood). None of mine get really huge due to the short growing season. Again, those pics were from last year. We will see how they do this year.

The dreaded Double Ko's...lol

Wow hcarnavale!! Your garden is wonderful . My goodness !!

Jim why are they dreaded! They look fantastic . Very cheerful !

thanks Jasminerose and carol ! Much appreciated :)

hcarnevale thanks for posting all your roses look amazing , gives me hope for my zone 5 as well

Mustbnuts and Ken –
your munstead wood looks great..now I wish I ordered two

Lili – your QOS is a stunner I really want one now

Romegen – I hope my SA
get like yours this year.I was not impressed with it at all last year

hcarnavale - Fabulous roses!!! The color is exactly how I love it - mix of deep colors, fabulously saturated!!! Amazing!!! My hat is off to you!!

Jim - Your DKOs are so "in your face" fabulous!!! Love them!!

Carol

hcarnevale, your roses give me something to aspire to. We cold zoners are getting a later than usual start this year - there are several of us here. I just pruned almost all of mine to the ground. It looks like they will all come back, except possibly my Edens and Pink Edens. They're all own root. Do you use any kind of winter protection? I love your colors and the snug planting.

Jim,

I like the double red & pink Knockouts best of all the Knockouts, and pruned low like you have done with yours. Yours are beauties! You're managing them like floribundas, as such, they show their best attributes, IMHO. Good job!

Moses

Hcarnevale,

All I can say is WOW! You've got the touch! Austin Eden!

Your delphiniums are great, too! I know how hard they are to grow.

Do you spray? I gotta know how you keep your roses in such immaculate condition.

What is your garden edging, cement curbs? They're classy.

Do you put a layer of plastic just under your pebble mulch at the front of your borders?

Moses

Flowersaremusic- yes, I do winter protect with about 3 feet of snow!! Kidding aside, I do not winter protect, but they do get some protection from leaves that fall off my huge tree. I just leave the leaves in the bed over winter and then fertilize over them and add more mulch in the Spring. I guess it is the lasagna method... They also get winter protection from snow. We didn't have very much snow this year though.

Moses- I assume you are talking about spraying with fungicide. I do not spray regularly. I believe I sprayed twice last year with Bayer. I do perform experiments all the time in my garden. Last year I sprayed them regularly with Mills Magic rose mix (the green stuff you mix with water), and I experimented with adding 2 other things to the mix. There is a mix of humic, fulvic, kelp, and animo acids that I added to it and I also added another product that is a mix of mycorrhizae, trichoderma, and 18 strains of bacteria. I believe one of the strains is also used in another product called Actinovate which is an organic fungicide used on peonies. I'm not really sure if it protected them or not, but they seemed to love the stuff. They did start looking kind of bad toward the end of the season though. Some do blackspot more than others. I do add alot of organics to the soil on a regular basis though. If I gave you a list of everything I add, you would think I'm crazy!

The edging is called continuous concrete curbing that I had a company put in 2 years ago. I love it. You can also have color added to the concrete. It hasn't cracked yet due to our winters.

There is garden fabric laid under the rocks in the front of the house. It isn't plastic, it is more of a mesh fabric. It helps keep out the weeds (but not all of them) and it allows amendments to be washed down into the soil.

Yes, I love Austins. I believe I have about 55 of them. They don't get out of control in my climate and I actually think they like their winter sleep here.

@hcarnevale - thanks for the info. I really like your mix of plants! I too have to prune mine down to the nubs, so it's nice to see how they can bounce back.

hcarnevale, thank you for letting us in on your secrets to success. I put a lot of hope in my thigh high snow pack this year, with no freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw, but had extreme cane loss anyway. I'm thinking about trying cracked corn as an amendment on a few roses. Have you experimented with that? I have been re-reading some of Strawchicago's experiments where she says cracked corn is similar to, but better than manure, if soil is alkaline. I'm probably the last one to get on to this, but it was news to me. She also says pebbles add nutrients to the soil, so you're in good stead there! My soil should be like manna if rocks are a good thing. I have everything from pebbles to boulders, and have dug out enough to line all my raised beds, however, my soil is such hard packed clay, I have to use a pick axe to dig holes. I've been growing roses for a long time, but always learning. With my roses down to the ground this year, it's like starting over.

