While our conditions are very different, I notice that mildew is sometimes a sign of water stress. It may be that there are air pockets below the surface, causing roots to dry out a bit. What I would do is throw some used coffee grounds in the bowl you've made around the rose and just outside of it as well, soak it with water, then add a layer of mulch. The coffee grounds are very attractive to earthworms, which will come up to feed on them. Keeping a layer of mulch on top will keep the area moist. That earthworm activity should, over time, help settle the soil, and allow mixing between the potting mix and the native soil.

I planted a rooted cutting of SdlM in a friends' garden, and it took about a year before a new stout cane emerged from the roots. This was in a prime full-sun, no root competition spot, and included the doting of a very attentive wife. Once it got going, it grew vigorously. I know you've had it in the ground for a year, but since it doesn't look to be dying back, my guess is that it's still putting its roots into the soil.

:-)

~Christopher

Thanks, Chris. I guess I’ll need to go back to drinking a little more coffee! I no longer have other coffee drinkers in the house, and my machine has the option to make one cup at a time,(reusable one cup filter). I so rarely leave the house lately, that picking up used grounds isn’t an option right now. I’ll start using the other side of the coffeepot and generating a few more grounds for her. You may really be on to something. My SdlM is planted out front, and I don’t spend nearly as much time out there. It’s very “public”,(park entrance next to property). I always feel that I need to be dressed more presentably and in the mood to chat with someone every few minutes out there. As a consequence, I don’t spend as much time observing and giving special care. There may be times during the summer that she should get more water. Thank you. The coffee grounds have boosted my worm population in the back for sure! Lisa

My SDLM has been a slow grower but like Chris said roses grow differently in different climates. I'm in Texas with hot summers and mild winters. SDLM had not gotten large for me until this year, she's been in the ground 5 years and is just now putting on some noticeable size. She has been healthy and blooms a lot. Good luck with yours!

Thank you, boncrow. I’m going to give her some coffee grounds and a heap of compost on top of that. I’m happy to hear that you’ve experienced a similar slow start. I wasn’t all that concerned until I saw Ingrid’s gorgeous giants, and the smaller of the two wasn’t THAT much older than mine. It’s just that looking at other ownroot roses received around the same time, she’s definitely lagging behind. Flamingo Gardens Tea and Leveson Gower are quite a bit more vigorous. Perhaps with the extra care, this will be her leap year. I also received a mature Mystic Beauty, from Cliff. I’m anxious to see how the two compare! Lisa

SdlM (even when budded) is well known for spending its time blooming rather than growing.. Nothing to worry about.

Mine here is from ARE and this will be the third Summer I think. She has improved every year, but looks horrible right now. She starts too early and has some Spring freeze every year. At first, she suffered from too much irrigation

I got mine in a trade. A tiny thing. She took off fairly quickly. She looks wonky right now. My son brought his lab over and she just plowed thru her (and Belinda) playing with my little dogs. She has two "arms" that are covered in new growth/leaves. Unfortunately, she has one arm up and one that runs along the ground. lol She really grows like a weed in our area. I have had her for a couple of years and I think this year is gonna be great. She bloomed her head off last year. I had some cuttings that I rooted (from the broken canes) and they did get mildew while in my hoop house. (over the winter) I have been keeping the plastic rolled up, so they are now getting direct sun/rain. I snipped the mildewed leaves off and have new, clean growth. Grandmothers Hat cuttings also mildewed. (note, my large SDLM and Grandmothers Hat that are planted in the yard, did not mildew)

The odd thing I’m noticing in most of these comments, is that many of your young SdlM’s seem to want to bloom rather than grow, at first. Mine has hardly bloomed at all. I might have had a total of 5 small blooms all summer! Is that a concern? Lisa

I don't know that I would be concerned right now, not every rose is the same and some take longer to settle in and really get going. I think I would give her some time. Patients grasshopper....:) :)

OK. Out with it! Full disclosure here! I had what I undoubtedly was a case of rose rose midge last summer/fall in a potted rose on my patio. It affected two potted roses on the patio and I can’t be certain which one started it, but I have my suspicions. I drenched each container with the appropriate wicked chemicals and cut them to the ground. SdlM IS far away from these two roses, BUT my Madame Alfred Carriere from the same source as my suspect rose isn’t blooming like it should either. I don’t know if I’m being paranoid or not. MAC is so high up in the air, that I can’t get a good look at her ends to see if they have that “burnt look”. I can’t tell on SdlM if it’s where I cut of her old blooms or not. Lisa

Oh, and MAC is next to SdlM. Lisa

I was wondering if your SdlM needs your hottest, sunniest spot, Lisa? The rose midge issue is another can of worms.

