ROSA RUGOSA ALBA is the granddaddy of all white roses. I normally don't like single roses but this one was love at first sight (and smell). I saw this species sport growing as a security hedge in front of a Cleveland Park townhouse in Washington DC. Several things stood out about RRA and it remains one of the most beautiful white roses that I've ever seen. First, the sheer size of the blooms was astonishing, and they literally covered the shrub. The fragrance was intense and could be smelled from yards away. The unusual wrinkled foliage didn't have a speck of disease (if you want a no-spray white rose then pick this one). Would be just about perfect except for one thing: OMG the thorns! I got a crash course in what rugosa thorns look like that day. There wasn't a spot along the canes that wasn't bristling with needle-like thorns. It was obvious the owners were growing this rose as a sort of living barb wire because any intruder who tried to move past those shrubs would be ripped to shreds in seconds. I was told by the owners that in the autumn this rose has the enviable habit of showing blooms, hips and glowing gold foliage all on the shrubs at once (the leaves on rugosa roses apparently have the enviable habit of turning autumnal shades of gold, fiery orange and scarlet in the fall). COLONIAL WHITE (aka Sombreuil) is another gorgeous white rose. The official registration name is Sombreuil but the ARS really does need to change it ASAP because it still causes confusion with Mlle. de Sombreuil, a little known Tea rose. Colonial White IS NOT a Tea! It is an aggressive, winter hardy, Wichuraiana Climber that IMHO belongs in every garden. In contrast with the wicked thorny canes (Wichuraiana) the flowers are very delicate and captivating. They open from blush pink high centered buds into large, ivory-white flattened rosettes packed full of wonderfully fragrant petals. Colonial White like all good climbers blooms along the entire length of its whip-like canes that are easily trained up a support (wear good thick gardening gloves or else!). I've had the canes on other climbers break on me but those on Colonial White seem to stay supple a heck of a lot longer. Repeat bloom is very reliable, and the leathery dark green foliage shows good natural disease resistance. Colonial White can also be kept pruned down into a large shrub. The following image of Colonial White is by Missy_GardenWhimsy at the Hortiplex database. ROSE-MARIE is my favorite white rose. Unfortunately this white sport of the English rose HERITAGE has become next to impossible to find. It was only wildly available for a few years and now may be headed towards extinction. Well not if I have anything to say about it! Rose-Marie has a lot going for it: graceful growth habit, grows well on its own roots (and roots easily), lovely foliage (if you spray), and unlike the previous two roses the canes on this English rose are only lightly studded with widely spaced thorns (thanks to its Iceberg ancestry). Best of all are the medium-to-large beautiful creamy white flowers that look like they belong growing in front of an English cottage. Rose-Marie is almost always in continuous bloom. Her only real faults is the need for spraying (black spot) and the short vase life of the sinfully fragrant blossoms. Frankly, I'd really like to give David Austin a good talking to about this rose. I'm so frustrated by its lack of availability that I've begun to root cuttings from my single grafted plant. If availability doesn't improve then in a few years I'm going to start giving this rose away FOR FREE! Other beloved white roses include Climbing Clotilde Soupert, Coquette des Blanches and Fair Bianca, but I think I'll wait until later to write about them. Here is a link that might be useful:

I live in zone 5 a little west of Madison WI and have a "Blaze Improved" that has been in for over 8 years. I live in a valley so I get lots of wind and a little cooler climate than in town, my lilacs bloom 2 weeks after the ones there. I didn't do a very good job of taking care of Blaze (didn't prune, water regularly, or fertilize up till 2 years ago). The pictures below are from today, October 3rd, and it's still cranking out the 2.25" blooms on the 5-6 foot canes. It does get BS here but I don't care, this has got to be the bloomingist rose I have. The color is a true, rich, beautiful red that does not fade (picture color is pretty accurate). Little or no fragrance to me. I don't do anything special in the winter except dump a half bag of chip bark mulch on the base for winter and sometimes if I have extra oak leaves I use those instead. There is very little die back or pruning to do come spring. From what I've read, 'Blaze' is zone 6-10, blooms on old wood, and 'Blaze Improved' is zone 5-9 blooms on new and old wood, if that helps for pruning. Very consistent and dependable. This is a repost from the Blaze topic.

Nessdizzle, I divide up plants as soon as the ground gets warm. Usually I dig up things that have spread (say daylilies or grasses) and divide them or I dig up things that send out babies (chrysanthemum, etc.). I pot these up in good compost that I get free from our town mixed with my garden soil. I save pots from year-to-year from plants I purchased and plant the "babies" in pots large enough for them to send out roots. Then I put these in a semi-shaded area so that they can develop a good root system and not suffer initial wind or sun burn. However, I have received plants from our CT swaps that were pulled out of the ground that morning and brought in plastic bags, and these survived. You'd be surprised how the free plants you bring might just appeal to someone who has a space that needs to be filled! Many times people who haven't even brought plants to our swap end up going home with something. In our CT swaps, "leftover" plants are taken by members to plant in town gardens or public spaces.

Pretty pictures all! Granted June is almost over, but the Virginia Sweetspire has suddenly opened and I think deserves to be put into the June thread. Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet' The bees are loving it. One last late peony: Peony 'Red Magic' and a few foxgloves scattered around: The native Carolina rose keeps appearing in unexpected places, and is appreciated by a hover fly. And another extremely common but still pretty daylily goes nicely with the foliage of a Hosta 'Blue Angel'. Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro' Claire