I am so happy someone asked this, as I also LOVE yellow roses and since I am very new at growing roses in general I am always looking for new suggestions for yellows. I have both Shockwave and Julia Child, and it is extremely hard to choose between them. To me it honestly depends on which is more important to you, vividness of yellow, or scent. The color on Shockwave is an amazingly vivid Crayola-yellow, the color doesn't fade until right before the flower blows, they last surprisingly long on the bush, and it seems to produce buds continually. They aren't the most fragrant yellow, there is a pleasant mild fragrance that I definitely enjoy, but Julia has it beat on the fragrance side of things. Shockwave also seems to have more of a hybrid tea habit, it is much taller and skinnier than my Julia (but she's still young yet) Julia is my newest rose and hasn't really had the chance to show me what she can do in terms of volume of blooms, but the few she has had so far have been very lovely, they are a much richer butter- yellow color, fading to soft yellow and eventually to white as the flowers age. So far the flowers seem to last a little longer on shockwave, but I think it's too early yet to really tell. My Julia has a decently strong licorice fragrance that I have heard will only get stronger as the plant ages. I can't wait to see her in full bloom, about 12 buds popped up out of nowhere in the last day or so, and she has only been in the ground for about 2 weeks! That HAS to be a good sign :) I have a midas touch HT that is growing up from a bare root I planted this spring, it seems to be growing fairly slowly, but that is probably my own fault because I had to move it from the original planting location (shame on me for my incredible indecisiveness) It seems to be finally putting on some more growth, hopefully it will continue to do well, I will update as it comes along. One more thing, my least favorite yellow award has to go to Happy Go Lucky, although the blooms are beautiful, and the foliage is a lovely bright glossy lime green, the flowers both loose color very quickly and don't last long on the bush at all. When it blooms only the inner half of the rose is truly yellow, it starts turning white from the edges in before the flower is even halfway open. It does flower fairly continually, so I will probably keep it around for a while, but it certainly isn't my favorite. I took a chance on this one, it was a new rose from Weeks this past year (I think) and I couldn't find any reviews on it anywhere, and I bought it on a whim. It was described as being a rich non-fading yellow, but certainly does not live up to that in my garden. Oh well, maybe she will get better with age. I think if I really HAD to choose, I would probably go with shockwave, purely because I LOVE that bright lemon yellow, it just puts a smile on my face. BUT, I am super glad I don't really have to make that decision, because I'd much rather have BOTH. I don't know if I really helped with your decision at all, but I hope so! I'm sure you will fall in love with whatever you end up with! Jessica.

Love your pictures of JC--so pretty! I have Sunsprite and Julia Child for my yellows. Sunsprite is drop dead gorgeous in the Spring, but the blooms blow in a minute in our hot summers. I even have it in a semi-shady place. Julia Child is an absolute work horse and pumps out blooms ALL season long. Mine has started blooming and probably has another 30 blooms waiting in the wings. She did get some BS this Spring because she was sitting next to Ingrid Bergman who caught it from Don Juan. She's missing her "skirt" right now, but doesn't seem to mind.:) Just LOVE this rose! Denise

Love your J.Child and mine too. I am so happy with her. I put her in the ground 3 months ago and she's on her 3rd flush!! I did pay a premium at $35 but I knew that and was happy to find such a healthy and well established potted plant. I will be getting more of her in the future. I also have 2 Z.Drouhin's but mine are only 6+/- months old and a little shaded (that's one reason I picked her) but I can't wait til she really puts out. Great job and I'll be checking back to see how your garden comes along. Great bargain you got for JC!!!

I watched a show on Bourbon recently, and I learned that the Bourbon must be at least 10 years old to have a good flavor. Maybe the Bourbon you have had up until now was too young. Anyway, I bought some aged Bourbon and discovered that I like it, and it does have a distinctive flavor. I didn't like Bourbon before. I think you could substitute Irish Whiskey, Rum, or Rye. Cognac would work also, but you probably do not have that either. I personally do not like wine with chocolate, but you might find one that you like. If you use a liqueur, you may need to reduce the sugar a bit.