I know. I was honestly thinking of moving her to a spot where she’d get blasted all day, but once people started saying she wanted to bloom instead of grow, my mind went to midge. I certainly don’t want to move her if that’s going on. I need to investigate before I do anything. I can’t move her to an area that’s not yet infected. I do hope I’m being paranoid, but I have had it before. I wasn’t as hesitant to treat it, because they were both in large containers. I covered the grass nearby with plastic for months. I really don’t want to treat my open soil with chemicals. Plastic isn’t an option out front thanks to the HOA. Oh, please let it not be midge! Lisa

Lisa, would landscape fabric be an option or is that still too obvious? I moved my potted plants to a hard surface and put landscape fabric to cover the soil. That cut back infestation to almost zero on the potted plants. I'm thinking what other options you might have for something in the ground with an HOA. Hmm.. I'm putting my thinking cap on.

Here are a few pictures of mine. You can see how she is two armed! She does have a bud now. I hope to get lots of new growth this summer.

Thanks, Vap. See my pictures with my OP? The first picture that looks upside down, is actually looking straight down on SdlM. The edging shown in that 1st picture is on my side, and the grass is mine. In the second picture, the edging shown is on the park side, and the grass belongs to the park. I have a row of 9 roses planted along the property edge. MAC and SDLM are both at one the South end. I just hate the thought of this! I think I’m going to get the ladder out and try to see what MAC looks like up there. She’s against the fence, so I should have something fairly stable to hold on to. Now that I’ve got the thought of midge in my mind, I’m driving myself nuts not knowing for sure. I’d be devastated! I’m not sure what I’d do, or if I’d have the strength to handle it. I SO hope I’m worried for nothing, but that’s exactly what I said the last time. That last time it WAS midge, but I thought I caught it in time, especially because it was only in two pot pet roses. I’ve read enough to know not to assume that everything’s fine, and ignore it. This is one bug you can’t ignore. As I understand it, no good bugs are going to show up and take care of them. They’ll spread and you’ll eventually never see a bloom again. Thanks for your help, Vap. I know you know how devastating midge is. Lisa

Oh wow Lisa then I guess my nothing to worry about attitude was the wrong way to think, I would be worried if i thought it was midge too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's not midge! But I think one of your boys needs to be the on the ladder and not you, it would be terrible if you accidentally fell off the ladder.

Galgal, thank you so much for your pictures! Yours actually looks pretty similar in size to mine, and that makes me feel much better! I’m really glad you posted the pictures of yours. Yours does look much greener than mine, but I think the lack of rain here is partly to blame for that. I have a can of coffee grounds that are a flavor no one likes, so I think I’ll give her that. My soil is so alkaline that I think 1lb. of unbrewed grounds with compost will be alright. I’m hoping one of my sons will come over before it starts raining today, so I can check MAC with the ladder. My balance is terrible, and it’s not really a good idea when I’m home alone. I’m waiting as long as I can, but the waiting is nerve racking. My soil is just teaming with earthworms and I cannot bear the thought of poisoning my beautiful soil! Lisa

We cross posted, boncrow:) I’m trying to get someone over here, but “bugs on Mom’s roses” aren’t high on the priority lists of young men. But, I agree with you. I’m waiting as long as I can stand to:) Thank you:) Lisa

Lisa, I did the Alfalfa tea last year and she was one rose that really responded to it. She also loves water. She does fine with just rainfall, but sometimes I shoot it to her...(you know, I just gotta have something to do outside.)

I do have Alfalfa meal, so I can mix up some for her. My boys didn’t come over last night. I did get on a step stool to have a better look at MAC. I don’t see what I saw on my two potted roses last year, that had midge. I’m not ruling it out completely yet, but it’s not really obvious the way it was the first time. I’m still going to investigate further and watch closely. Thanks galgal. I think I’ll start up a bucket today! I even have real rain water to use:) Lisa

Lisa, my usual complaint is that the bushes get shockingly tall here way too fast, but certainly not SDLM for me. And maybe it will be better this year, but her number of blooms were nothing to brag about either. She seemed to bloom more after it cooled off but it could just be that she's young.

She is maybe one foot tall, compared to her roommates Evelyns, who quickly shot up to five feet and planted at least six months later than SDLM.

So maybe no problems, just slower by comparison?

Thanks, Lav. That’s what I like to hear! I have the same thing here. I’m accustomed to young roses growing like gangbusters out of the gate, and wondering if they’ll ever stop growing bigger and taller. I guess I’m just not familiar with her habits. As long as I don’t have the dreaded “M” problem, I’m not going to complain a bit! Lisa:)

Should I read HOA as 'Homeowners Association'?

If you are averse to chemicals, an alternative to solarisation is steaming...