@Hcarnevale

How old Is your Rosanna and is it self supporting or on a trellis?

Thanks

modestgoddess- I believe this will be Rosanna's third year in my garden. She is grafted on multiflora from Palatine. She is free standing on her own. However, I think I'm going to build her a tall trellis to attach her to because she is growing out into the walkway. I want to pull her back toward the house a bit. I'd like to try to wind her canes through the trellis too so if I can get more laterals off her. She has pretty stiff canes so I'm not sure it will work. She hit probably 10 feet tall last year, which is huge in my zone. I only have a few grafted on multiflora, all Kordes from Palatine. They have all gotten pretty big for my zone and I don't have as much winter damage on them. They seem to be more cane hardy. I don't know if it is due to the multiflora or due to the nature of those specific Kordes cultivars.

flowersaremusic- yes I've followed Straw's posts over the years and have tried some of her experiments myself. I still throw a handful of lava rocks under each rose bush for added potassium. You will think I'm crazy when I list the amendments I add:

They get blood meal , Azomite, gypsum, manure/compost mix, and alfalfa meal (early Spring). They all have lava rocks under them as well (a small handful)

I used to make my own "fertilizer" with alfalfa meal, bone, blood, cottonseed, kelp, Azomite, gypsum, milorganite, fish meal, chicken manure, sulfate of potash, and epsom salt. It was too hard to make so much of it each month (have to feed over 100 roses) so now I just use Tomatotone, which basically has the same stuff. I feed each one Tomatotone monthly and then spray the Mills Magic with the acids and mycorrhizae mix a couple times a month. I do also throw all used coffee grounds, egg shells, and banana peels under roses. I even water them with my leftover cold coffee. I'm always experimenting....... I'm a firm believer in feeding the soil and the soil will in turn feed the roses, or at least that is what works for me with my soil and in my climate.

Jim, I think your double knockouts look beautiful. They look very happy and healthy.

Hcarnevale, was there a reason you chose tomatotone over rosetone?

Tomato tone is 3-4-6. It has more potassium 6% and calcium 8%. Rose tone is 4-3-2, with 3% calcium. I prefer the higher potassium/calcium ratio. I believe it helps to firm up the petals and make the colors more vibrant. Again, I'm no expert, it is just what I believe. I have done experiments with roses in pots adjusting the calcium and potassium levels with Sulfate of potash and gypsum. It did make the colors more vibrant. I also had a rose that balled badly every time it tried to bloom (August Renoir. I didn't know that it was prone to balling when I bought it). I didn't get a single bloom to open for 3 years in the ground. Last year I pulled him out and threw him in a pot with a lot of gypsum (calcium) mixed in the soil. He bloomed great and every bloom opened for me. There is a theory (again, I'm no expert....) that calcium levels affect the firmness of petals and their ability to open. This is what seems to work for me. And if there comes a time that it doesn't, I'll experiment more. Can you tell I'm a Scientist at heart?

No, I don't think you're crazy at all, hcarnavale! I used to make my own plant food, too, using essentially the same ingredients you used. I have a lot of roses, too, so I went to Rose Tone for convenience. I've never used lava rocks, so that will be a new experiment for me this year. I agree 100% with you on feeding the soil. I have chickens, so I always use the egg shells, finely crushed. I was planning to go from Rose Tone to Plant Tone, but maybe I'll try Tomato Tone instead. There are some others on these forums who use Tomato Tone, also.

I am NOT a scientist in any way shape or form. If that's left brain thinking, then I'm pretty sure I don't even have a left brain. So I rely on people like you who know what all those numbers mean and how they work together. I appreciate you sharing your feeding routine. Your roses are proof that you know what you're doing.

I am stepping in responsibly, since I started these experiments from 2014 to 2017 in Organic rose forum, first with horse manure, chicken manure, cow manure RoseTone, Acid-Lilly Miller, Tomato Tone, cracked corn, vinegar & gypsum/sulfate of potash to fix alkaline tap water, Red Lava Rock, Azomite & Kelp, pea gravel, spirulina, etc.

As Henry David Thoreau said it, "March to one's own drummer." I'm re-phrasing that quote "March to one's own drummer, since each soil and climate, each rootstock, and each rose is different. One recipe doesn't fit all."

