Lin, I believe Greenmantle has Rosa Mundi on its list. I'm going to give that Nursery a shot next. High Country carries it but is out of stock. Heirloom no longer carries it. I purchased several from Heirloom in the past, and they were all spot on.

RM is prone to reverting back to the Apothecary, but I've never struggled so much to locate a RM. It looks like maybe nurseries aren't propagating using canes that have flowered. I'd expect a few confused plants to be floating around out there because of the instability, but I have ordered a number for friends over the last few years, and they all came up Apothecary. Fortunately, the Apothecary was on many of their lists anyway (some are historians and some are herbalists), but still. That's a lot of Not Rosa Mundi going around. It makes sense that Linda's roses had a higher chance of being reversions since the ones she sent you were (probably unflowering) cuttings generously offered in hopes of being true to variety. I'm not much of a rose scientist and would love to hear knowledgeable folks on the forum speculate about the RM/A issue. As you noted, Lin, RM has been around along time, but at this rate, it seems almost like it's reverting faster than ever. I went out to check mine to see if the one uneaten bud looks variegated. I THINK so.... If I find a RM in stock, I'll let you know. Carol

Because squirrels ate all but one of my Rosa Mundi buds, and no Gallica thread should be without RM, here's a picture of my Rosa Mundi from last year. Carol

My young Ellen Tofflemire after a brief rain.

Carol, awww that Rosa Mundi! Sooo lovely!

if you need RM, Heirloom has restocked. I just received their waitlist notification 2 days ago stating they had Rosa Mundi. I've decided not to get one (and I may regret it next year) because I just don't have any more room in any of my flower beds. But they have the gallon size pots, so maybe they have seen the bloom to ensure their plants are true to type? A phone call to their customer service may be informative.

My new moss Capt John Ingram from Heirloom bloomed and is great. I've had very healthy plants from them.

Oh Sheila! Those Caps John Ingram new blooms are so beautiful! I too love Heirloom's gallon pots. Pricier, but the plants are more mature. I just planted a Duchesse de Rohan that arrived in early April. Now I have 8 buds on her (yes- I counted :-D)!

That sounds awesome Carol! I do hopefully have Allegra, gallicandy, umbra, and Marianne from RVR. They have yet to bloom, so when they do, then I will know :) I do not have Ellen Tofflemire , or Etienne. I wish I could get some of the found Rose's, and Ipsilante, been wanting that for a while! Whatever you can get though will be so awesome! This is exciting!

Sheila, thank you for the great shots of your Capt. J Ingram, and congratulations on your Heirloom score! I just about fell over when Heirloom restocked its plants. I had been hovering over various sites for ages and was waitlisted there and other places. Claire took pity on me sometime before Heirloom's miraculous restocking and sent me a start from her garden. :-) My baby CJI has a couple of buds now. Your images tell almost the whole story of why I love this rose so much. Description defying magenta-plum-violet-black mossy blooms and very healthy foliage on a manageable plant. If only you could attach the fragrance! :-) Carol

Alana, can you message me with a list of your desires? I think I need to double check and make sure I'm following you in order for you to message me. We can exchange real world contact info if we haven't already done so. Carol

Thank you for the RM info, Lin! Carol

I haven't smelled Capt JI yet, because he is in a tall rabbit cage, but he is a winner for sure. I got Queen of Denmark from Greenmantle and Great Maiden's Blush from Heirloom, and so far they look pretty much alike to me in rabbit cages too. Maybe when I take the cages off I can study the differences.

Sheila, I'll see if I can find some more QofD photos for comparison. Carol

Such gorgeous roses and pictures. Thank you all for sharing. I can't grow these where I live so I get to live vicariously through all of you. Thanks! So beautiful!

Mustbenuts, I, too, love that the forum allows us to enjoy roses that are beyond our climates! You grow so many in your area that I can't grow well here. Since I garden organically and live in Blackspot Central, many of the Teas and Noisettes are just a mess! Carol

Sheila, I dropped some more Queen of Denmark shots into the Alba Share thread in case they're helpful. Carol

Thank you Carol! I really bet Marissa sent me a correct one from Greenmantle. I need to study them more which is hard to do in their cages. Heirloom on the Maiden's Blush is probably correct too.

Carol that sounds awesome!!!! I'll shoot you a message as soon as I get a free moment to do so, and really get to sit down and do so. I do still have your email from when I offered you orpheline, I think, if not I'll message you on here first. You are so awesome and thank you so much for thinking of me!

