Update on Earthsong for this year 2019:

Earthsong bloomed like a champ this year and grows very well here...

BUT 1 week ago in early September Earthsong started breaking out in Anthracnose disease...Roughly 70% of the bush is now covered in Anthracnose spots...

I see no Powdery mildew or Blackspot...

Its late in season so I'm personally not worrying about it to much...Since Earthsong performed fantastic this year otherwise!

I tell it like it is...lol

Had me worried there. Was sure you were going to say you had to pull it out. I'm so glad Earthsong will get to stay!

Jim

I have had a few roses that spotted a lot. They did much better after being in the garden for a few years. Read this once roses in the study had no extra care. https://journals.ashs.org/view/journals/horttech/18/4/article-p588.xml

Earthsongs going backwards though Patty...4th year and way worse with the Anthracnose then previous years ...

Today pic of ES...Still a fine looking bush just leaves are spotty with the Anthracnose ...

To top it off those leaves stay there the rest of the year. Makes you hate it all the more. Sometimes they will fall off but not soon enough. To make things worse it is contagious.

Mine started with Kardinal Kolorscape, Jolie, Fire Opal and so on with the super shiny leaves. By the third year it would start with them then spread everywhere. The roses were weakened I’m guessing because they seldom bloom. Anyway I admire your no spray conviction.

I sprayed last year. This year so far I have only sprayed 3 times.

Patty, Over the years I have taken diseased leaves from roses and actually thrown them into our Double Ko bushes...

Anthracnose leaves, blackspotted leaves... And nothing happened! But that's here...lol

That's one of the reasons why I consider D. Ko to be a staple here...

I would be afraid to do that with other roses...lol

Now that’s the Griffith Buck way. He be proud. Even if it is his roses leaves that are being tossed.

lol patty

I remember something karl_bapst_rosenut told me years ago... Boy I miss him...

Anyhow, he told me to close my eyes when I got near a rose bush that was diseased...lol...And to admire the blooms from afar...lol

Oh, I miss Karl.........such an inspiration! And so many more who dont post here anymore. Wonder how Beth is and if she is recovering from the terrible fire? Getting ready to repot my Earth Song and hope it will someday look as good as the photos on this post.

Judith

I'm sorry, Jim. I just discovered this thread and read Mary's mention and saw your reference to my old Earth Song in my kid sister's front yard. Earth Song LOVES SoCal. It can mildew a bit if water stressed, but otherwise experiences no fungal issues in the hotter, drier inland valley areas. That plant in Newhall has a very interesting history. Years ago, a gentleman walked into Limberlost Roses in Van Nuys, CA. Limberlost was a specialty old rose nursery a friend, Bob Edberg, ran. The gentleman asked Bob if he knew how he could have a rose reproduced. The gentleman was a musician and had played a concert at Iowa State years prior. He met Dr. Griffith Buck there and both loved roses and music. Dr. Buck invited him back to his green houses on campus and gave him a plant of Earth Song. The gentleman had moved the plant many times over the years and it was declining. Bob asked me what I suggested and I offered that if he wished to bring in cuttings, I would get them to Burling at Sequoia Nursery for propagation. He did and I did. Burling created three plants from the material he brought in. She retained one; I took two to Bob. He sold one and one remained when he sold the nursery to a landscaper several years later and the landscaper hired me to run it. Bob never obtained the gentleman's name nor phone number and he never returned to the nursery. I bought the third plant and that is the one planted in my sister's front yard in Newhall. Limberlost, the landscaper and his company and Bob Edberg are all long gone, but Earth Song is still there and other than the now issues with Chilli Thrips and
the RMV infection is has always had, the plant continues to grow and
flower.

roseseek , all in all Earthsong has been great here...Grows well...Blooms non stop like a champ...

Our Earthsong had powdery mildew in its 2nd season but has outgrown that since... So no issues with PM since.. And Earthsong here gets very little blackspot...