Remember the hype of adding Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) to soil? Magnesium deficiency is rare, except in sandy soil. What magnesium does is it hardens soil further, thus would be a disaster for hard & alkaline clay.

Azomite, pea gravel, and red-lava-rock would be a disaster in alkaline soil/ hot & dry climate, since these have pH near 9. Azomite, pea gravel, and red-lava-rock harden soil further, and don't work with rock-hard clay or hot/alkaline regions. Those work only in high rain region, and even the pH of rain differs across the country.

The most effective way to eliminate blackspot is to understand each rose's needs, feed it well, and dig deep for drainage. If someone is blessed with deep & loamy soil, then anything would work. But if someone is cursed with poor-drainage and bad soil, then it's easier just to dig deep & buy bagged soils.

Some organics don't work in pots. Chemical fertilizer is more effective in pots, esp. for hot/dry climate with alkaline water. Chemical fertilizer like MG SOLUBLE for roses have sulfur added, which lowers pH.

It's more effective to understand one's garden, than to follow anyone else. The first step is to get a soil test. That's what rosarian Karl Bapst recommended years ago, before he passed away.

The second step is to post accurately: specify one's soil and climate, such as (sandy, loamy, or hard clay), annual rainfall, and the pH level (acidic, neutral, or alkaline), own-root, or what rootstock.

The most valuable comments in HMF & forum are those who report negative experiences, or those who posted diseased pics. of their roses. I learn more from honest newbies than from folks who bicker or promote their stuff.

I hope that when folks say this rose is great for them, they would specify what rootstock, how much rain they get, and their type of soil. What works in a high-rain region won't work in a less-rain region. I no longer post in forum, but I do answer questions in HMF for particular roses.

HMF would be more popular if folks click on the NEW/RECENT tab on the left, then click COMMENTS, it will show the daily discussion, and the newly posted pictures.

How nice to hear from you again, Straw. It makes me happy to see your post. I have learned much from you, but especially I have learned to experiment and find what works best for my soil and my roses in my climate. As I said above in this thread, I am trying cracked corn this year, and have only used it once. It seems to have had a good effect on my own root roses in hard packed clay. My roses have more buds than ever before. It could be due to several factors, but cracked corn is one thing they may be responding to. I switched from Rose Tone to Plant Tone. I plan to try Tomato Tone at some point. Also, my roses are another year older, which also helps.

I know you are not promoting any one thing or for anyone else to do the things that work for you, but your experiments are worthy of our consideration and are an encouragement for us to try our own experiments. We would be missing a great opportunity if we didn't consider your findings posted on these forums. Thank you for so generously sharing with everyone here.

Hi floweraremusic: Your words are music itself, you are such a pleasant & warm person which brings out the best in others. I stepped in since Kelly (from zone 4, MN) informed me that she hurt 2 of her roses with bagged cow manure, that's the same mistake I did years ago, I spent 2 hours scraping off the manure, after that turned my roses pale & BS-breakout with the quick lime in bagged manure that shot the pH up. Unfortunately Kelly didn't see the pics. I posted of the failed experiments in Organic Rose.

Yes, Cracked corn at pH 4 does work for hot/dry alkaline regions. Red-lava works if soaked in acidic rain water, or soaked in a solution of vinegar/sulfur to break down the hard-minerals in red-lava.

For hot/dry region, I wrote since 2012 about using vinegar & gypsum & sulfate of potash to induce blooms despite hot/dry or alkaline tap water at pH 9. Mix gypsum & sulfate of potash & water together, and you'll get cement. But if one fill a large bottle with 3/4 vinegar, then add sulfate of potash 1st until it's completely dissolved, then add gypsum last, until everything is dissolved. If one adds gypsum to vinegar 1st, one gets cement.

Sulfate of potash needs to be added to vinegar 1st, then gyspum last. The ratio depends on one's soil test. I wrote on the reason for doing so in HMF. I still post & share info in HMF, under StrawChicago's comments. That's one way to put my chemistry classes in college into use.

Straw, you are kind. Your scientific knowledge makes my head spin. I have to go over and over the numbers and percentages for them to sink in. But, I do keep notes of your posts in my file and refer to them when I need to fix a problem.

I appreciate the explanation on vinegar, gypsum and sulfate of potash to induce blooms. It's interesting in how the order they're mixed makes such a big difference.

I found you on HMF and read your posts there.

