Bump ;)

Maybe someone on the antique forum would know ? I agree it's a beautiful rose ! I love to see photos of the once bloomers but am too impatient for them . I hope you find a sub and tell us what it is :)

I remember a Polyantha being described as looking like a smaller, repeat-blooming 'Mme Hardy' in flower-form. I'll have to check through some things and try and find it again.

:-)

~Christopher

Sombreuil Cl has white quartered blooms and often gets that little proliferation/eye in the center although not as prominent as the eye in Madame Hardy. I have Sombreuil Cl and it does well here. Its on own root and I just put it in the ground since its getting too large for its pot after a few years. It will get big but its gorgeous.

Fair Bianca is said to look like Madame Hardy. She sometimes has a green eye.

Fair Bianca (David Austin) looks similar and repeat flowers.

Cross posted :)

Fair Bianca is so beautiful! I'm reading that her disease resistance is low. I might try her anyways in a pot since she stays small. How does she do for you guys?

~Sjn

I have Lullaby. If you're interested, I got it at RU. Last year was its first summer here so I can't tell you more than: 1) It's very fragrant, 2) It's white with a green eye and a salmon tinge in cold weather and 3) It repeats. Some blackspot in my no spray garden but nothing that concerns me, especially for a first year rose. In general, polyanthas are equal to or better than KO's for me here but it may be different for you. It seems like it will stay a moderate size for a polyantha which is what I'd hoped..

I'm going to follow this thread closely, as I just ordered Fair Bianca from Roses Unlimited. I've heard it is very good as a cut flower. Lullaby sounds beautiful. I need a bigger yard for sure!

'Fair Bianca' looks "similar" to 'Mme. Hardy' only if you squint, and in dim light. Seriously, the resemblance is mostly superficial in that 'Fair Bianca' is clearly of modern pedigree, and only occasionally does it display a bloom form anything close to that of 'Mme. Hardy'. No true quartering of petals, no green pip at the center, none of the "paper white" purity of color that 'Mme Hardy' offers.

But that is not where the real issues lie - 'Fair Bianca' can be a lovely rose if it likes where it's growing, but I found it completely lacked vigor* and was extremely susceptible to blackspot. Mine grew well for one year, then grew backwards for two more, then it was gone.That was with regular application of fungicide to keep disease at bay.

Also, be warned that this rose offers one of the most intense "Myrrh" scents of the whole Austin clan, and many people find the scent offensive. The fragrance bears zero resemblance to the honeyed nuances of 'Mme Hardy's classic Damask perfume.

*Don't even think about buying an own-root specimen of this rose, as it needs a vigorous root system under it to make it perform even modestly.

Oh well. I was worried about the vigor and the fragrance of Fair Bianca, but I've already ordered the plant from Pat. This may be a short-lived experiment!

I've found that wimpy roses make ideal pot-pets, because they aren't so vigorous that they'll require frequent repotting. And being in a pot, they get no root competition, and can be pampered as required. If you find you must use fungicide to grow some of these wimps, at least you'll know it's isolated in one pot, rather than being broadcast throughout the garden.

:-)

~Christopher

The mini, Green Ice.

When I grew Fair Bianca (own root), she did put out a few flowers that were beautiful and somewhat similar in form to Madame Hardy ("squinting...and in dim light"), but without the green eye. There were only a few (3 or 4) flowers the whole year which smelled of anise and required deadheading. I grew her (two of them) for about 4 years in heavily amended rich soil, and she never grew more than 18" tall with at most 2 canes without branching (another rose in the same spot grew to 4 feet in the first year). Fair Bianca was removed and given to a rose fanatic friend who couldn't keep her alive. That being said, I've seen luxuriously large plants of her pictured on this forum. I'm still waiting for David Austin or anyone for that matter, to produce a really good white quartered rose. I was hoping Claire Austin would be a good one, but although vigorous, it bloomed yellow for me, and wasn't quartered. Bolero really isn't quartered. Neither is Glamis Castle, or Lichfield Angel, or Desdemona, or Susan Williams Ellis. Once in a rare while, Winchester Cathedral puts out a really nice bloom, but usually they are loosely formed and not really pure white. Pure Perfume is heavily doubled but not quartered (or cupped). Same with Fabulous. The hunt/wait continues.

