I grew Charles XII. It had long, thick canes, and never bloomed. Maybe it needed more than my soil and feeding schedule provided. I removed it and put an herb garden in its place.

I had a feeling there was a problem with this rose because it is so gorgeous in pictures and yet no one seems to grow it (or at least not for long). I wonder if it's a good rose somewhere.

Hmm, I haven't grown these and haven't heard much about them. Perhaps you should try them out and let us know how they go in your conditions? It may be late in the season, but roses are tough... you could baby them a bit this summer and I bet they'd have a good chance.

It's a terribly long time to wait from June to late fall, which in my case is close to December, so it's really tempting to buy roses in what may seem like a logically "wrong" time of the year. I'm very tempted, and buying one rose doesn't seem like a terrible extravagance. I'm still looking!

I just remembered another rose I'm considering, Madame Caroline Testout, Cl.. I think Jackie may have this one, and I've admired this rose for a long time, even though I don't have a spot anywhere for a climber. I don't know how well it holds up in the heat, but I'm very tempted to try it.

I grow climbing Carolyn Testout in my conditions which are nothing like yours. It's still in a pot so I really can't even judge its black spot propensities, but it does Bloom even in its pot and that bloom is just so Charming. Would the non-climbing variety be better for you since you don't have place for a climber?

I say order away, and if the blast furnace is on, plant them in pots and keep them in the house until they settle in!
I just moved one of my fuchsia baskets inside today when we hit 98 degrees, to try to save it. I think I should have done it yesterday, it's completely wilted :( But it will probably come back from the roots, and if we hit 102 next week as forecast, lesson learned, I will move all of them in the day before.
I would do the same for new roses!
Carla in Sac

Carla, that's an interesting thought, but I had the impression that roses can't be kept indoors for any length of time. Your temperatures make me glad I don't live in Sacramento any more. That's awfully warm for this early in the year.

I have 'Octavia Hill' Ingrid... I didn't think it was available in the U.S as I never see it mentioned and so I don't highlight it much... for me it's a great little rose, with old fashioned blooms..... little scent... but healthy in my climate and no trouble at all... it's just coming into bloom right now...

The only comparison I can make is that it tolerates well my kind of drought, and summer heat, grows in very poor soil with lavenders and does not need all the rich stuff... but then my rose is grafted and our rootstock is different..

The jury is still out on Charles xii. I (foolishly) got two. One grew very quickly,but produced only bull-heads and deformed blooms. I moved it; since it was a basically huge ,mature plant even after only a few years, it is only this year starting to "come back",so I can't comment on its' flowering. Subsequently,I tried other roses in that ex-Charles' spot (changing the soil and adding organic matter, of course), and they did badly,. That soil is basically very, very heavy clay,so last year I tried again re-doing the bed with new soil ,organic matter, and this time adding those red pebbles of volcanic rock to the soil, figuring that the organic matter, once it decayed, wasn't sufficient to aereate such heavy, heavy soil, whereas the rock wouldn't decay. The new roses seem to be doing well, I'm pleased to see.

The other Charles was in another bad spot (there are so many in my garden, lol!) and did not grow maniacally fast. I recently dug it up and put it in a big pot, and will see how it does. I agree that it is suspicious that a rose that seems to be so beautiful and is said to be prolific is not grown by seemingly anyone.

Personally, I would never order plants at this time of year,unless perhaps I intended to keep them in pots in the shade until Fall. I figure that, even if September is still hot, the days are shorter, and the weather will sooner or later improve, whereas now the worst of the heat has yet to come.

Cl. Madame Caroline Testout is not a great rose for me either, Ingrid. It seems to love Jacqueline's care etc.

I did not discard it, but figured I would work to determine what it needed,

just because they are delivered to you.. does NOT mean its time to plant them ...

as noted above.. pot them.. until the next proper planting season ...

of course.. if you have little experience with growing in pots ... it might not be easy ... to be sure.. the most important thing in a pot.. is not the plant.. but the media ...

and to be sure.. if transplanted into a pot.. full shade for a couple weeks.. until you get the roots working properly ...

ken

Thanks, Marlorena, for the info, although I'm afraid a "little" rose is the last thing I need. Bigger is better in my garden, although the other day I spotted a ground squirrel munching away at the very top of Le Vesuve which is not a little rose. I'm going to invest in barbed wire next.

bart, your experience with Charles XII is not encouraging, bad soil notwithstanding, and I think I'll pass on that one. Whatever I do buy now, should I be so foolish, will no doubt spend summer in a pot. However, it's so darn hot today that I'm beginning to chicken out on this idea. It seemed a lot better in the cool of the evening last night.

No need to shout, Ken. Using all caps is the internet equivalent of shouting. Ingrid clearly expressed that she understood when things ought to be planted in her zone. The plants that she mentioned arrived dead -- she didn't plant them inappropriately and kill them.