Floweraremusic: for your notes, I re-post what I posted in HMF recently:

"When you get into roses with more petals, more chance of rust due to the depletion of calcium and potassium after blooming. Lots of calcium and potassium is used up to produce that many petals. With my 100+ varieties of high-petals-count roses, I use sulfate of potash and gypsum to fix my alkaline tap water (pH 9): fill a large bottle with 3/4 vinegar, then keep adding POWDER potassium 1st until it completely dissolved (soaked overnight) then gypsum (depending on your soil's test), until those solids can no longer dissolve. Then use 1 tablespoon of that per 2 gallons of tap-water.

I spent hours researching the cause of rust after Sonia Rykiel (over 100 petals) rust on me in a dinky pot in hot summer. If you check with agricultural abstracts, here are the causes of rust: 1) excessive rain which leaches out calcium and potassium 2) low potassium and high manganese 3) high-salt tap water 4) hot & dry weather which induce potassium deficiency. Potassium deficiency is also linked to mildew.

The logic of using sulfate of potash plus gypsum to fix alkaline tap water is: gypsum (calcium sulfate) is known to de-salt saline soil, so gypsum flushes out the salt. Sulfate of potash is to provide sulfur to lower the high pH of tap-water, plus to provide potassium to prevent mildew and rust. Austin roses with zillion petals have a higher need for calcium and potassium." StrawChicago in HMF.

As to the mystery of balling, it took me 1 year to understand why, thanks to Grace who asked me questions about her soil test: it came back high in calcium, lowest in potassium, low in magnesium, pH slightly alkaline. But she has problems with balling, thin stems, and roses being stingy with blooms.

That's the fist flag that LOW CALCIUM IS NOT THE CAUSE FOR BALLING, the cause is alkaline tap water which zaps out potassium 1st, then phosphorus & trace elements. Folks in high pH hard water, uses potassium chloride to soften water.

GYPSUM DOES HELP WITH BALLING, since the 17% sulfur in gypsum neutralizes the high pH of tap-water, gypsum also loosen compact soil, thus a faster-uptake of water. However, rose-tissue-analysis by U. of CA at Davis showed TWICE MORE POTASSIUM THAN CALCIUM.

That's the logic for soaking sulfate of potash overnight in vinegar first, to release the potassium as soluble. But if you put gypsum (calcium sulfate), then potassium, calcium will lock-up potassium and it can't be broken down, very much like hydrated quick lime in tap water hardens soil in dry/hot regions.

Balling also occurs after prolonged periods of rain, due to leaching of both calcium and potassium. Calcium is the building-blocks of roots, stem, leaves, and petals. With less calcium, one gets less petals in blooms. Potassium works in osmotic pressure to draw water up, so low potassium will cause "weak necks", or droopy canes. Without "water-pressure" to force petals to open, you'll get balling.

In May we got tons of rain, Evelyn had thick & strong canes, and flowers that look up. In June we have 3 weeks of zero rain, temp. in the 90's, and I have to use alkaline tap water (pH 9). Well, Evelyn happens to be next to the faucet, so I kept squirting her with tap-water, but I used buckets (fixed with sulfate of potash/vinegar/gypsum) for other roses. Evelyn stems became hopelessly thin, all blooms are pointing down.

I put sulfate of potash on Duchess de Rohan (in a very shady location), zero balling despite tons of rain, then hot & dry. I also put high-potassium red-lava-rock AT THE BOTTOM of planting hole for Duchess. But Comte de Chambord (with tons of gypsum in the planting hole), in more sun, balled right after rainy period. Both roses have mushy & zillion of petals. Too much of calcium isn't good either.

These whole bush shots are taken after 3 weeks of no rain, hot temp. at 90 F, this Sat June 10, 2017, to encourage folks NOT to up, even if zero blooms during hot & dry summer. My soil is rock-hard clay, pH 7.7. and my tap-water pH is 9. My summer heat is more intense than my 3 sisters in California (both northern and southern CA), and we do have dry & hot months here. These roses are watered with alkaline tap, plus sulfate of potash/vinegar/gypsum. In the past I put blackstrap molasses for iron & trace elements, but I'm too lazy for deeper colors: Below are Madame I. Pereire and Crown Princess Magareta:

Below are Poseidon and Crown Princess Magareta, taken at 90 F, 6/10/17:

Below is Dee-list, 2nd year own-root, taken at 90F, 6/10/17

Below is Bohemian Rhapsody (100% thornless) taken at 90 F, some yellow leaves but improved after I UP % of sulfate of potash & soluble organic fertilizer.

