Those are beautiful!! Thank you for sharing your pictures!

I think Queen Nefertiti is going to be my first blooming of the roses that overwintered here. She is leafing out nicely and if I get close I can see little tiny buds just starting to form. She is still my favorite rose!

I love all of those!!! I got my friend Golden Wings so we'll get to compare with our wildly different conditions. : 00 I'm foreseeing a lot of live cane and beautiful growth for you with these more hardy roses Mmmmm12, do you use gravel for aesthetics or weed suppression or is that what is used in CO? Does the reflected heat help spring growth? I just wonder if it may be impeding growth as compared to a wood mulch which retains moisture and breaks down adding to the soil. I'm just wondering. It looks very neat and tidy as does your entire yard. You have a lot of space for roses, that's for sure and with a shorter drier season probably not much rampant weed growth. I guess we all bear our trials regarding weather, pests and weeds.: ((

Vapor,

The river rock is what was in the bed prior to it being a rose bed. Previously the whole thing was a thicket of overgrown bushes. There had been some beautiful Rose of Sharons in there but they got old (and huge) and passed away on their own. A tree planted too close to the house that attracted wierd bugs and a bunch of sumac were there also. It was so thick you could not walk into it. We had it all cleared away and then had to decide what to do with the bed. I decided to make it roses as a trial. It gets a decent amount of sun and already had a drip system installed. Mostly we have xeric plants as much as possible. The roses would probably love mulch more but I can't say the ones that went into the mulch beds as landscape plants did well. The ones in the river rock definately have done better than I expected. Matt at HCR was horrified when he saw the river rock rose bed.

That's hilarious, mmm12. It's obviously working out well, so best to go for it! You've done a lot of work! Do you have any before pics? I love to see changes.

Vapor,

I don't think I have any before pics when it was a complete thicket. But I did start a thread here when we had already had it cleared by landscapers and were waiting the tree guys to come get the big tree out. I was trying to figure out what to do with it.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4659668/need-all-summer-flowering-ideas-for-largish-rock-bed-partial-shade

I love that you think our yard is neat and tidy. I've had to endure decades of moaning by landscapers when they saw it due to all the over grown stuff, weeds etc.

We have concentrated on slowly turning it over to low maintenance plants that need as little as possible from us. If something does well we put in more of it. If something is unhappy and dies, well then we just let it go. We also had fabric and mulch installed which horrifies true gardeners. And I bought my husband a flame thrower to tackle the weeds in the rocks. Unfortunately he doesn't like to use the metal plant sheilds so some times fries the plants also.

When I talk to an experienced rose person from Colorado about pruning and they tell me "don't forget to seal canes with nail polish" I just nod my head and smile. Of course we never do that. If a plant needs to have any cut ends sealed with nail polish then it can just die because that ain't happening.

But I'm guessing right about now you can see why we aren't doing spectacular with roses. We aren't adapting to them, we are attempting to get some that are hardy enough to adapt to us. :-)

That is the best way. I think it's just the rose sticklers that do stuff like that. Geez, I could imagine sealing every cut on 8 New Dawn. Give me a break. Besides the fact, I'd have to own shares in Revlon or such. It's clear you're on the right track. Thanks for the link.

It has been a race to see who gets the first bloom open of the roses that actually over wintered here instead of bought this spring but I think Harison's Yellow is beating Apricot Twist by a nose! AT has two blooms at the same stage though whereas HY has all the other buds a couple of days behind. My in-the-ground roses are all at least 10 days ahead of where they were last year though so that is fun! Mountain Music is only a day or two behind and several others are showing color on their buds now so the spring flush is just in time for summer :)

Yeah! It is so hard to wait when you see every one else's blooming.

Double Pink Knock Out might not be everyone's favorite but it is coming back amazingly after a very hard year last year. It is a trusty splash of color in my garden.

I see what I presume are knockouts all over the neighborhood. They look fantastic. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't just put those in, enjoy the plentiful flowers and call it a day.