Its just that pesky Anthracnose disease we get here in our climate that is causing it havoc for now...

Great story roseseek! Thanks!

Earthsong...Took this yesterday...October 9th 2019

I really like this rose inspite of it getting Anthracnose disease here... Blooms and Blooms...Bush still looks half- decent here in October.. No Spray...

You inspired me with this rose, Jim. I sure hope my cuttings take. : ))

Looks better than half decent to me!

We have had nightly frosts but Earthsong still chugin along! Todays photo..

Earthsong today Oct 26th 2019

Very cloudy dark day so lightened pic up a bit..

So very nice， Jim. Glad it has taken off. A very worthy rose instead

That has turned in to a glorious

Bush Jim

Hi everyone, since July 2020 I been at new locations... Spent a year living with my brother looking for a house to purchase...July 2021 I moved into a new location just 4-5 blocks from my old location...

Anyhow it's 2023 and I've decided to grow Earthsong once again...

Ordered from Heirloom Roses it arrived May 13th... 1 gallon own root...

Will see how it does here... :-)

@jim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6

A lovely rose who seems to love you - if you want to grow it again, it is clearly doing something right for you. Beautiful pink!

I have grown Earth Song in two locations. You managed to domesticate it better than me. My examples are about 4' wide and in September 6 feet high. It is disease resistant - it is very hardy - I spray some - but less now than years ago. I keep the underside clean at the expense of blood on my hands. Earth Song is one of the best roses anyone could grow! I spray less on this one because it has never been diseased and it has been in my garden about 15-years.

Love these updates. ES was the first to bloom this year.

Good to see you're back in the saddle with Earth Song. Hope your new home suits you very well. Are there any other roseroses you are planning to add? God bless you in,all areas of your life.

Moses

Jim,

How is your Earth Song doing?

Moses

Moses, my new Earthsong has been a bit slow to grow here... It came from Heirloom Roses (1 gallon) stripped of all its leaves so it took like 5 weeks or so just to grow leaves back... But it is coming along... Nothing special to report yet...It bloomed 2 blooms so far but they were damaged... Looked like thrip damage but none of my other roses showing that type of damage SO? not sure yet?

Great to hear your Earthsong was first to bloom this year Vaporvac...

Awesome to hear mark_roeder 4B NE Iowa !

Jim,

Looks like you have given it a nice sized circle bed there. Hope it fills it up and blooms like crazy for you. It is a bush with not only beautiful blooms, but it has stand alone beauty in its bush too.

That's just about how the bushes from Heirloom look their first year, as my additional Apricot Candy bushes from them and especially my Grand Amore bushes, also from them, look just about like your Earthsong at this time of the year.

So, hang in there as I am here!

I do not like stripping leaves. It may cover a, 'multitude of sins.' No other grower of own root potted roses does that, that I have gotten roses from. Could mildew, black spot, chewing or sucking insect damage evidence be part of the reason for stripping leaves of actively growing roses? I can see removing gnarly/funky leaves from dormant bushes, but not actively growing ones.

Moses

Thanks Moses,

I guess stripping can be a good practice but it does set the rose back 5-6 weeks for sure...

Hey I posted the wrong pic of Earthsong yesterday...lol.. Heres one I just took..

The third bloom of the season off of Earthsong looks better then the other two... First 2 looked like they had thrip damage or weather related damage...?

Jim, I think your Earth Song is on its way up and forward now. Hope you get sufficient rain to keep it going strong.

What a refreshing flower form it has, with a nice even color, too. HMFR describes it as, "Tyrian red to Tyrian rose," in color. With such a use of historically established colors in the dye trade describing Earth Song's color (ancient dye colors emanating from the fabric trade in ancient Tyre, Lebanon), you know it must have impressed the person who was assigned to describe its color very much.

Keep us posted on Earth Song's progress. One day up the road I'm going to ask you which rose you like better, Earth Song or At Last, but I already pretty much think I know what you will say.