Below is Frederic Mistral, taken in hot summer 2014, that's when I accidentally put too much sulfate of potash & gypsum in tap-water, it broke out in 40+ buds, after being very stingy. I'm sharing this secret after HMF rosarians (England, Australia, Romania, Russia) also do the same as what I did since 2012. The ideal NPK SOLUBLE FERTILIZER for alkaline tap water is 8-20-40, due to hydrated quick lime added to tap-water, which zaps out both phosphorus and potassium.

Below is late August 2014 bush-shot of Liv Tyler, taken at above 90F. I remember that day since my kid had the day off from school (no air-conditioner in her elementary school). That's when I put blackstrap molasses in sulfate of potash/vinegar/gypsum for deeper colors.

I have a feeling that those comments were directed toward me. Let me clarify a few things:

1. I did not give out unsolicited advice. I was directly asked what I do to take care of my roses and I answered. Never once did I say that anyone else had to do what I do or that they even should do what I do. I realize that we all live in different climates with many different factors involved that will determine how well a rose does for them. I also realize that I go overboard with some things and I said so.

2. I never claimed to be an expert. As a matter of fact, I do remember saying that I am NOT an expert a couple of times. This is what I do and what works for me.

3. My roses are grown in zone 5 alkaline soil. I do add Azomite and lava rocks in the Spring. Doesn't seem to be a disaster to my roses........

4. Yes, growing roses successfully can be done. Look at all of the photos in this entire thread. This shows roses being grown successfully by many different people in many different zones with different soil.

Rant over.

hcarnevale: No, they are not directed toward you, they are directed toward an old rosarian who left this forum in 2015, who insisted one size fits all. He apologized later, but it was inviting the public for gossip, after I left. Also they are directed toward another person who's pushing his agenda in Organic Rose forum, that's why I left that forum.

Also I hope that folks would specify the type of rootstock when posting a picture, also the type of soil & pH level & amount of rain. I spent most of my time in HMF asking such questions. Someone who sees a fantastic pic. of a rose, will spend money buying it, without realizing it's NOT appropriate for their soil, climate, or wimpy as own-root. I made that mistakes many times, it was costly.

The differences in soll & climate & rainfall can make one method a disaster for others. And I want to warn folks ahead of time, and NOT to try things which are done by StrawChicago in an entirely different soil chemistry and rainfall. Still remember that guy who advocated mixing peatmoss with clay (despite he has sandy soil) ... I was foolish and followed his method, and spent hours digging and carrying heavy buckets of clay-glue-up with peatmoss into large chunks, to trash them. . My wrist was in pain for days. THAT'S THE REASON FOR MY POSTING, I don't want anyone to suffer from trying things which are not appropriate for their soil and climate.

Responsible posting is to let people know the end results in different soil and climate, rather than one size fits all, or this way is best. Posting for truth and accuracy benefits far more people than promoting oneself..

I was concerned that Floweraremusic, with hard clay like mine, will try Azomite & pea gravel, which didn't work in my hard clay, after a few years. Red-lava-rocks work, only if soaked in buckets of acidic rain water for months. But Floweraremusic does not allow message in her Houzz profile, so I have to post directly after her. . She's a wonderful person who keep notes of my experiements, and I want to inform her of the end results of my experiements, after years later.

I spent hours digging up quite a few roses, since the top-surface got hardened, and water could not get through. Both Azomite and Pea-gravel DO HARDEN THE TOP SURFACE, preventing water to go through. It's done through the BINDING of calcium with high-magnesium clay like mine.

I was alarmed, after an CA poster in hot & dry & alkaline already tried Azomite in her pots, thanks to my experiments. Azomite works in high-rain situation, but doesn't work when it's a short rain, which locks the dust into the surface. I tested lime, pea-gravel, and Azomite in the vase .. all 3 stuck to the bottom of the vase, hard to rinse off. Red lava rocks has a lower pH at 8.2, compared to the sticky ones at pH above 9. Sticky high pH clay & high in magnesium, do not need sticky additives, they glue up more, blocking water from getting through.