Mine was my 'gateway drug' into the world of roses, it was a gift from my husband who knew no more than that I like pink roses and so he saw a pink rose at Lowes and got it for me. I wish it had fragrance but for a trusty bloomer that needs no care and has survived some pretty abysmal treatment through my learning curves I love it.

I think that is my favorite of the knockouts unfortunately mine died due to freeze-thaw this past year.

Aw that's a pity, sorry to hear that! They are on clearance at Walmart right now.

Thanks. I think we have the monthly run coming soon so I'll check it out then.

Harison's Yellow is like growing sunshine on a bush!

Wow !! So pretty !! I need yellow like that to put in between my purple roses. THANK YOU.

Wow, Joey! Is that a once bloomer? What a fantastic colour!

It is a once bloomer but it is a nice long flush and the bigger the bush gets the longer it lasts. Even in glaring desert heat the yellow doesn't fade or bleach which I love. The mother plant that this one is a sucker from is about the size of my F350 pickup truck and blooms from mid-May to the end of July, showing zero winter kill down to -40 with little to no snow cover and baked-hard-clay alkaline soil. Last spring I dug a pair of 2ft high sticks off the side of the bush and planted them up here...this is the result. I am nipping out the tops of the new growth to try and keep it a little under control since the soil is richer and we have deep snow. But I am resigned to it becoming a monster.

Thank you. I can use a monster on my lower level, even if it's once blooming so long as the flush is extended. I'm already growing R. Roxburghii and hope to get Suzanne and a few other once-bloomers in a bit. I think this may be what Matt from HCR had outside his old greenhouse. I'll have to check my notes and email. Thanks for post such a gorgeous rose. You should add it to the thread on the Antique Forum on OGRs, Austins etc.

Holy Hannah!!!! Sunshine on a bush...that would be a great name for that rose!!! WHAT a yellow!!!!! Oh Swoon!!!

Up at my neighbor's today...Hera's Song is impressively covered with buds and plenty of new growth. It is about triple the size of when it was planted late last fall. Morden Fireglow is also just about to bloom and is about double its planting size. La Reine Victoria unfortunately did not survive our last bout of hailstorms. Her Above & Beyond has been putting on an extremely impressive flush and after being planted as a gallon size plant last September is now about 3 ft wide and 4ft tall.

In my garden, I was super happy with Fragrant Lavender Simplicity, it had reached 2 1/2 feet tall, perfectly healthy, covered in buds, and then the deer knocked over the cage and ate it down almost to the ground. Two blooms survived. I'll protect it better and let it keep its 5 star rating. (They also ate Ultra Violet but I am not mourning that one as much, it is not very cold hardy, not very vigorous, and not very floriferous, so I am not digging it out but I do have a replacement in mind for its spot should something happen.)

Mountain Music also gets 5 stars. Gorgeous fragrance, held its blooms through the hailstorms, and such lovely colors!

Queen Nefertiti has been blooming for a while but the first flush got pretty badly shredded by hail and I couldn't get any nice pictures. It is still my favorite rose for hardiness, fragrance, color, and just gorgeousness!

Champagne Arches had almost all the buds cleaned off by deer knocking down the wire cage protecting it but this little one survived. It started out a more warm peachy pink and turned cooler as it opened.

Ultra Violet is prettier this year than it was last year but I am still not thrilled with the hardiness or vigor.

Lambert Closse. Beautifully hardy, very floriferous, only flaw is that it has very little fragrance.

Joey, I love reading what thrives for you. I wasn't able to find Queen Neferitti, so I went ahead and put Moonlight in Paris in the spot reserved for the Queen. Not exactly the same, but close enough that I was able to finish that bed. QN is still on my wish list. I would never have even thought of that rose, but for you.

Lambert Closse is another I wouldn't have known about, but oh, my goodness! SO beautiful. Your photo is lovely.

I had to laugh (at myself) when you mentioned Iceberg. I couldn't get that rose to survive at all here. I tried the white, pink and burgundy and lost all of them.

We had the rose destroying wet spring, too, though rain, not hail. Most buds were soggy brown messes. I'm feeding again and hoping for a better second flush. I hope your second flush makes up for the lost blooms in the first one, too.

