The return of Abe Darby and a few of his friends
We're supposed to get some rain-free days and lots of sun coming so I hope by next week a lot more of my roses start their spring flush. Here are a few early bloomers.
Abraham Darby - still a small shrub after three years but I love the multi-colored, fragrant blooms. One of my all-time favorites. It's lasting quite long in the vase too combined with All American Magic below.
Young Lycidas was planted last fall and he's now covered with buds. This was the first bloom from last Saturday. He was cut and put in the vase below and is still holding up well even as of today. He's one of the longest lasting cut flowers I've ever had. My camera can't capture the magenta and violet color blend accurately. YL may become my favorite DA rose for color, form, and especially fragrance.
Mary Rose - this standard has exploded after only one year in the ground. I recommend Mary as a standard because she's always one flush ahead of my Charlotte and Tamora standards, and her rounded shape is lovely. I just planted a Winchester Cathedral standard a few months ago based on the success of Mary Rose; hope he does just as well.
Princess Alexandra of Kent - produced this first bloom this morning. The bush looks about 50% bigger than last year and it's definitely now the biggest DA shrub in the garden which is quite a surprise.
Madame Ernst Calvat - I posted another photo of this rose on the Antique Rose Forum yesterday but I'm in love with this OGR. I hope to see it sport back into MIP as Jeri Jennings has suggested happens on occasion.
Hope to see more first blooms from everyone on this forum!
Ann
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Abe Darby---
Comments (22)Yep, that Abe is a lover alright !!! By code, do you mean html ? I just started posting full size pics instead of the link style small ones. The pics come through on my post preview so I just assumed I was doing it right. Here's the small one... Here is a link that might be useful:...See Morehello friends! a few questions about starting my SFG...
Comments (7)thank you for the suggestions. i got a 4 cu. ft. bag of vermiculite from a pool supply - i'm hoping its the right kind. i'm going to return the perlite and give the guy an earful for selling me perlite when i asked for vermiculite! not really, but this is really a headache! i'll feel better tomorrow once i get my soil mixed up and my seeds in =)...See MoreAbe Darby looks mighty thankful to be out of his pot
Comments (9)Lavender Lace, Jude smells better than Abe. Its a different scent..fruitier and stronger. Very yummy lol. Jude is nice here but its hot much of the year and the blooms blow quickly. When its cooler and they stay more globular its so pretty. It repeats really well and is a large rose. I still love Abe more because he's one of my favorites....See MoreAbraham Darby
Comments (13)Uh-oh, don't get me started talking about Abe! He's what got me involved in Austins. Five years ago, when I moved to house with a larger yard and had the room to start growing roses, I visited the local public rose garden. There was the Austin section which was a bit run down, with mostly older Austins and many of the labels were gone. There was one rose that caught my eye every time I saw it in bloom. It had a delicious fragrance, but it wasn't labelled. The closest label was 'The Reeve'. I kept an eye on it for the next year, and although it did get mildew and balled in the rain, I kept coming back to it. It didn't look like the photos of 'The Reeve' on the web. I finally discovered the rose forum and in 2015 posted the question. Rick and Hoovb immediately suggested Abraham Darby. Although I had been eyeing photos of Abe in books for years, none of those photos looked like the globular/cupped blossoms that I was seeing at the rose garden. Fearful that they were renovating the garden and might remove it, when they were deadheading, I obtained a deadhead and rooted it. I also bought a potted Abe from the local nursery. The potted one: It looked similar, but not quite. I still wasn't sure. Planted in the garden, it was miserable, wilting and droopy as soon as the sun hit it. Also much more orange than the flowers I was hoping for. I removed it. Meanwhile, my little cutting grew and produced a little flower... ...which was orange! Not pink like the parent plant. And the one in the rose garden bloomed like this that year: The next year, 2016, my cutting (planted in a better spot than the first one I purchased, when I realized that the reason the first one was in a rain shadow) produced flowers like this... ...and then like this... ...and then like this: Okay, now I was pretty sure it was Abraham Darby. I bought two more form DA roses this year. So far, my little Abes have not had gangly or lax canes. You can see from the first photo that the Abe at the public rose garden is small and bushy. I think that is the effect of this climate, with the intense sun and heat. Maybe in a few years and better nutrition, I'll get a little more growth from them. Maybe you can try yours in your sunniest part of your garden? You shouldn't have any problems with lack of moisture like I have, and Abe likes having water, that's for sure. From April this year: Flowers nod a bit, but that's one of the reasons I love them....See MoreAnn9BNCalif
6 years agoAnn9BNCalif
6 years agoThank you Carol! I also had great luck with Hortico this year - my Pretty Jessica has been outstanding.
