I don't have Violet's Pride but Quick Silver is a nice lavender shade and its quartered. Enough said :) I love quartered roses ♡♡

I'm getting both in spring. I'll report back if you don't get a lot of info. We are zone/climate close, so might be helpful. Hope you do the same. :-) From photos of both, my guess is quicksilver. I also love quartered blooms.

Although I am in love with Violet's Pride's, but the only bloom my Quick Silver's gave me last season was very beautiful. I pick Quick Silver's as a winner.

I only have Quicksilver but the blooms are beautiful

Quick Silver is on its way from Chamblee's, perhaps the last order I will ever get from them before the nursery is sold. I got QS this past spring, pot grew it, and was very favorably impressed with its: strong growth; many petaled/long lasting bloom, flowering at such a young age (not typical for a climber or a Kordes rose); and not powerful fragrance, but definitely more than moderate.

It went to a new home, so now I'm delighted to get the replacement, having some prior experience with it.

Violet's Pride is on my short list mostly because it was highlighted by Christian Bedard on the recent Weeks tour video the ARS execs. made. When I saw the bush, and the reaction of the ARS ladies to it and its fragrance, I was sold on it.

So goes the never ending quest for the rose that has it all.

Moses

Modestgoddess,

My QS's bloom looked just like your lovely bloom in the photo you posted. Thanks for that.

Did you encounter any black spot issues? It is an ADR winner and normally they don't BS. Mine didn't.

I'm attempting to grow it as a 5' bush, at the back of my bed. I hope it cooperates.

Moses

Moses did it flower more than your Lady Ashe did in the first year? I grew the rambler seafoam before, but LA was my first climber, and I was impressed that she was making blooms. No laterals yet, but the ends kept repeating. JBs got a couple really good ones I had been waiting on. They love the ones I love the most. lol

Witchygirrl,

My Lady Ashe did flower nicely from the beginning. Because of its high/deep flower produced on long laterals, it behaves like a climbing hybrid tea. When it clusters at its first spring flush, the clusters are only 3-4 buds. Thereafter, until the season's end I get mostly single blooms on 24+" laterals, great for cutting. The blooms last a long time on the bush or vase. They're almost like the old plastic artificial flowers for substance....thick petals.

Moses

Modestgoddess - wow!! That's a super beautiful rose!! Too bad it's a climber, or I would try to get it. :)
Carol

Moses,

In my opinion the winner of the fluffy lavender rose battle is...Love Song. I have never seen a more lush lavender rose...it’s the huge size and fluffiness of the soft lavender-blue blooms carried in such generosity on such compact, full plants. It is also very much on the blue side of lavender which I find more desirable than the pink/magenta tones. Every time I have seen it, I thought it was a must have (and now I have one).

Love Song at Huntington Gardens

Love Song at World Peace Garden

I’m very encouraged by your description of Lady Ashe. I also just bought Aloha, I suppose she’ll perform much like her sport, and I’m glad the blooms are very long lasting. I wish Aloha had handed down her great substance to all those Austins that were descended from her...they are so fleeting here!

I think Violet’s Pride is excellent too, and more fragrant, but Love Song has a uniquely lush landscape effect, well spaced blooms approaching 5” in size on a compact extremely floriferous floribunda.

Both my love songs were pretty BS prone here. I'm hoping they build some resistance, but I'm probably going to give them the bayer disease stuff in spring. Not the one with pesticide though. I'm going to get them off to a good start, and see if they do better. I ordered Poseidon, because I read it was healthier. I'm going to do the same with Twilight Zone. I loved the blooms on both LS and TZ, but the black spot really slowed their growth. I should have sprayed them, but I kept pulling leaves off.

Witchygirl, I think you make a good point, our spray programs and where we live greatly influence which roses we grow. I live in blackspot h3ll, but I rotate fungicides and keep even all my blackspot queens (Dolly Parton, Melody Parfumee) blackspot free. If I did not do fungicides, I wouldn’t be able to grow 95% of HTs and Floris , but given the spray, all the lavenders would be fine. I do think the Kordes lavenders would be more resistant than LS and VP.

