Mine is a repeat bloomer here. In Alaska, some roses survived but barely bloomed because of the cold. Did you have an extra cold winter?

Not particularly, but now that I think of it I suppose there may have been more die back than usual. Maybe that's it and it will take some time to recover. Thanks for your comment.

It was a stingy bloomer for me in Dallas and did not like the alkaline soil. I finally removed it after 4 years of coddling.

Mine coddled in the pot have barely bloomed all year. But the ones in full sun have had a few blooms all year, though nothing to write home about! All seem healthy.

I also find that mine is a once-bloomer, but there are two varieties of RdV circulating, only one of which is the repeat blooming variety. It blooms best on surviving cane from last year, so if you had to prune out a lot of dead wood from the winter in zone 4 that might have reduced bloom for this season. Mine was very sparse bloom this spring for that reason and it never really reblooms (I have the Not RdV). I've recently planted the real RdV as well and it won't be to blooming size for another year yet. Sympathies on the missing bloom cycle for you.

Cynthia

Cynthia, do you know who carries the repeat blooming version of RdV? I have two, and though they give me a beautiful flush in spring, after that I just get scattered bloom. I'd love to have a real repeat blooming RdV! Can anybody suggest a source?

Thanks!

Frances, mine is from Vintage Gardens, and behaves rather like yours. I get the first flush that actually extends through two or three waves until our real heat comes in mid-July, then the odd few flowers when we have a cool stretch. Right about the first week of August, I'll trim back its laterals to about four or five inches, throw whatever leftover organic fertilizer I have at its base, and leave it alone. That plus the beginning-to-cool weeks that follow seem to trigger another couple of flushes beginning in late August and continuing on and off until frost.

What I remember reading over and over about the Hybrid Perpetuals is that most -- especially the earlier ones -- need extra food and water to trigger a decent Autumn flush. The way I look at it, we have to give a repeat of late-Spring conditions -- warm but not hot, ample moisture, and a flush of nutrients from the recent breakdown of last year's organic matter. The Chinas and Teas will keep pushing blooms first then growth, but their hybrid offspring with the old European once-blooming roses didn't seem to pick up this trait. Instead, they will rebloom when "late Spring conditions" appear, without needing the "waking up from Winter" factor. In these conditions, Bourbons and HPs want to put out a flush of new growth, then bloom on it. Chinas and Teas want to put out blooms first, then growth from the bud below the bloom -- just so long as there is enough water to prevent them from going dormant. So, in my garden, the repeat-blooming Bourbons and HPs are left to sort of "rest" during our hottest time, getting by on what's already in the soil and what water falls from the sky. I instead focus on feeding and watering the Chinas and Teas, since they love the heat and keep blooming, so long as they have water. Since most of them here are potted, they rely upon me for that. The few in the ground keep blooming with no extra attention in my conditions.

So, that being said, I know Rogue Valley Roses has the "real" RdV. But even that will likely behave the same way here.

:-)

~Christopher

Antique Rose Emporium also has the "real" repeating RdV.

Rose midges?

I have to admit Sam, after my experience with my nonblooming Boule de Neige, midge was my first thought too. Let's hope not. Any burnt looking crispy new growth?

Chris, you are a wealth of knowledge. My garden wouldn't be what it is today, if it hadn't been for all your help:)

Sheila, what an amazing photo! I've always wanted this rose, but I fear it won't be happy in my alkaline soil. Yours is so beautiful. Lisa

Hi all,

Is Reines des Violettes BS resistant in your gardens? It looks like a great rose. I am interested in getting one for my small garden in NJ.

Christopher, thanks so much for the wonderful advice! I'm glad to know mine is acting pretty much the way RdV acts - I guess I do have the real one (one of mine came, I think, from Pickering; I really don't remember where I got the other one). I may try giving them a little fertilizer this week, just to see if that will trigger additional bloom. I have to admit that I generally only fertilize my roses once, in spring with organic stuff; Rose Tone, alfalfa, maybe a top dressing of cow manure. The reasons for this are that having as many roses as I do, it gets awfully expensive, and because fertilizing them all takes a lot of time, which I only can afford to do once a year. However, I may make an exception for RdV. She is so beautiful! Sheila, I love your gorgeous picture! I have been tempted to get a third Rdv (can't seem to get a cutting to root) - if I do, I'll probably buy from ARE - I was very impressed with my order from them this spring! Roses Urban, my RdVs get some BS, mainly in July. I just went out and took a quick look, and by now they are both looking pretty clean. I don't spray; maybe if you spray they wouldn't get it at all.

Frances, thanks so much! I think I will order one from ARE. If I order it now it should arrive around early September!

Christopher has already covered the ground on the "real" RdV that still may not have much summer bloom so I won't repeat any of his excellent input. I'll just offer that I got my real RdV from Burlington. For me, some of the difference is that the real one is thornless and the Not one isn't, but neither is a terrific rebloomer as I understand it.

