I spoke to DA just this morning. The nice Customer Service Lady said that its a good rose for my climate (very similar to the Pacific Northwest). She said that its a heathy rose but not so hardy if I lived closer to the sea. (There's a couple very, very small mountains between the sea and my garden so I'm ok) I also asked why its a lesser known variety. She answered a distinctive London accent, "it's just an older variety, we're not hiding it or anything. It's a lovely rose, beautiful cups with fewer petals so the rain doesn't affect them as much. It would do well for you in Donegal as long as your a bit inland from the coast." I hope that helps. I'm not sure what your zone is. M.

Hi All, I just wanted to make an interesting observation about the Indigo Rose that I planted from seed I collected the first time I grew it in 2012. I planted a flat of tomato seeds in the late spring of last year with the intention of planting a garden but due to a myriad of distractions I failed to do so... I kept watering the flat on occasion but was mostly neglectful and every so often would pull out the dead and dying until one day in august (I think, maybe september) I decided to plant the survivors who were quite stunted but alive none the less! To my surprise they immediately jumped into action and began to grow rapidly, so since I live in temperate Southern California I decided to let them go and see what happened, in short order they started to set fruit but not ripen very quickly which is a known factor so in keeping with my 2014 gardening 'style' I ignored them some more except for watering and they continued to grow and set fruit throughout the the fall and winter and I have been able to pick some ripe fruit through December and January so far... I was pruning them back yesterday and noticed that some plants were still putting off new branches and flowers so it makes me wonder if I kept better care of future plantings whether or not they might become something of a perennial tomato... Interesting huh?

I grew Sombreuil at my previous house. It was in a corner and got about 4.5 hours direct sun here in southern california. We are hot and dry in the summer, but from about 1 pm it was shaded. It grew ok, but didnt get overly full like I've seen pictures of it -- that amazing bushy fullness it can get with large flushes. That said, it had just turned 2 years when we moved. This photo was taken this past May. Hope this helps!

Roses grow well here -- too well -- in fact, they grow themselves to death. Be sure you use as much organic matter as possible in the planting hole. I was taught to plant them in straight organic peat, but I don't think you can find that easily anymore. Black Kow is just as good. The cheap roses are on Dr. Huey rootstock and usually last about 5 years in the ground before the nematodes get them. The ones on Fortuniana rootstock will last anywhere from 15-20 years. Native and what we call "own root" roses (mostly heirlooms that can grow on their own roots) can grow forever. Mini roses must be grown in pots for them to last any time at all. Rose growing here is labor intensive because of insects and fungus. As a fungus preventative, spray them with fungicide recommended for roses every ten days and with an insecticide the same. If you don't mind using chemicals, Bayer makes a great systemic insecticide for roses. I gave up growing them years ago, so I'll let someone else tell you what insecticides are recommended now.