Just One color? Ack, I don't think I can!

I know I lean heavily towards rich and saturated colors with a lot of depth, but not necessarily dark colors. In similar fashion I prefer batik fabrics to quilt with. If I had to choose one color category (which is really hard) it would probably be deep pink.

But oh, the burgundy roses, and the purple roses, and the peach roses... See? I can't do it.

I'm a true American...I am smitten with lavender roses, preferably rich lavender shading to deep lavender at the blooms center. Not purple, not mauve (whatever mauve is), lavender leaning toward blue.

What causes my lavender preference make me a true American, you may ask?

David Austin, in his defense of never developing a lavender rose CLAIMED that only Americans and Japanese like lavender roses. Lavender is not big elsewhere in the world, so he claimed he did not breed lavender roses for that reason.

I believe he would have volunteered to clean up after Her Majesty's Welsh Corgis for a year if he was successful in introducing a lavender rose. I believe he tried very hard indeed, but failed.

Moses

Thanks for answering a question I have had, Moses... I have a lavender bed!! D.A.'s claim... accepted.

I love all colours but I tend to love apricot pink combos! Love it!

Red roses...

Apricot/orange. Some of my favs include Lady of Shalott, Lady Emma Hamilton, Pat Austin, Carding Mill, Louise Clements, The Lark Ascending. I'm sure there are more...

Stripes and multis. Life is too short for solid colors. ;)

I think pink is my favorite but I'm a sucker for apricot and lavenders as well , all shades of it. It's tough to choose! Red is at the bottom of my list with orange and then yellow then whites . But you never know what will catch your eye ! :)

Desertgarden, I love your kind of pink! Besides almost any shade of pink, lavender roses are a favorite too. I also love the subtle shades of roses like Peace. While these are some of my favorites, I wouldn't want to be without my reds, yellows, oranges, apricots, purples or whites either, I need them all!

BELINDA'S DREAM

SOUVENIR DE LA MALMAISON

LA FRANCE

PINK PEACE

CHARLES DE GAULLE

ROYAL AMETHYST

POSEIDON

TIFFANY

PEACE

I have a decent color spread through the garden but if push came to shove, I'll take my whites and white blends. They are so easy and pure. They blend with anything I put in a vase.

Randy Scott

Marlon's Day

Rosa Rugosa Alba

First Choice

Whirlaway

You are probably well aware (i.e. tired of hearing about) my favorite, but I'll chime in anyway. It's what I call Apricot Sunset, which may be pink outer petals fading to apricot center; or the similar pale to white outer petals darkening to pink or apricot pink in the center. Oh, and I know it's not color, but they MUST be cup shaped, quartered, fragrant, and with nodding neck, not starkly upright. With other flower forms, I may have other opinions about my favorite color. (Do I remember someone calling me picky?) So far, this is best exemplified by Abraham Darby, Eden and this photo of a rose called Alexandrine, although I don't know if it really looks like that in real life.

It really took me years to come to this conclusion and while I like most rose colors (no hot pink for me please) I am most drawn to apricot with lavender (exactly as Moses described) being a pretty darn close second.

Evelyn

Abraham Darby

Versigny

I like them all! I change my mind every year. This year I've been wanting purple roses. Last year was apricot/orange blends. 2 years ago it was yellows. 4-5 years ago it was all whites. I'm also a sucker for reverse petals being a different hue then the fronts. Or the colour change from the outer edges to the centre. It gives the bloom way more dimension & beauty than a solid coloured rose. Sorry I'm so indecisive.

Red red red. Rich, fragrant, classic red.

You have all probably seen my photos already, but...

Chrysler Imperial and other reds...

Dark Desire...

Falstaff (with a few other shades of red... light-red (you may call it pink) and blue-red (you may call it purple) ;-)

I love seeing photos of all of your favorites too. Just beautiful!

My favorites are the multi-colors. Brigadoon is a particularily fascinating changeling..coral, cream, red, pink, orange constantly evolving, you never know how it's going to look tomorrow, but it's always beautiful. It's the Madonna of the rose world, always surprising the world with a new and different look.