Yes, Nik. I have a particularly pesky one. The sort that sends letters asking me to “remove the dead shrub in my front yard”. I couldn’t find a dead shrub, and figured they had the wrong address. By the time letter # 2 came, informing me that a $50 fine would be charged if it wasn’t taken care of by their next meeting date, I realized it was the recently pruned HT they were talking about(January ‘14). By the time I realized what they were talking about, it had leafed out, and that was that. There have been a number of these foolish incidents. I’m currently waiting for my yearly letter, asking me to remove the “weeds” between my roses out front. These fools believe that flowers only should come purchased as blooming plants, not as seeds. My self seeding annuals don’t look lovely enough for the HOA during the two months it takes them to go from germination to bloom. In other words, NO plastic is not an option. I do as I please in the back, and I push as far as I dare in the front without causing a ruckus:)

I’m curious about steam, Nik. Is this something I could feasibly do on my own, or does this involve hiring someone? Spending big bucks is out, and so is something that someone with weak muscles and poor energy could do. I know that doesn’t leave many options, but that’s my reality. I keep reading about midge, and it seems I’d be extraordinarily lucky if it didn’t spread at all. I’ve really got to be diligent. Thanks, Lisa

Liisa, I feel for you. I feel HOA's, along with their ridiculous fees, were spawned by the devil and are mostly run by idiots. If you can't do what you want on your own property (within reason, of course) then what's left?

I know, Ingrid. I do appreciate that they don’t allow the neighborhood to go downhill, I really do. I’ve seen too many modesty priced( not that there is such a thing in our area) neighborhoods become downright rundown and scary in So CA. I’m thankful they don’t allow broken down cars, and trash to pile up, but this one is crazy. If they ever got a look at the plant jungle I’ve got in the back, I don’t know what they’d think. Thankfully, that’s non of their beeswax. Any shrub or tree larger than 5F, also needs prior approval before being removed or planted. During the height of the drought, everyone received a letter, saying, “perhaps we could water the grass more often, just for less time, to keep it greener.” Are you kidding me? It was ridiculous, and I wasn’t wasting an extra drop on my grass. It’s an awful lot of trouble for $80 a month and a park that brings me gophers and men spraying weed killers! Sorry! Rant over, I just get fed up with them.

Anyway, your beautiful SDLMs made me question my little dawdler. The few blooms I’ve gotten didn’t even look like yours. Ingrid, your SDLM are incredible, and clearly happy with you! Lisa

I used to have a SDLM growing in a container and it was still tiny after
3 years. I didn't really like it. 1) I don't like the narrow, gray
green leaves. I think this is very common to all bourbons I think. It
lacks the shine common to modern roses like Kordes or the Austins. 2)
The blooms are usually white in broad sunlight - not enough soft pink.
3) The scent is not my favorite. It's light and smells like pepper. 4)
It ended up with so many diedbacks. I finally got rid of it, and I
didn't miss it at all. But I have seen a nice SDLM growing in other
people's garden. I just don't understand how SDLM got the name, the
"Queen of Bourbon." The blooms can sometimes be plain and boring.

Tangles, she must be beautiful somewhere to be so popular. When I saw Ingrid’s two SDLM’s with my own eyes, I understood her popularity immediately. My own little plant/blooms was such a poor imitation of Ingrid’s, that I didn’t even recognize her two as ‘Souvenir de la Malmaisons’. They didn’t even appear to be related, let alone be the same rose as mine! I think if you saw Ingrid’s SDLMs, “in real life”, I’d be surprised if you could still call them plain and boring. Yet, everyone has different opinions, tastes, and preferences. I myself, just cannot like a really orange rose, no matter how lovely. It might be that SDLM is just not your cup of tea. Quite honestly, I wasn’t impressed by SDLMs fragrance, either. The sheer beauty of those blooms made up for the lack of fragrance, IMO. The pink was such a unique pink, and I am a true lover of all pink flowers. It wasn’t white at all when I saw it, but a pink that reminded me of the inside of a shell. It was pastel, yet saturated, not shiny, but not flat. I’m not very good with word descriptions, so I’m having a hard time finding the right words to describe her color. I really was enchanted.

Are there any bourbons you do like? I really love my ‘Louise Odier’ and ‘Leveson Gower’. I remember your post about Madame Isaac

Pereire, and her tiny blooms. Did you grow to love her?

Recently I was gifted a number of rare and not as rare bourbon roses, by a very generous rosarian. I hope they do well here. I know what you mean about the narrow gray foliage, Tangles. I see it much more on some of my bourbons than others, though. I suppose it depends on what other genes are “swimming around in their pool”. I find ‘Louise Odier’ to be towards the greener end of the spectrum, while my ‘Comice de Tarn-et-Garonne’ has the grayest colored foliage of any rose I have. Lisa