Moses

Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA , I'll keep you posted...

Not much of anything exciting to report Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., about my newly planted Earthsong...(May 15th 2023 planting..) Heirloom Roses 1 gallon...

Today... 9/11/23...It has not bloomed much nor has it grown much compared to my other young roses...Maybe next year I'll have something more exciting happening...lol

Now I planted a 1 quart baby band own root OSO Easy Double Red from Hirt Gardens one month later than Earthsong (planted June 20th) and its growing and blooming like crazy! Guess it just depends on the rose...lol

Thanks Moses! Yes my other Earthsong was something else...Thats why I'm trying it again... :-) Thanks!

I'm sure it will, Jim. Are you planning any kind of winter protection for it?

Moses

No winter protection Moses! At my old house it hardly had dieback with no winter protection... It should start taking off next year... :-) I was just looking at it today...

That bare spot to the left.. WAS Sunorita Rose... Blooms were ugly and foliage is disease ridden so removed it today...

EARTHSONG...

REMOVED SUNORITA rose

What are you going to replace it with?

Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley ,

I'm going replace Sunorita Rose with Double Easy Orange ...Going give that orange a try...

Fall Earthsong bloom.... I can tell Earthsong will take off next year...

My new Heirloom Roses Earthsong planted May of 2023 here at my new house/location is getting leaves... No dieback over the winter...But I did prune just alittle off...

That's what we want to see, Jim. It's off to a great start. Thanks for showing us how well it is faring. You will enjoy Earthsong for many years to come.

Are you adding any new roses this year?

Moses

Thanks Moses! Hope you are doing well....I am adding a Double Easy Orange from Jackson & Perkins... bare-root (ownroot)...

TODAY... 4-12-24

4-16-24

Received it mid March & planted...

Looks healthy as all get out, Jim. Hope it exceeds your expectations.

Moses

My new Heirloom Roses Earthsong planted May of 2023 ....

Todays photo May 1, 2024

Looking good, Jim! How many times have you had to mow your lawn so far this year?

This year looks very promising for me, Jim. After 4 years of 'hit or miss' mostly miss, in the garden, I feel well enough to tackle my garden chores, just slowly.

I put in a True Passion ( from Ping Lim's True Bloom Series), last year and it grew unbelievably. Just about continuously, till fall and almost tripled its original size. If you like what I call Luminescent Tomato Red blooms this rose is for you. It's not an exhibition hybrid tea, definitely floribunda with multiple buds per stem, but black spot immune and winter hardy to its tips. It got nearly 6' tall by fall last year, not real full yet, but very respectable growth. It really is a low maintenance bush. I highly recommend it. So if you're looking for a replacement for Sunorita, but with a much deeper orange/Orange red colored bloom it could work. Just give True Passion lots of room, it needs it.

Moses

Mowed grass 4 times alreads Moses....

Thanks for the info on Ping Lim's True Bloom Series Moses...

I planted True Sincerity last year and so far it has been super healthy. It is just starting to bloom and it’s prettier than I remember it being last year!

Markay MD-Zone 7A (8A on new map) , thank you for sharing the True Sincerity rose....

That is a beauty Markay, but do you like how the blooms look as they age? Why I ask is that in the photos I have seen of 'mature' blooms, it made me pass on it, but in real life a rose can look entirely different. I do 't like roses that color up 'photoreactively?', like Double Delight does when its red edges go pink. They look sick to me...ah, it's probably a nit-picking observation. I live with the bizarre color changes Tinkerbelle goes through as it ages because otherwise, it's a tough rose.

Moses

Moses, last year I was impressed with it’s health and vigor, but not the flowers. I was thinking it was a mistake. This first bloom of the season is pretty enough yo buy it another season. If it stays pretty through the season, It'll be a keeper, but I shovel pruned the incredibly healthy Pinkerbelle last year because her blooms just didn’t appeal at all.