BenT I think I had perfect black spot weather last year. It was wet all summer. I don't want to make anyone think they're total magnets for it. New plants, stress, wet, perfect conditions for black spot, they might be super healthy this year if I leave them alone. I'm going to spray them, at least until they get some size, and then let them go without to make sure they need to be sprayed all the time. If they do, I will. I like them enough to do it. I have a couple I don't like enough to bother if I had to. (ruby ice)

Quicksilver was healthy during rainy April and an unusually rainy May. It defoliated in July but that might be because of lack of rain or supplemental water. Leafed out again during an unusually rainy August.

I really wish I could grow Love Song. It is so beautiful! Although black spot is rampant in my climate, I dont seem to have issues with most roses. Love Song was just insistent on being nakey all the time lol. Eventually, with no leaves,she kept declining. I recently stuck her in the ground. I will see if she gets any better by summer. If not, she may be the first rose ever kicked to the curb here. Quick Silver stays clean here. I don't spray so maybe if I did, Love Song might work out but I'm not gonna due to all the butterflies and frogs etc I've been trying to get established.

I was impressed with the size and longevity of Quick Silver's blooms. I have a friend that grows Violet's Pride. I will keep my eye on it this spring.

Jasminerose,

The first bloom of the given away potted Quick Silver I got last year was a shocker. Big, packed with petals, fragrant, deep/high, and long lasting. Every day I waited for it to start to fade and drop its petals....wait, wait, and wait somemore. It finally succumbed after over a week in full bloom, in July!

It came as a tiny liner and was potted up into a gallon pot, too. My replacement is scheduled in soon from Chamblee's.

I think Quick Silver will rise to the top of favorite roses in the future.

Moses

Quick Silver is the winner here, too. They just earn their keep by being beautiful and completely trouble free. I'm also growing mine as shrubs.

Well, my replacement Quick Silver came from Chamblee's on Monday. There are three cuttings in the gallon pot. I plan to separate them come March, repot each, and pot grow them until the 4th. of July. The nicest one will go into Evelyn's old spot at that time if all goes well.

As I see how my new climbers: Pink Don Juan and Mme. Isaac Pereire fare being new last year, I will have replacements for them if needs be, with the extra Quick Silvers.

I am still keeping Violet's Pride as a possible newbe for Miranda Lambert, who if I don't see a noticeable improvement this, her third year, I'll give VP a go in ML's place, next year. Miranda Lambert seems to be more disease prone than expected, and has not shown any vigor yet. She died to the ground over last winter, even with heavy winter protection. This winter's outcome will be apparent soon enough.

Moses

Moses, it just struck me that you gave away your first Quick Silver freely and received multiples back of the same. You have been blessed.

Diane,

Such incredible Love Song blooms, you have the nicest mauves of anyone. I was really trying to stay away from Love Song, because I already had way too many mauves and knew LS didn’t have a strong fragrance. But I saw it in four separate gardens this year, and each time I was struck by the incredible beauty of the whole plant. I’m not worried about blackspot either, I spray and manage to keep the foliage very clean. I didn’t realize she was tender too, (I guess such great beauty exacts a price!), but my winters are relatively mild. I just received mine from K&M on Fortuniana, hoping for great things.

Diane - incredible!!! Your Love Songs are utterly fabulous!!! Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!

Carol

Jasminerose,

Yes, I realized that too. "Give, and it shall be given unto you.....," not only a replacement, but a threefold one at that. We have a great God!

Moses

It seems like Quick Silver, Violet's Pride, and Love Song are rapidly becoming a formidable trio of lavender roses: "The Three Musketeers, The Pale Purple Crusaders, The Regalia of Nostalgia."