Your QoD looks darker centered than mine, Carol. I'll go out and study them tomorrow. I thought mine both looked the MB color. Maybe I'll take the cages off.

Sheila, that sounds like a good plan, checking in without the cage. Maiden's Blush is a MUCH paler blush-pink with slight chartreuse undertones, and it fades to cream. QofD is more of a mid pink, in the La Ville de Bruxelles range, with that slightly darker center shading that you noticed. Baby Qof Ds can look a bit lighter, though. If you post images of yours, I might be able to provide some input. I've grown several QofDs and MBs from band-hood. Carol

A little Georges Vibert, acquired last year as a band from RVR. He probably needs to be planted out or re-potted soon. Look at how swirly and pink he is!

KS, your Georges Vibert is wonderful! Each of the striped Gallica cultivars is so unique. Thank you for posting this rarely seen one. I believe Christopher grows GV, too, but I'm not sure who else on the form does. I may have seen one in Paul's Garden. Barden Tour Day was such a whirlwind of roses that I'm losing track of them in my mind. I wish my Tricolore de Flandre from Heirloom had been the real deal. Now, I'm thinking that I need GV and TdF! Carol

Carol here goes.

Sheila, it does look like there's a good chance you have two MBs. Heirloom's MB looks spot on. What color were the buds on your Greenmantle QofD? If they were chartreuse, your rose is NOT QofD. QofD has pink/dark pink buds (see Alba post). They're both lovely, though, and sometimes MB is harder than the dickens to acquire. You might have two! Carol

I guess I'll know by next year, if no darker center develops. They both do look light to me too. Marissa is really reliable usually. Here is the Q of D buds.

Sheila, thank you for all the descriptive photos! Greenmantle: even the best of the best will make an error sometime! I think I actually received a wrongly identified rose from (wait for it) Vintage Gardens! I'm 99.9% positive that your rose is not QofD. The thorns look a lot like MB. Queen of D is very thorny in that full coverage, armed and dangerous Damask kind of way. MB has more widely spaced thorns, many of which stick almost straight out from the cane. Please DO let us know how everything turns out. I hate unresolved cliffhangers! :-) Carol

I bet you are right, Carol. I'll know too when I face reality.

I "followed" you but can't seem to message you. Let me know if you'd like me to try to locate a sucker. I'm going to venture into my "thorn bed" to see if I can find one to tag for Claire. No guarantees, but if I can find one, I can slice it and tag it for you for fall digging. Carol

My Nightmoss finally bloomed yesterday. The first blossom is a bit of a surprise, as I have never seen such a prominent white center in my Nightmoss before. But, our weather has been cooler than most early June, high barely brushing 70 and low in the low 50's, with many overcast days, so that may have played a role here. Question to folks who have Nightmoss, have you ever seen this?

I haven't, Lin, but I do see varying degrees of white or paler centers in my other purple OGRS, including the ancestors of Nightmoss, so I'm guessing your dramatic coloration is just a bonus this year. That's a gorgeous bloom and gorgeous photo! Do you find that your bloom is fragrant? My Nightmoss carries a delicious scent which nicely matched by the rich colors. Carol

Yes, Nightmoss' fragrance is exquisite Carol! This incredible creation of Paul's has so much going for it - rich deep purplish plum color on such a velvety presentation with wonderful fragrance, all on a compact bush. In my garden, Nightmoss is topping at about 3.5-4' only. Its sibling, Fara Shimbo, is much taller.

Lin, I had a look at my Nightmoss blooms last night and saw a little white at the base of the petals but nothing as distinctive as yours. It will be interesting to see if yours retains that white ring in future years. Here are some photos of mine... apologies for the inaccurate color! Apparently my phone can't believe that any rose can be so dark. :)

Hi John,

Your pictures depict the same color pattern I used to see on my Nightmoss; a small white center, mostly obscured by the gold stamens. That's why I did a double take when I first saw that bloom above. I will definitely keep an eye on the remaining buds to see whether this continues this year and in the future. Fun stuff!

