Guapa is a Whatley tet. My earlier picture is from 2016, but it wasn't remarkable. Usually, it reblooms. It's large, with an interesting throat/ penciled eyezone. Here are two pictures from 2015: June 27, 2015 And this was August 18, 2015. A lavish flower on rebloom.

Oddly and coincidentally. I just went through a very similar process week before last. Basically, I was deciding between a 2017 Bosch 300 series model at $720 and a floor model Miele Futura offered at $1100. I was very tempted by the Miele build quality --- as well as bedazzled a bit by the Miele mystique --- but I wound up sticking to my budgetary guns. "Bang for the buck", tee hee. (Okay, I apologize.) Anyway, I bought the Bosch 300 series model. From that process, I can suggest several things you might want to consider. First, do you have very hard water or maybe water with varying hardness, and do you not have a whole house water softener? If memory serves, the G5675 series has Miele's automatic water softening system. We have "middlin" hard water where I live. Personally, I've always had good luck with just running a cycle with some cleaner (citric acid based) every few months. Same thing with my coffee maker, too. OTOH, numbers of past postings about Miele have praised the auto softening system. Second, the Mieles have a third spray arm at the very top, above the flatware tray. It is a nice touch. But I haven't seen any problems with getting flatware clean on the top rack of the Bosch, either. Of course, I might not know what I am missing and doubtless some knowledgeable Miele owner can fill that information gap. Third, do you live in an area with Miele factory service? Relatively few folks seem to need service, but every line of manufactured products will have some lemons that get past quality control and some units will die early. If you are unlucky and receive one of those units, the strong advice here has been to be sure you get Miele factory warranty servicers. As it happens, I live 150 miles outside the range of the nearest Miele factory service, so that concern dampened the attraction of the Miele for me. You might note that the Miele DWs load differently than the Bosch ones. When shopping, I took the advice here to bring along some tableware and pans to see how things fit. I cannot say that one brand's loading is necessarily better than the other, but there are differences that are worth checking out from a personal preference standpoint. As it happened, I very slightly preferred the Bosch, but YMMV. One question -- will you be installing your new DW or having it done for you? The local Miele vendor here discouraged folks from DIY installing, but thought it okay for Bosch DWs. (There are side benefits such as warrnty extensions when having it installed by a Miele rep.) If doing the DW install yourself, be aware that some things have changed in the last couple of years. Electrical codes are now different. (Doubtless, you'll get that taken care of in your kitchen remodel.) There are now limits on how long dishwasher power cords can be, and they are supposed to be on their own dedicated circuits, too. Miele gives you everything needed for installation in the box but Bosch wants you to buy some parts as extras. The added cost is small, but it can be an annoyance. For instance, the included kit for the Bosch is set up for hard wiring. If you want to plug the DW into a GFCI outet (as I did), you pay extra to buy a separate cord for that kind of connection. Apparently, you also are supposed to have a nearby electrical shut-off for the DW, too (within four feet, I think.) . Having the GFCI (n the next base cabinet over) apparently satisfies that requirement for having a shut-off within 4 feet. BTW, the other end of the cords now plug into a fitting on the DW rather like the way cords for desktop computers plug into the back. No need to upend the new DW to run a power cord through a channel on the base to a junction box somewhere on the unit. Plug and play, as it were. The water line hookups are different, too. The water connections for the Bosch DWs now (like other brands) no longer use 3/8" brass 90° elbows. Instead, they have 3/4" threaded hose fittings on the back. You have to separately buy a 3/4" 90° to 3/8" compression fitting like this one. And, btw, the Bosch install instructions say you need to get it with "NPT" threads. That seems to be an error. I could not find a "dishwasher elbow" with 3/4-inch