Joey, those look fantastic. flowers, if HCR is out of QN, FreedomGardens often has it in stock or will custom root for the same $.

I agree that Harrison's Yellow is a beast. Never any dieback, gets huge with hundreds and hundreds of blooms on a mature bush. Always have been impressed with it.

Thanks, Vap. I did find it eventually after I had my orders all in. I forget about HCR for some reason. They should be at the top of my list of vendors. It's good to know that Freedom Gardens will supply just about any rose one can think of. I was hoping to get QN bare root instead of own root, if possible. I'm looking forward to seeing what older Austins Palatine will have this year.

Flowers I'm sorry to hear that Iceberg hasn't done well for you! I have been thinking about trying the climbing, pink and burgundy ones since I am so happy with the original. I just looked up Moonlight in Paris, it is gorgeous!! One thing I have noticed about QN is that it starts out the spring quite creamy-light and the color intensifies throughout the summer into fall until it is much more apricot-peachy-pink. Mine is from HCR, and so is Lambert Closse.

Vaporvac-thanks!!! :)

L Clark-how old is your Harison?

Floweraremusic: Queen Nefertiti is VERY VIGOROUS as own-root ... Bought as tiny band along with Baronne de Rothschild (also vigorous) from High Country Roses. Received them in mid-May, and Queen Nefertiti has become gallon-size now, July 9, with 3 blooms so far. Baronne gave one bloom, and a new bud.

Thanks, Straw! That is really good to know. I decided to order QN right now since High Country ships all season, but they are out of stock, so she'll have to wait for next year. Joey, thank you for bringing that rose to our attention.

My neighbor has a Harrison’s Yellow. It’s big, like six feet tall and six feet wide

I should have mentioned the reason I substituted Moonlight in Paris for QN is because it grows beautifully in HalloBlondie's garden in Canada, z4.

My Lowes, who never has anything but Knock Outs, had some fabulous roses this year, including Moonlight in Paris. Who could resist a name like that.

Joey: I saw Adobe Sunrise at HomeDepot, only $10 one summer and I regret not buying it. I wasn't sure if it has any scent. How tall is your Abode Sunrise and how does it survive winter? thanks.

Flowers that's great to know about Moonlight In Paris! It is going on my wish list! I saw it at Lowes up in Montana this summer but all the roses were fried to a crisp in the heat (they had them sitting out on a table in the parking lot and the asphalt was just baking them) and I didn't know if they would make it home and come back from the heat damage.

Straw this is my first year growing Adobe Sunrise so I can't comment on winter hardiness but mine is about 3 feet tall and very floriferous. I have been impressed with how well it handles the heat and how long the first flush lasted (early May through late June with many large clusters of blooms).

mmmm12 here are a couple of pictures of Sexy Rexy, I remember you asking about it a while back. The first flush got eaten and the bush got trimmed back a bit by deer stomping on the wire and then eating off everything that stuck through, so this is the second flush of blooms.

Thanks Joey! Is that a own root from High Country Roses? Very crafty
deer to figure out to stomp on the fence and eat the rose. We had a deer
in our yard a few days ago but he was just passing through.

Oh the deer are just evil up here, they stomp, knock, rub, fences and are quite happy climbing up the porch steps if they think a rose looks tasty enough. It is own root from HCR, planted as a band in early winter 2018, then transplanted north in spring 2019, so it has really had one full year of undisturbed growth.

Here's my end of summer report for roses that are new to me this year or zone pushers and did well during our recent weather event...we had a sudden drop into the high 20s on Sunday, 6 inches of snow on Monday, on Tuesday most of the snow melted off leaving only about an inch, and then dropped to 12F overnight for a hard freeze. I know this is not necessarily an indicator that they will survive the whole winter but I feel like it is at least promising.

Ebb Tide lost the tips of the new growth but about an inch down it is continuing to grow.

Sparkle and Shine lost no new growth, can't even tell it snowed.

Firefighter turned slightly crisp around the edges of the new leaves but they haven't wilted. Continuing to grow.

New Zealand's new growth wilted slightly for a few days and then perked back up again.