Pure Perfume

Fabulous!

Glamis Castle

Winchester Cathedral on a good day

On a usual day:

Lichfield Angel is awesome here. It doesnt have an eye though. Every once in a while it will shoot out a huge quartered bloom but not often enough to call it quartered. It blooms all the time here though. I've been wanting to try Desdemona for its spray like flowers

How about that rose, Artemis? It kinda has that look but idk if its quartered.

://https://www.houzz.com/discussions/does-anyone-know-the-rose-artemis-dsvw-vd~5159909?n=24

How about Madame Plantier?

Madame Plantier is so so pretty but I don't think it repeats. Does anyone know for sure? Here are some drool worthy photos of her. (From hedgerowrose's blog)

hedgerowrose.com/rose-gardening/2012/09/06/growing-madame-plantier-or-the-brides-rose/

Sorry, forgot you was looking for a repeater, I just thought of her for something similar. Your best bet is what Christopher suggested as lulaby.

Green ice?

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.54164

Burling has Green Ice. I almost got it with my first order and really need to go for it. It's said to make a great pot pet.

Hi everyone. Thanks so much for your great suggestions. I really like green Ice, does anyone know how good it is on disease resistance? Winchester Cathedral is very pretty, I saw it in person recently at Cool Roses in Palm Beach and I really liked it, however they were out of plants that were for sale so I couldnt get one for my garden.

I love Litchfield Angel, I wish it was more white, but I don't mind the creamy color of it. Im totally with Noseometer, I too have been looking for a quartered pure white rose but haven't been able to find it. I ordered Bolero this year and i have Sombrieul but its still small and has only set out a few blooms. Pretty though.

Claire Austin was also yellow for me. It was not white at all. Windermere is also a creamy white/pale yellow, and although I like it very much, the blooms blow quickly. Luckily it blooms very often.

Artemis looks stunning, but I dont see were I can get one here in the US.

Ive also been eyeing one called Cloud 10 and Pure Perfume as well. Is Pure Perfume disease resistant?

I don't think these are quite what you're looking for, but just as an addition to what's gone so far...

'Tranquillity' [Austin] does have a quartered bloom, most of the time, but no green eye.

'Artemis' doesn't have a green eye either, and the blooms can be quite

globular, but some are quartered. They're not large.

'Imogen' [Austin'] can have a small green eye, nothing like 'Mme H', and it's yellow

centred and a bit muddled...

Hope you find what you're looking for, SoFL rose...

I am also a lover of white roses with a green eye, or a red eye.

Fair Bianca may be what you are looking for. She is fragrant also. Love this rose.

I have tiny buds right now on FB and I can't wait for the gorgeous blooms and the fragrance.

Suebelle

Wow, if FB does well in New Orleans, maybe it will do well here in FL. Your photos are beautiful!

I’m going to look into it. Sometimes Austin’s like our heat.

Lamarque. blooms in flushes, for zone 10 should do very well...http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.300835

Lamarque is beautiful thanks for suggesting

I have Fair Bianca and I love it. The buds are pink and the blooms are pure white. It does stay small but it blooms a lot. I say go for it. You can keep it in a pot. I don't think it looks like Mme Hardy, but it's still a nice white rose. I've won a lot of blue ribbons with it.

I have Mme Plantier and it's gorgeous but also a once bloomer.

You might try either 'Boule de Niege' or 'Coquette des Blanches'; I think RU or Rose Petals might have one or both.

Coquette des Blanches looks gorgeous and is said to be very disease resistant which is what I am looking for. The color looks to be a bit pink, but maybe for me it will be white. Its hard to say if heat brings out the color or not, but usually in my hot climate the colors are more faded so maybe it will be whiter.