Probably, plus a garish color which ages very badly. I think "tasteless" might well be the usual term to describe it. To be accurately named, it would also need to be a completely persistent plant, refusing to go away, probably much like a shoot of Dr. Huey. Actually, though, the rose has a large flower, relatively decent foliage, with an intensely saturated red color. I only saw it at Sequoia under plastic and the plants were tall, loaded with flower. Mr. Moore had said his agent was on a morning news/talk show when Ms. Rivers' agent was also a guest. They spoke and the connection was made. He named the rose as a business arrangement, not really being all that familiar with the celebrity. Kim

Kim you are spot on the cultivars with susceptibility to gall. Interesting they are still used in some breeding programs. Ball is a broker of liners of a variety of genetic programs and brokers a couple of different liner producers. Star does broker some liners too, but most go to the fields for production of own root one-year plants. As you all know Star Roses sells a lot of roses in the market. There have been some reports of gall being a problem in the budded rose fields too, but I have not seen this, I only heard some comments about it. If true, then gall has become more virulent. Crown gall is one of the biggest problems for greenhouses producing cut flowers roses the world over. I always want to remind everyone that crown gall is a disease of a wide range of plants, not just roses. It is present in soil over a very wide area of N. America and may very well be present in the soils where you plant roses. It often can be fairly dormant and you will see no symptoms, but if the soil was tested it would be found to be present. Hot humid climates like Florida seem to have more problems with gall. Florida Ag gets aggressive about reports of crown gall in plants because it is a huge problem in the production of tropical foliage which is a pretty important economic crop for Florida. It is often really hard to tell where the crown gall originates, the liner producer, the field grower, the container grower or the consumer's garden. It is spread through soil, mechanical wounding of plants and water - so a few plants with crown gall in a nursery can cause larger problems over time. That said, yes the industry needs to take the utmost care in production. I find it interesting that the target seems to be Greenheart. I have observed that no other producer has addressed the problem and has taken more steps to make sure they have clean plants then Greenheart. They have hired the best consultants on crown gall and have worked with Oregon State and UC Davis to insure clean production. I think the problems are now limited or non existent at Greenheart. One of the largest growers of wholesale field grown own root plants has also really committed to procedures to minimize crown gall in the field. I think there will always be some problem as it has so far proved to be impossible to eradicate. There is some research being done in other plant species on the genetic markers for disease resistance. Intriguing and I hope that if they are successful we could apply some of this knowledge to rose genetics.

I loved the value of this deal last year. they all, except sunshine happy trails, bloomed for me. that one is looking healthy this spring though so I have high hopes this season. I am sad I don't have garden space to do it again this year. Maybe I need to make some room

Vapor ... it was all a coincidence! I went to my local nursery on the one day a year they have a sale for easy spirit rose . It was pouring buckets , but I wanted that discount! I was sprinting to the check out building with my large rose , my toddler who didn't want to walk in mud in the other hand , and a gentleman opened the door for me. Turns out he is the president of the Nashville chapter . He grabbed the rose from me and was giving me the newbie rundown on roses . So we started talking and I told him I wasn't new to roses .. he invited me to the meeting the next day and was so welcoming! He then told me all new members get a rose and he had one just for me .. "lady in red! You can't get it anywhere, it's new " he said . I smiled and said I would be there ! So now I have two lady's , and I really enjoyed the meeting. There is definitely some opinions there about everything.. just like here. ;) I found out the VP lives just down the road so we are arranging to see each other's garden . I encourage you to try a meeting !! Even if I can't make every meeting, they have discounts on roses and things in the spring and I can't wait to see the open gardens people have . Sorry for the essay ! Lol