Cynthia

How big does RdV get?

I almost run out of space in my garden but I want to find ways to fit RdV in. Thanks!

I've heard many times that RdV grows lanky and often is sparse with foliage. So I planted mine to grow against the railing of a raised deck, by the stairs. Yes, it's rather sparsely-leafed at the base and up through the center. But that works there. It does get hit with blackspot by early July, but then I strip it, and the new flush of leaves seems to do better through the rest of the season.

So, just for fun, here's my RdV through the years.....


May 15, 2013 -- the day it came from Vintage Gardens, after being potted up in a 2gal container for growing.

August 25, 2013 -- still in the same spot, in this pic it's lined up with the back door leading to the raised deck.

September 18, 2013

......continuing.....


April 29, 2015 -- leafing out, but still looking "sparse".

May 25, 2015 -- first blooms of the year, open pinker and pick up purple on the second and third days.

.....continuing.....


November 1, 2015 -- look behind and to the right of 'Lady Hillingdon' to
see RdV against the railing. Note how naked the canes are near their
beginnings. Again, it works here, but don't expect a dense shrub.

These pics are all from this year (2017). Looking back, I think 2016 was the best year for this area of the garden, and this year things were battling the growing shade from the re-growing tree. This may have contributed to mildew I saw this year on things that never had it before. I'll be hacking it back again this Autumn to let in more light again for 2018 -- almost as severely as I did back in 2013. I'd love to start now, but I put so many annuals in this year that I can't drop the snipped tree bits without smothering them. So I'll wait until after the first frost, and keep at it until it's too cold to continue -- then start again ASAP in late Winter or early Spring.

May 8, 2017

May 19, 2017

May 21, 2017

.....and then my crazy work schedule started, and my pic-taking of RdV paused for the season. I will say that it continued as last year in having another flush shortly after the first that continued into early July. But once the hottest weather came, it stopped setting buds. In the last couple of weeks, it started again -- not really a full flush, just a few here and there. But that was my signal to throw down some fertilizer -- in this case, the last of the Holly-Tone I got for the potted blueberries nearby in the terracotta plastic pots. And considering how hard it just rained, it's certainly getting washed down through the mulch.

Frances, did you get hit hard as well? You're a bit north of me.

:-)

~Christopher

Christopher, thanks for a lovely timeline of your roses, really wonderful!

Christopher, this is so cool! Your pictures
really give a global view of RdV in your garden. They also show how this rose
has grown in relation to other roses. Really informative and fun to read.

I guess RdV can get big
but it seems that it might not be too hard to fit it between roses. I have a small
garden and it is also flanked by two big trees. I will just have to make do.

OK, I think I am set to
order a RdV!

Enjoy the nice weather
today!

Christopher, we did get hit - about an inch and a half, and all in a big torrent! We've had so much rain this summer, the mosquitoes and weeds are really taking over, I can't keep up with the weeds and I can't go out in the garden without bug spray! But I am still very grateful, we are lucky to have this rather than the awful drought that I know some gardeners are trying to cope with this summer. I'm actually south of you, I'm between New Brunswick and Princeton, just up the road from the Griggstown Farm Market. But I guess your urban (vs my rural-ish) conditions make you zone 7, while I am zone 6. I can't grow teas like you do, the few I have tried just amounted to nothing, too much die-back in winter. I guess that's micro-climates for you! Roses Urban, I hope you have much joy from your RdV - she is beautiful! A little lanky and sprawly, but oh those flowers! With my two, I try, like Christopher, to have lots of more well-foliaged companions (Renee, for one of them; for the other Aunt Margy's Rose and Gertrude J.) near them to sort of cover the barer spots.

Frances, I just ordered a RdV! I do need to have new roses in my garden (already very crowded) once in a while to reward myself so that I can keep up with my loaded work schedule. I live in Piscataway, very close to New Brunswick. Hopefully my RdV will be as nice as Christopher's!

The three of us should coordinate garden visits during next year's big flush. It seems we're all within an hour of each other.

:-)

~Christopher

That's a great idea, Christopher - let's do it!!!

This sounds fun. I usually travel overseas for work between May and July. Not sure about my schedule for next year yet (just came back). If I am around let us do it!

I wanted to add to this thread, and also to thank Sheila. This is one of
the threads I found when reading about rdv before buying it. I can
confirm that Antique Rose Emporium must have the real version, because
when mine arrived it was covered in buds. Right now it looks like it's
at the start of doing it again. The purple really doesn't come through
in pictures. From bud to bloom it's purple. Goes from light purple to
dark purple. Maybe it's my screen, but all the pictures here look like a pink rose. If I went by the pics I would have thought it was hot pink. My phone (samsung) does the same thing. Every time I take a picture of a purple rose, it looks pink. I'm now wondering if I've passed up any really nice purple roses, because I thought they were pink.