The more lavender roses the better, especially when you get older and find yourself becoming increasingly sentimental. The color lavender glows next to any other color, except perhaps orange, maybe that contrast works, too.

Thank you everyone, for all your input. I'm sold on all thee lavenders.

It seems Quick Silver and Love Song have the best formed and colored blooms, while Violet's Pride is the most fragrant and more pink hued of the three.

I suspect the bush form of Love Song noted by Texas Ben is the most impressive/rose bed centered of the three. The photos that Texas Ben and Diane (thank you for them), provided, give me weak-knees!

Lavender roses have surely come a long way since Angel Face.

Moses

FWIW Moses, you might give Love Song a protected spot since it's by far the least hardy of the three. I've tried three times to overwinter it and it has not a glimmer of survival any time even in my zone 6 pocket. Protected in zone 6 might work, but the glories of Diane's and Ben's Love Song are sadly beyond my zone. Fortunately Violet's Pride and Quicksilver are both happy in my zone. I'd agree that Quicksilver has the better flower form, but my word Violet's Pride does love to bloom! The color stays a true lavender-violet and I'm totally sold on that rose.

Cynthia

Modest and BenT, those look fantastic!

Nanadoll, your Love Songs always blow me away and I get to see them all day on my screen saver so thanks again for that!

Moses, I think that I remember you saying that you loved fragrance. One that I never hear anything about is Tantau's Twice in a Blue Moon. The fragrance is absolutely wonderful here and more importantly, it wafts.

I can't say that it looks more beautiful than nanadoll's Love Song on its very best day, but the fragrance is divine. I'm no-spray and it continually does well when we get close to 0 degrees. We have swings so I know that's not the same as your zone, but not even losing leaves was much more than I expected.

Violet's Pride is doing great here but the scent has been mild so far.

Moses, I love your creative mind. I like The Regalia of Nostalgia. You are an English professor, right? English Lit. and Composition? Poetry? Now, someone (you, Moses?) needs to use one of your titles as a jump off and write the poem that's begging to be written about those three lavender roses. Diane, our Rose Forum Poet Laureate in residence, maybe you?

Cynthia,

I will remember your warning concerning Love Song's winter hardiness. Thanks for you concern.

Lavenderlace,

I will study up on Twice in a Blue Moon. Wafting fragrance is my most coveted form. I can sit in the garden and take its scent in, which I do a lot.

Flowersaremusic,

I'm not an English professor, just a broken down, old art teacher...no one of any particular significance, believe me.

Moses

Moses, your humbleness is one of your most endearing characteristics as is your description of yourself as "a broken down, old art teacher... of no particular significance". That made me laugh for some reason as less true words were never spoken! At least from where I'm standing. : ) In any case, you express yourself as a poet and design your garden as an artist. That much is obvious.

What would you all think of growing Quick Silver next to Poseidon? Complementary or no?

They are similar in color and both climbers. The Quick Silver is more of a quartered bloom and Poseidon reminds me more of a waterlily shape. They would be pretty together but might blend in a lot colorwise.

I have Poseidon with a super pale baby yellow climber on one side and a cream climber on the other side. The Quick Silvers are on a gazebo- like trellis with 4 legs. One has Crepuscule which is a large apricot climber that I'm sure will try to dominate the Quick Silvers eventually lol.

I think either one would be pretty with a white clematis.

Moses, art teacher trumps almost everything else in my book and you are of great significance here.

Anyone heaping praises upon me are misplacing them. The praises go to every Roses Forum member.

I had a very good mentor in roses. I believe I absorbed just about all of his considerable rose culture practices. But his tutelage is greatly expanded by the immense knowledge base the members here possess.

There is hardly any subject on roses that has not been presented in the Roses Forum, and addressed from so many points of view, and by so many extremely knowledgeable grass roots rosarians.

I get my inspiration from, and credit any of my successes to the member's wisdom shared here on our Roses Forum.

Moses