Ann
Ann9BNCalif
6 years agoThank you lavenderlace! My CdG was in a pot last year, planted last fall and got settled in well. But he was moved about two months ago so he's working on getting settled again. Here's a photo from one week ago.
He was only 12-18" last year in the pot. HMF says 31 - 39" so he's destined to be small but I guess the question is how small? The bloom is a fairly normal HT size but the plant is more like the size of a mini flora.
Ann
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6 years agoIt's been a drizzly day but I happen to love the rain and hope it keeps going for awhile more. Here are a few more friends of Abe Darby who got the sprinkles this morning.
Fair Bianca - This was the first bloom and I love the pinkish undertone and red buds. This discontinued DA came from Hortico and was planted in December. After five months, it's covered with buds and about to pop. Fragrance is myrrh with some sweet and spicy notes.
Prospero is starting his second year and has a lovely garnet color, very fragrant. So far, he's quite compact at about 2ft.
The Prince has a similar but darker coloring than Prospero. The shape of the bloom is round. Early buds appear nearly black. The leaves of both Prospero and The Prince are a very bright green. He's also a little over 2ft tall.
Princess Anne is planted alternately with Pretty Jessica in my front yard. I'm enjoying the light and dark pinks together. Behind PA and PJ, is a row of alternating Fair Bianca and Prospero.
Double Delight, a classic and very fragrant bi-color rose.
Pope John Paul II - This rose is known for its amazing fragrance but also has a very nice spiral in its early stages.
Mitsouko is starting her second year and she's in her full flush, producing very large (4+inches) blooms. There's a light fragrance this year, not much last year. She's a Peace-style rose in color but last year there was a lot of color variation where the rose would have one very dominant color -- either yellow, white, orange and pink, with some supplementary colors. Looking forward to seeing if that happens again.
Hope you enjoyed these additional friends of Abe!
Ann
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6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoAnn9BNCalif thanked Cori Ann - H0uzz violated my privacyAnn9BNCalif
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6 years agoThanks lavenderlace! Here are two fragrant lavenderish roses that you might like.
Nicole Carol Miller
Lavender Crystal
Ann
Ann9BNCalif
6 years agolavenderlace - Nicole Carol Miller has moderate fragrance most of the time, maybe a bit lighter when it's hot. However, last fall NCM was "exceptionally fragrant" once the weather cooled off. I walked up to this rose several times a day because I couldn't believe how fragrant it was. It also got quite pale once summer was over.
My Lavender Crystal mini rose is light to moderately fragrant but consistently so which is great since it seems like most minis aren't fragrant at all. It's a lot bigger than this photo and is a mini bloom machine at the moment. Since this is LC's first spring, I can't comment too much about her yet.
Ann
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6 years agoCori Ann - H0uzz violated my privacy
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6 years ago
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6 years agoFor those wanting to know about Lavender Crystal, I have grown her about 20 years. I got her as a mini standard from Ralph Moore back in the day. She got so big that the stock she was on was getting wonky, so I planted her on her own root and she has been a growing machine ever since. She is a mini that grows to be about 2 to 3 feet. Due to the large amount of rain this year, it was the first time I have ever seen black spot on her. I pulled off the leaves and she immediately grew new ones. She does take my heat (we can be over 105 degrees for a few months at a time, only cooling off to the 80's at night for two seconds) and she gets the brunt of the sun in the afternoon and pretty much all day. For me, she is a great little rose.
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6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoSorry, 3:30 in the morning here so I forgot to tell everyone what beautiful roses and fabulous pictures they have posted. Just gorgeous!
Whomever is growing Pretty Jessica, give her a chance. I have had her (actually three of her) growing in my front yard for the past several years. She is on her own root and has to be one of my best roses that I grow. When I was deadheading her last week, I called her one of my old faithfuls. I probably have had her for 7 years in the same spot. Gets the brunt of the afternoon sun and still blooms. She is nice and upright and holds her flowers well. She only gets to be about 5 feet or so and is one of the most mannered of the DA roses. Bought her based upon recommendations from folks here on this site and have not been disappointed. I am so happy I got her and have kept her. She gets compliments all the time. Has a nice fragrance as well. Practically thornless too, which is a plus for a DA rose. No disease for me. I find that DA roses take at least three years to come into their own in my garden so I don't think you will be disappointed if you give her a chance to stay.
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