NPT threads. I discovered that a "3/4-inch female NPT to male hose thread adapter" would not not thread onto the Bosch fitting. However, the standard "hose threaded" dishwasher 90° adapter from the hardware store went on just fine without it. You should not have that annoyance with the Miele. I've used my Bosch 300 for a couple of weeks now. In that time, I've had two large Sunday dinners -- one for fourteen people --- and both times I got everything in one load, including a couple of cutting boards. (Ran an earlier cycle during dinner to take care of most of the pans and prep equipment.) This unit cleaned everything very well albeit a somewhat more slowly than its predecessor, an older Bosch 500 series DW. The new one definitely holds more than its predecessor and has a more flexible rack height adjustment for the middle level basket. Interestingly, the mid-level spray arm cleared cutting boards leaned to the side even when the middle rack was on the lowest height setting. I loaded the big board into the vacated space for cutlery basket, leaning the top of the board against the side wall, and that is what seems to account for the clearance difference. On the predecessor, I had to raise the upper basket to the highest position to clear that board. Speaking of the cutlery basket and the top rack, I was a bit suspicious of top tableware racks, and was pleased that the 300 series Bosch DWs come with a cutlery basket as well as the third rack. Even so, I quickly found the the flatware rack to be a very useful addition. The cutlery basket is now stashed in my basement. FWIW, the Miele Dimension flatware rack was adjustable (the Bosch one is not) and the Miele box did not include the basket (so you will not have to store if you do not want one.) When my new 300 Series model is run on the "auto" cycle, the display always tells me that the cycle will take 2 hours and 15 minutes. However, it seems like it actually gets done in 15 or 20 minutes less time. (I keep meaning to time it exactly but I keep getting distracted and lose track of the timing.) Near as I could tell from reseach and talking to an owner of similar Miele, the Miele pretty much takes 2½ to 3½ hours depending on the selected cycle. The Miele does have something called Turbo Wash which speeds things up but I gather that it still takes around 2 hours to run. The one quirk I've found with the Bosch is with the "rinse and hold cycle." On the 2017 Bosch models, the rinse-and-hold runs for nine minutes and does not seem to heat the water above the temp of the hot water supply line. That means the rinsed dishes aren't hot enough to speed drying as is the case with wash cycles. At the end of this short cycle, I find myself propping the door open with a dish towel because the interior otherwise seems to stay pretty wet for a long time. I've also done that to help finish drying with the largest loads on a full cycle, too. Dishes are too hot to handle at that point, anyway, and popping the door for five minutes does speed the the final bits of drying and cooling except for water that has pooled in the upside-down items with convex or rimmed bases like my coffee cups. I gather that the Mieles do the same with convex bases but those with auto-open function may make this process more convenient, so I could see where the "auto open" feature of the Miele could be handy. Not all Miele DWs have this, btw. The floor model Futura I was looking at was (apparently) one model down from the ones that had auto-open. The ones that auto-open were about twice the price of the Bosch 300 series I was looking at and not available at that store as floor models or open box sales. As best I can tell, your open-box G5675 model does have the auto-open feature, so the $1k price looks like a pretty good deal if you want that convenience. For finding a Bosch 300 series model to check out, the various models all seemed essentially similar internally. So you might be able to check out the innards of any one of them without having to see the specific panel-ready version you are looking for. Two weeks ago, our local Lowe's and the nearby regional appliance chain (the one that carried the Mieles) both had new 300 series models arriving at their warehouses. Only Lowe's had one out on the floor. That is just a long way of saying that you might be getting improved chances of finding models to actually lay hands on in the next couple of weeks if you are not in a hurry.

