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Yes, another post about Kim Rupert’s fabulous ‘Annie Laurie McDowell’!

3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago

ANNIE LAURIE MCDOWELL



I cannot say enough good things about this rose…and it’s just a baby in a 2 gallon pot! Her spotless, graceful, languid foliage looks like an apple green version of Clematis armandii. Her buds are charm-in-a-nutshell. Her blooms are breathtaking! Literally. Absolutely breathtaking. She is rivaling my ‘Maiden’s Blush‘ for most exquisite blush pink rose. Yes, rivaling the famously flawless, Peter Beales-would-take-it-to-an-island, if-I-could-only-grow-one-rose ’Maiden’s Blush.’ And ’ALM’ is just a BABY! I’ve seen photos of her habit in Kim Rupert’s garden images on HMF. Perfect. She is what every gardener dreams of: an exquisitely—almost painfully—gorgeous, fence-covering, constantly-flowering jaw dropper. AND THIS ROSE IS THORNLESS! What a relief in the middle of a garden that my daughter calls a ”thorn forest.” The tiny, fragrant blooms of ’ALM’ pack a WOW of sweet, heavenly, wafting yum, but she doesn’t just waft. Stick your nose in her bloom, and she’s intoxicating! She rivals ‘Marianne’ and ‘Mr. Lincoln’ and a few other perfume powerhouses for most delicious and strongly scented rose in my garden which is packed with the smelliest (in a good way) of cultivars.

I’ll post some more photos as soon as I get a chance, but please jump in with your own ’ALM’ pics and thoughts! My ’ALM’ is own root, a bonus that the propagator of 2 grafted ”maidens” rooted because a piece of ’ALM‘ broke off in the processing. I gifted the grafted ones to other gardeners because they’ll probably take off and fly faster than my own root, and I am accustomed to nurturing small bands. I used to be a regular Vintage Gardens customer.

Ha, ha! I hope Kim Rupert doesn’t call me out for leaving 3 buds. I let the first one bloom…because I just couldn’t help myself. I should go out and disbud the others now that I have photos. In my defense, I already removed 5 or 6 buds. Why is disbudding so agonizing?

Carol

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