So I ordered mine this year from High Country. Does any one have RDV from them and is it the repeat flowering, no thorn version?

Christopher- have you planted the Hillingdon outside or do you bring her indoors during winter. I planted a tea -brabant last year and i doubt its comingback this year. Thanks!

Witchygirl -- yes, many purple tones in roses are lost on digital cameras. It's tough to capture them, but I've found that I come close on overcast days, or when the sun has passed the spot I'm trying to capture. And it's not just purples -- many dark-red and crimson roses are also "destroyed" by digital cameras, coming out with fiery red tones instead. I, too, have wondered after the fact about roses I passed over because their HMF pictures showed inaccurate color.

Purlisa -- 'Lady Hillingdon' died a couple years ago. I experimented with planting Teas and Chinas outdoors here, and came to learn what is needed to keep them alive through our Winters. Basically, it's at least one of two things. The first would be a protected spot, such as the south-facing side of the house where I planted 'Napoleon' (which is now over seven feet tall), "Dutch Fork China", 'Perle d'Or', and 'Cramoisi Superieur'. This option minimizes what Winter will take away. The second option is forsaking a protected area but providing full-sun all day during the growing season, along with ample water and nutrients. This will allow for maximum growth to replace what the previous Winter took away. This is where my "Bermuda Spice" grows. The south-facing bed also offers full-sun all day, so not only do the roses there escape much Winter damage, they also got big rather fast.

Unfortunately, 'Lady Hillingdon' -- just a few feet away from "Bermuda Spice" -- was in a spot with midday shade, which increased as the years progressed and a cut-back tree regrew. Each Spring, there was less of it left than the year before, and the same for what it grew by the end of the season. Finally, one year it just didn't return. I realize now where to put Teas, and where I put 'Lady Hillingdon' would have been better for 'Francesca', a Hybrid Musk which offers a similar color and habit (here, anyway).

:-)

~Christopher

So getting back to the original question....Do you fertilize this guy heavily and with what to get good blooms each year? Here in my zone it dies back to nearly the ground so other pruning techniques are not an option.

Here, my native soil is red clay -- acidic, and with sufficient iron. I use Espoma Garden Tone for almost everything, switching to Holly Tone for my potted blueberries. If you have alkaline soil, I'd recommend using Holly Tone for RdV, perhaps with a little Ironite or other iron supplement. Generally, I fertilize the garden just once a year, in late Winter to early Spring, after pruning and before the mulch layer goes down. What I use takes some time to break down before it's available to the plants. For some of the more "hungry" roses like RdV, I'll throw some more fertilizer down in July, when the last of the first flushes have finished. That'll become available to the plants by the time of their next bloom (for me), which is generally mid to late August through September. I may also hit them with an occasional hose-end feeding of some organic liquid fertilizer, like a fish/seaweed mix. If you want to encourage more blooming, you could switch to a "bloom" fertilizer -- something lower in N, high in P, and moderate in K. Those are the three numbers (N-P-K) listed on fertilizers.

:-)

~Christopher

So I have lots of other roses with no problems. Is this rose extra greedy?

Most Hybrid Perpetuals have less rebloom than modern Hybrid Teas and Floribundas, and they need some more encouragement by way of fertilizer, water, sun, and perhaps some pruning after each flush. They want to put out a good deal of growth first, then bloom on that. I'm wondering if, in your case, the issue might be more that RdV wants to be bigger before it puts on a show, but your Winters keep cutting it back. Try giving it some extra nutrition this year, and perhaps some additional protection for Winter.

But in a shorter answer, yes, RdV is "extra greedy" when compared to modern roses.

:-)

~Christopher

Thank you, Christopher!! Sounds like there is hope for the Teas, if proper care taken. I was delighted to find one small leafing bud under the soil level on the brabant. I will move her to a protected area and provide winter protection.

Purilisa, High Country Roses sells fantastic healthy plants and I wouldn't hesitate to buy anything from Matt as a vendor. Having said that, HCR is where I got my "not RDV". This one would be a thorny once-bloomer though it's a lovely one. If that's not what you want, drop Matt an email and exchange it for something else.

Cynthia

Thanks Christopher. I'm not comparing mine to hybrid teas or floribundas actually, just hardy things like Therese Bugnet that are mostly one time bloomers. Last year my Reines des Violettes got to 6 feet tall, but not a bloom. So I wouldn't say I"m looking for RE bloom, just some bloom. :( . Once cutting off the winter kill I have about a foot of growth this spring. We have considerable snow cover. I'll keep at it then.

Thank you, Cynthia! I remember chatting with you on this issue. So I talked to Matt(excellent customer service and great healthy plants-got mme hardy, p. neyron) and he did offer to send something else. So far according to him no one has said anything about it being a non RDV. I was hoping there would be another confirmation.