Ring of Fire wilted slightly for a couple of days and has perked back up again.

Adobe Sunrise can't even tell it froze.

Bright & Shiny can't even tell it froze. Buds are opening that were tightly closed during the storm, the blooms aren't all perfectly shaped but they are still lovely. The new growth is glossy and happy and still growing.

America can't even tell it froze. New growth is still growing.

Jeanne Lajoie (Cl) lost the top of the new growth, three inches down it is still growing.

Hula Hoop lost no new growth, however it was under a spot where the snow had drifted so stayed buried during the freeze.

Olympiad lost the buds that were beginning to open, but the foliage looks untouched.

We'll see how they do through the winter!

Hula Hoop. It was still a bud when the snow fell, when it melted back enough the bloom opened up :)

Hula Hoop is a gorgeous little thing!!! I wonder if Betty Boop is a parent. We got snow a few weeks ago...but it didn't last. I'm glad that your roses did so well...and this is great knowledge for other cold zoners. :)

Thank you Carol! You're always so sweet and encouraging! :) I think I recall Kim Rupert saying that Hula Hoop was a result of 'selfing' No. 44 Stripe which was never released into circulation. Ralph Moore had some pretty special roses, I have been collecting a few as I can.

Joey - awwwww...so are you!! Cool information. Thank you! :)

Joey, I always appreciate your posts because I know that whatever works for you will have a good chance working for me. I just read through this thread and am really thankful your Mountain Music was planted as a band in the fall and survived! I planted my wee little lass just a couple weeks ago and she’s maybe a foot tall. I’m a little worried though since you have pretty reliable snow cover all winter...we get tons of snow but go through a lot of freeze-thaw cycles too. I guess we’ll see how it goes.

To chime in on an earlier conversation, I had a coral knockout rose that I ended up getting rid of but my one Home Depot, dime-a-dozen rose that I’ve actually grown to quite like is Oso Easy Peasy. She went through pretty fierce transplant shock after I planted her but quickly rebounded and is constantly covered in blooms. Black spot clean and a really lovely shape to the foliage kinda sealed the deal.

Thanks for this thread, from one cold-zoner to another! I appreciate hearing about your experiences.

Laura that's great that you got Mountain Music! She's one of my favorites! I haven't tried any of the Oso series but if you are giving them a good review I'll keep my eyes open for them. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Joey,

I thought you might enjoy this picture of Dainty Bess that I just took. I think, maybe on another thread, you mentioned liking her.

She's gorgeous!! Thank you for sharing your picture!! How old is the bush?

Put in 8/18 as an own root band from High Country Roses. She has a different look than my other roses. The name Dainty Bess is very applicable.

My Lady In Red is starting to bloom again. I cut off a ton of buds/flowers a couple of weeks ago due to the snow so these are all new. Her flowers last a long time so now I wish I'd left them but at the time I didn't know they would survive the storm.

How are yours doing post snow storm and in the apocalyptic looking smokey air?

So sorry to hear that you have some munching crunching deer. Queen Nefertiti is stunning!

I hope Lady in Red does better through the winter this year. I'm going to let the canes lay on the ground and see if that helps. She is growing more like a sprawling bush this year. Last year she was more like a climber. Maybe she didn't know she was in Denver and is adapting this year for survival.

mmmm, I've had Dainty Bess, own root, for about 8 years and she is still a 3' tall 2 cane wonder. Rarely blooms. I can't decide if I ought to try another one or just forget growing her at all. I would love a nicely shaped bush with blooms like yours.

flowers,

That is sad. I can't say about trying again or not. Mine is a Japanese Beetle favorite so spring and fall are her seasons for beauty. But she does try during the summer. Is pretty much a continual bloomer. But when the beetles are a chomping it isn't hard for them to decimate the single layer of the flowers.

mmmmm - Dainty Bess is a rose I've often considered getting even though there's no fragrance. It's such a beautiful rose!! And yours is sooo lovely!!! I'm so glad that you shared a bush shot...I can't remember seeing one before. Wow! Snow...you had way more snow than we had here. Snow. Sigh.