It sure is, Carol! I may need to get the deep irrigation stake thing, like Ingrid too. I think Strawchicago on the organic Roses forum has written about acidifying her water. I can't remember the results and need to check. I believe vinegar was one thing she tried. It would be nice if vinegar helped. At least it's cheap and can be bought by the gallon. Adding a bit in some water once in a while would be easy. At least for some roses that look to be struggling with the alkaline conditions. I'm not up to doing any constant or complicated regimens. I'm going to search for that old post. I'll post if I find anything good. Lisa

Thanks everyone. I've alway wondered what the fuss was about Duchesse de Brabant. She always bloomed a lot, but those blooms were nothing special. NOW I get it! Just two months ago she was the embarrassment of my garden. Now she's covered in an embarrassment of riches! I had no idea her blooms could be so frilly and perfect. Ingrid, mine is actually blooming from top to bottom. She's loaded with blooms and still making more. I'm falling for her a little more each day. I can certainly see why she's one of your favorites, Carol. If she keeps this up, she'll be one of mine, too. Funny that your Georgetown Tea also needed more H2O, Sheila. I guess "Earthkind" applies more to Texas? Boy, Duchesse de Brabant is definitely worth that extra water! Lisa

Ooohhh...so pretty. I had to look it up on HMF to see other photos. You should really put your photos there, Jackie. Anyway, what I always look for in a Tea is the turned back "quilled"? petals as they age. I'm really not a fan of the pointy triangular shape they can become. But this one doesn't seem to do that. It seems to keep it's rounded shape. I see some turning back of petals, but it's pretty, not triangular. Another thing they mention is the powdery mildew. Jackie, your climate is similar to mine, I think. We tend to be about 10 degrees warmer in the winter than San Francisco, but don't get really hot in the summer. Except for the weird heat wave now and again, but we don't stay hot in the summer due to the "June Gloom". My question for you is how is the disease resistance for this one?

I'm not great at identifying roses from their image on the internet so I don't know how helpful this is, but it looks like it to me. I don't have DdB but I have seen it before. Also, I had her sport, Madame Joseph Schwartz; that is, until the recent freeze, then lost her. The shape, size and number of petals looks right. It is a medium sized rose. I don't know what your plant looks like but DdB is an upright rose and taller than it is wide. It has a nice fragrance. Just wanted to mention that your roses are lovely. Someone who gardened there before you bought the house had very good taste.