-Lin

This is fascinating! I can't wait to see what mine does in the future. Carol

Wow! That is SOMETHING, Paul. I wonder if that particular TdF cane is prone to deeper coloration and worth a "possible sport" propagation? Your bloom is is like an OGR version of Purple Tiger, something I've only seen in my dreams! A "Purple Tiger" Gallica might bump Tuscany Superb out of first place on my eternal roses list. :-) Carol

All the older rose books I used to read used to say that Tricolor was much superior to Rosa Mundi in its coloration. Perhaps that is the startling coloring it is supposed to have, I wonder.

My Gallicas are beginning to wind down now, so here are a handful of photos I took last night..all repeats of roses already shared but it was such nice light yesterday evening, I can't resist sharing them.

Charles de Mills

Tuscany Superb

Camaieux

That's interesting, Monarda! I tried to purchase Tricolore de Flandre from Heirloom a couple of years ago but ended up with something OGR and purple Gallica-like. Paul's photos convince me that I need to try again to collect this wonderful, striped rarity.

John, thank you for the beginning of the grand finale. I need to spend some quality time communing with my TS while it's in full flush. Gads, Charles is a gorgeous thing! He's a lot of work to contain, but he's one of a kind. Your Camaieux is beautiful! It was my favorite striped Gallica until I saw Paul's photos of TdF. Camaieux in up there on the all time greats list, rubbing canes with Charles, Tuscany Superb, Belle sans Flatterie and Marianne. Carol

Thanks, Carol! I agree - Paul's 'Tricolore de Flandre' is so dramatic. I wondered if this rose I photographed at Sissinghurst last summer might be TdF (the marker was overgrown or missing), but after seeing Paul's photo, I suspect it might be some other rose. What do you think? I like its pointy "nose"!

In searching through my old photos from the trip last year, I came across one of my favorite Gallica roses: 'Sissinghurst Castle'. By some miracle, my phone's camera managed to capture the subtle striping that is almost always missing from photos of this rose. It was my first time seeing it in person, so I wouldn't have recognized it if it hadn't been labeled. If anyone can tell me of a nursery still propagating this rose, I would really appreciate it!!

My new favorite Gallica this season has to be 'Duchesse d'Angoulême' (Thanks, Claire!!)

It's still a baby, but I took these snapshots earlier in the season, so I could remember how surprisingly graceful and diaphanous the blooms are...and those golden stamens! If only the photos could capture the scent...

You know, John, I would have guessed Tricolore, too, based on the size of the blooms, the striping pattern and the pompon shape, but I'm no expert on this one. Maybe Paul will have an opinion. Proliferation is fascinating, isn't it? I DO find the noses amusing. My Camaieux sprouted a couple this spring. I guess we've got a bunch of prevaricating Gallicas on our hands! :-) Carol

Yes, THANK YOU, CLAIRE!! Carol

Thank you, Claire! All happy. Next year will be great. I think RVR's Orpheline and Rush Family Gallica I got are correctly labeled and look great too. I wonder if I'm having better luck at RVRs lately. I heard a new mature female voice there on my last phone call.

I hope so, Sheila! RVR is such a great resource...

Some from my garden today. So far my Paul Barden hybrids are the only to open.

Marianne

Rook

Paul's Unnamed Purple Gallica, as Carol has nicknamed it :) look at the variety of colors!

-Chris

WOW, Chris! Those are some gorgeous Barden Gallica pictures. These images, along with the photos on your thread, highlight just how much your garden really defies description and why it should be included in a book on great American gardens. These three Gallicas complement each other so perfectly, and you have skillfully captured (how did you manage it?) the range of colors in "Paul's Unnamed Purple Gallica"! Watching "PUPG" travel through its stages of bloom is like looking through a kaleidoscope. Thank you so much! If I weren't already growing these three, tiny as mine are at the moment, I'd be hitting the internet and trying to track them down. :-) Carol

Carol you are too much! Haha, but I do appreciate it. I'm happy with the garden for the most part, but I am only showing you the best parts lol. Here is another that just opened a few buds today. So beautiful. Song of the Stars.

-Chris

Beautiful, Chris. The spotting is amazing! Thank you for posting. Squirrels got my SotS buds. Grrr! I love your blue geranium companion and white pickets with SotS. Carol

I was deadheading the roses when I photographed the last bloom on the Duchesse de Montebello, which was particularly luminescent (China heritage?). Phone can't really capture.

.

Wonderful! I love the historical account. Pieces of the human story accompanied by my favorite flower of all. Colleges should offer an elective in rose history. Your DdM is positively luminous! Thank you for posting it, Monarda. I so enjoy seeing slices of your garden! Carol