Very pretty roses Helen! I have The Wedgwood Rose that I got from DA earlier this year. It’s growing against a fence and has stayed small so far, but does produce those fragrant bloom clusters. Yours are spectacular! Also love my Charlotte tree standard! My own-root James Galway is about 8” tall in his first six months and seems quite reticent to grow. We’ll see what happens next year! Ann

Great preliminary report, Vicky. I only have a few of these and two are new. First I want to say, I'm sorry that you lost your Dad. I know you are greatly comforted in knowing where he is now:) I don't really do red roses, but I have investigated Rouge Royale because my sons seem to like red roses, and those Romantica Roses by Meilland do so well for me. I'll add what I've observed so far in the roses that I have from your list. Earth Angel: Impulse buy at Lowe's. Potted, big healthy looking bush. Fell in love with the pictures someone posted over on the regular Rose forum. It is still in it's purple Kordes pot.(I know, bad rose lady!) The blooms did bleach out too much in full sun, but once I moved the pot to afternoon shade, I got the blooms I bought it for. They are absolutely perfect! The scent is amazing, too. I did get some funny colored leaves, that looked exactly like iron deficiency. I gave it a bit of ironite, and it cleared up. Others told me later that Earth Angel sometimes does this in response to a sudden overwatering, too. I'm not getting many blooms, but right now I've moved EA into even more shade, just because it's so hot. I'm more concerned with keeping my potted roses alive right now, than bloom production. Once it cools off and I settle this rose in, I believe I'm going to be crazy about it. I cut every bloom it gave me, and kept it by my bedside. Fabulous! Cream Veranda: I have two of them. They are in large baskets with a water reservoir, hanging at the front entrance to my home. I've had them about 2ish years, purchased as quart sized, own root, from Wayside Gardens end of season sale. They have stayed a nice size for the baskets, and are fairly healthy. They just get the usual spring powdery mildew, like many other roses do around here. They don't really seem to bloom in big flushes for me, rather 2-6 blooms on each most of the time. That's fine with me, always some color by the front entrance arches that way. Princess Charlene de Monaco: I only purchased this one in January or February this year, potted from a local nursery. I already love it! You are absolutely right about PCdM wanting to grow straight up and bloom up high on top of those long canes. I decided I'd had enough of that, and I wanted more blooms for cutting and arrangements. This IS a florists rose after all, and I want enough blooms to do something with. She's planted in a raised bed, in full hot sun. She had the usual spring bout of powdery mildew, but shook it off on her own. I tied her canes to trellises about 4 weeks ago. I now have something like 15-20 laterals, each with at least one bud. All that happened in just 4 weeks! There is a post with the details and photos on the regular Roses forum titled, "I'm liking my Princess Charlene de Monaco". This is a great rose for cutting. I would suggest training/tying the canes sideways to produce lots of laterals. Then cut the buds early in the morning when they show color. They will last a long time in the vase, and have beautiful color and fragrance. I'm considering purchasing a second one. I don't have two of many roses, actually only two. I have the two Cream Veranda's for the matching baskets, and I have two Violets Pride roses. They only reason I have two Violets Prides, is because the second one came as part of $13 surprise rainbow of roses collection. Me buying a second Princess Charlene de Monaco is saying a lot about how much I like this one. Try some in a vase! The Pilgrim: I can third the stinginess of The Pilgrim, here in So CA. Mine was also purchased bare root from Wayside Gardens. I think it was bought 5 or 6 years ago. Yes, it is in a difficult spot with blazing afternoon sun. I saw its first bloom last year, and I've gotten a handful of them this year. I'm hoping things will improve shortly, as the adjacent park removed a huge eucalyptus tree that was nearby, and I had Queen Palms and a Texas Privet hedge removed this past spring. I am finally seeing more growth in the past 6 months, than I've seen in the past 5 years, so I'm not giving up yet. Kate, how long are you willing to give your Pilgrim? I'm willing to give mine another year, due to the improved conditions, but that's it. If it doesn't wow me next spring or summer/fall, it's out of here. I don't shovel prune anything in haste, but 7 or 8 years is plenty time to show me what he can do. Vicky, count yourself lucky. At least you've seen some of the Pilgrims blooms already. I didn't see a single one until it was almost 5 years old. And then, it really was a single ONE:) I've seen great pictures of The Pilgrim loaded with blooms, so surely it must bloom well somewhere, for someone? Well, those are the ones I have here in S CA. Please keep us updated on how they are doing, Vicky. And please do check out the Princess Charlene de Monaco thread. I think you could get more roses out of her, and they are best appreciated up close in a vase:) Lisa