Give me those wild color combos...Double Delight, Granada, Love & Peace, Neil Diamond, Gemini, Chicago Peace, Chris Evert, Marvelle!

Many of you have successfully converted me into an admirer of roses I wasn't sure of before... such as striped, apricot, peach, color changing, lavender and even a little creamy yellow.

In an effort to return the favor for those who don't admire red... here are a few more photos of just one rose that I think may convert you.... or at least it should in my opinion.

Extremely fragrant Chrysler Imperial. These are young, first year bands from ARE. Just put in the ground in the winter. So this is what an own root, young Chrysler Imperial may look like for you... darker than my other Chrysler Imperial...

This one, below, is 50+ years old, grafted and virused. It was neglected for decades. No supplemental water during all the years of the entire CA drought. No pruning. No feeding. Complete neglect. It was my mother in law's pride and joy, but she passed decades ago and it was neglected ever since while my father in law was also ill. Seriously neglected. Left on its own, completely.

I moved it a year ago in the prime heat of summer to try to save it while we did a backyard remodel. I expected that it may die. But no, it's still amazing. Currently, blooms are still 5-6 inches across even now in the high heat we have had.

Both are blooming so much, young and old. Both have the most amazing, pure rose fragrance. It is the type of huge, extremely fragrant bloom that just stops everyone. They're magnificent.

Chrysler Imperial provides the visual and the scent that truly is the definition of a rose. Awe inspiring in the vase or on the bush. It's the scent that puts it over the top. And the longevity. It's really just phenomenal. Imagine what this 50+ year old one would look like if it wasn't virused and neglected for so long.

i like all of them but coral orange and all shades of orange are my favorites...i love yellows surrounded by pinks and oranges...i m still waiting my charlotte to bloom.. it was attacked by powdery mildew badly..from my present collection.. i have liked the blooms of easy does it and boscobel the best.. boscobel smells heavenly!

Coretta Scott KIng

morden blush

boscobel

By far, my favorite color class is what I call the "oddballs."The russets...beige, tan, grey, brown, green, whatever! I know, I'm a weirdo. But I embrace it and love them!! Stripeys are second...

ACROPOLIS

BLACK TEA

BUTTERSCOTCH CL

IRISH CREME

JULIA'S ROSE

KALEIDOSCOPE

KOKO LOCO

RUSTY

TROPICAL LIGHTNING

Probably a delicate blush pink, or white with a bit of pink blush.

Lavenders and gray blues are my favorite. Poseidon today with a globba ginger named Blue Hawaii

My favorite rose color is, well, rose! Mme Isaac, Grande Dame, Thomas Affleck, maybe Electron (it's been years), and based on the photo above-- Pink Peace.

Hm, I really need more rose colored roses!

I also have a special place in my heart for mauve blends like Coffee Country, Distant Drums and Distant Thunder. I think I'd LOVE Koko Loco too.

Oh I like the oddballs too! My issue is integrating them into the garden scheme.

For the pretty pink lovers. If you don't have strawberry hill, you need it. She's a pink one & looks very healthy here. Just planted it this spring. Pink is one of my least favourite colours, but I'm branching out to give them a chance in my yard.

But she might be just too pink for me.

Anything except red. I'm partial to lavenders and russets.

Well, you've all converted me to ALL the colours. Mine are mainly chosen for what went well with the original New Dawn and Polyanthas, and what looks good with my house and stonework which eliminates many of the many modern strident colours being placed near my house. It seems so many colours look great in certain situations, although ketchup and mustard might take me a bit of convincing. : ) I do love the delicate pink of New Dawn and the purity of Sugar Moon, but the deep pink/red lusciousness of Maggie is sending me these days, (at least it did until Aloha and Blossomtime bloomed)! Now they're my faves. Actually, I do really like that particular shade of pink with the darker center or outer petals. It's also found on Viking Queen.

I love the lavender as Moses described, darker in the center. But I've seen pale pinks, peaches, and cool yellows that are darker in the center look exquisite to my eye also. And lately, a glowing center like a Tiffany seems charming.