There was a MISTER ROBERTS introduced in 1979 MISTER ROBERTS (A. & D. Willott, R. 1978). Sdlg. 77-40. SDB 12" (30 cm) L. "Ruffled deep yellow self; deep yellow beard. Inca Star X Happy Halo., Willott 1979." Hope this helps, Carlos Brighton Park Iris

How big a difference in size are we talking? If they were advertised as 36-38 and they were 32-34 I would complain that they were not the size advertised. If they were 30-32 or less I would definitely ask for some kind of credit or refund. I have seen some bulbs shrink a little in storage, especially if stored in a low humidity environment. But not to a great extent. Make sure you can document the size received in pictures. I have received bulbs that were not the size ordered and when I complained I have always asked for replacement or credit. Most of the time it is a mistake in the shipping department. One time I ordered DN2 'Tete a Tete' Narcissus bulbs and received DN3 bulbs which are a whole grade smaller. When I called the dealer, the women I talked said she didn't even think they carried that small a bulb. When I sent her a picture of the bulbs and the label on the box, she apologized profusely and had the correct size shipped for free. A reputable bulb dealer will make good on the order or give credit. If the dealer is charging a premium for larger bulbs, they should be shipping the size advertised. Ask for a refund or credit; the most they can say is no and then you will know not to order from them again.

You CAN propagate such that you end up with 2 or more plants, either by cuttings or by layering. If you have experience with cuttings and have a well-aerated medium you can rely on to provide favorable conditions for rooting, it should be very easy, but timing and your geography are considerations that deserve some consideration. Just as an example, and not yet getting into the 'how to' part, you could cut 6 inches or so off the top, prune off several bottom leaves, and stick the cutting in an appropriate medium. That would turn out to be a single stemmed specimen. You could then take an internodal cutting from immediately below the tip cutting and start that. It would yield a multi-stemmed bushy plant you could play with, pruning it in a specific pattern, over and over to see how full you can get it to grow. That would leave you with a barren trunk, unless that single low leaf stays around. You can treat the chopped trunk in any of several ways, such that you either end up with a single trunk standard or a multi-trunk bush. I'd go for a repot and root pruning of the chopped trunk and do no more than keep the soil moist while the plant reorganizes and back-buds. Depending on where you live, I'd start cuttings AND layers 3 or 4 weeks before the summer solstice ...... maybe even a week or two earlier if you live less than 30* latitude from the equator and reasonably close to sea level. It's sorta like finding out what your whims are and setting out to make them a reality. It's actually a pretty easy thing to do. If I had to guess at the chances for success, it might go something like: Tip cutting/ inexperienced grower following directions (IGFD) - 40-50% Internodal cutting/ IGFD - 35-45% Air-layer/ IGFD - 70-80% **** Tip cutting/ experienced - 75-85% Internodal cutting/ experienced - 70-80%Air-layer/ experienced - very near 100% Al

Hi Oneal! We've got several posters who could possibly help ID what your rose was - you'll have the best luck getting them with a separate post in the 'Antique Roses' forum. I'm not much help in what the rose could have been (I'm a newbie myself) but the best info to help them narrow down your options would be 1. did it bloom once or several times a season? 2. what color? 3. when was the rose planted? Even if you only know that it was already there by X year, that helps eliminate anything newer than that. If you're still in the South, you've got a lot of options for roses! Noisettes and Teas will grow for you, classes we in northern states can only dream of. Happy rose hunting!