I'm still here and still soaking up all the info I can. Straw, I didn't know it wasn't possible to private message me. I will see what I can so about that. You and anyone else here are welcome to message me any time.

Looks like my message tab is working. I received a message through houzz not long ago. If anyone wants to private message me, and this means doesn't work, I will message you with my email address.

Floweraremusic: I put the message-option back to my profile today by 1) click on UPDATE PROFILE 2) click Advanced settings 3) click allow Houzz to notify me when someone messages me 4) scroll all the way to the bottom, under "privacy setting" click "allow anyone to message me".

The last action will allow people to message you. When I click on your name, I don't see MESSAGE button, so I still cannot message you. That's OK, since the info. I post here will benefit more people, despite my original intention to contact you only, but I could not.

Dear straw, I think the message option is fixed now. Thank you for caring so much about forum members and our success with our roses. You are appreciated.

Great to hear from you Straw. Just like in medicine, there is no one size fits all for plants. From reading your posts i learned how even it is important to find info about the specific variety for any species of plant. Thanks for explaining how genstics affects the roots, which impacts which kind of soil texture, pH and minerals a rose will thrive in.

Also everyone's soil is so different. I have to remember to caveat my advice for others based on their soil.

What beautiful gardens you have, Hcarnevale. Thank you for sharing; it's always nice to here from other cold zoners! Your roses look very happy with your regiments. I can see how Straws post could be taken wrong, but I truly believe she is genuinely trying to help people from making some of the same mistakes she has learned from. I am the one that she helped as I heard so many great results people were having from using manure. I have very alkaline clay soil and against better judgement, I applied the cheap bagged stuff to my roses late wimter. I was hoping with all the rain we get in spring it would nuetralize the alkilinity. Now there is piles of sand where the manure was. Abe Darby (grafted on huey), Jubilee Celebration (grafted on huey) and own root Darcy Bussell seem to be fine. However, planted in the same bed at the same time, is 2 OR Alnwicks. One is dead and the other is barely surviving. I have had them for 3 or 4 years without a problem before applying the cheap manure.

Abraham Darby

Alnwick (in recovery)

So even roses planted in the same climate and soil perform differently.

Kelly I'm pretty alkaline here too. I ordered Grow More EDDHA on Amazon and used it on several roses and shrubs that were looking like your Alnwick. Worked really well, it's chelated and made specifically for alkaline soils. I used 1 teaspoon in a gallon of water and did a soil drench with it. You can repeat in 10 days or so if you need to.

Thanks for showing the entire Rose Bushes in your photos! It's so hard to find any rose photos of the actual bush, usually only close ups. So helpful to see what to expect from Rose Munstead Wood. Thanks much!

Since this post has been brought back up, I'll throw a couple of more in.

Ken - you sure get a bang for your buck!!! You have a ton of roses!!!! Holey moley...talk about gorgeous!!!

Carol

Wow Wonderful pictures! Those roses are amazing!

I agree - this is a fabulous set of pictures of terrific bushes that turn me green with envy - particularly the rich blooms on The Crocus Rose, and the lush explosion you have from Charisma! Wow - I get a few scattered blooms that have a punch to them, but there's nothing to compare with that rose in a full bloom for visual impact.

Oh, and speaking of green I honestly can't say I like the blooms of the Green Rose. It's intriguing, and as a lover of oddball roses I totally understand the appeal, but it takes a very well-grown bush like yours to highlight that the blooms themselves really aren't attractive en masse. It just looks deformed or something in sad need of deadheading at a distance, though the closeup photos I've seen have a style to them.

Cynthia

Wow, gorgeous roses, everyone!!!

Ken all your roses are amazing, but I just love the crocus rose. Could you please tell me how big is it and how old in your garden? Is she a good performer?

That bush of The Crocus Rose was 4 yrs old when that picture was taken (spring 2016). It starts out in the spring as a 3'x3' bush and ends in the fall as a 4'x4' bush with a couple of canes that want to go 5'. This is a full, compact bush with small foliage. I like it a lot. This is one of the Austin roses that would be great in a pot after it matures. I ALMOST tossed it after 2 years because it looked awkward and wasn't filling out. I'm glad I kept it.

Thank you Ken for the info. I will be adding this rose to my garden. All your roses are beautiful, thank you for sharing them with us.

Dianela