Thank you Jeri! I love the Cochet roses. Do you know if Viru's roses are available anywhere in the US?

Jackie

Jeri, thank you for the photos. They're gorgeous. I'm in love with all of Viru's roses. I just haven't tried any for fear of the amount of gigantea they have in their genes. As much as I zone push, gigantea is just too tender to take a chance on. I've filed them away with Belle Portugaise as roses I can only pine away for and never grow.

@jacqueline9CA Jackie, I've seen a few of Viru's roses at Roses Unlimited. There's a whole "collection" of them there. And I'm pretty sure I've seen Remembering Cochet at one of the Florida nurseries, not sure which one (Angel, Rose Petals, Reverence For Roses?).

I would try Rose Petals and Angel Gardens. They've come to the U.S. via Malcolm Manners. I wish it were more widely available.

Yeah, John, Viru really is breeding for warm climates. No question about that.

Catspa, the drought conditions here are growing worse and worse. Now the State may mandate 15% cuts in usage . . . But the problem is, we never STOPPED conserving, so if we're told to cut back AGAIN, we're in trouble.

There is a reason I'm not adding more roses.

Jeri, August 2021.

What a gorgeous Tea from Viru. Thank you for posting a photo of an Old Garden Rose.

How large does 'Remembering Cochet' get?

Is it fragrant?

Does it last well in a vase?

It's really one of the most beautiful Tea roses I've ever seen in a photo. The petals appear as if they have a good degree of substance.

I've noticed over the last 10 years that the larger my Tea class rosebushes get, the less often, by far) I need to water them. I would venture to say that some of this is due to the the larger the canopy, of a Tea class rosebush, the larger the rootball, I transplanted Miriam Wilkins immense clone of 'Rosette Delizy' from her property after sweet Miriam passed on, to a public rose park and it had an enormous rootball, I wish I'd measured it, I would guess it was more than 2 and 1/2 feet wide and long, It took 3 of us to lift it up out of the ground.

The deeper the roots of a rosebush reach, the more water the plant can access lower down where the soil dries out more slowly.

I wonder if R. gigantea is drought tolerant, because one of my smallest Tea roses, Duchesse de Brabant' is only 4' by 6 ' wide and it is very tolerant to drought. When Earthkind studies included drought tolerance 'Duchess de Brabant' was listed as going one year with no supplemental water. So I didn't water D. de B. in 2020.. She bloomed as usual, though the flowers grew smaller as the summer wore on. No leaf drop at all.

I live in the Mediterranean climate in the San Francisco, California area. where even in August I've only needed to water my biggest Tea rosebushes, once during the last 6 weeks to 2 months.

Susan Louise' limbed, grown as self standing bush. 15' tall by c. 10 feet wide canopy . 2 months with no supplemental water. No leaf wilting and flowering splendidly.

Mrs. Dudley Cross 9' in all directions. no supplemental water for 6 weeks. . No leaf wilt, flowering wonderfully with huge rose blossoms.

Souvenir de Pierre Notting. 9' by 8'. 2 months no supplemental water for 6 weeks. , normal blooms.

Alliance Franco-Russe' 6' x 7' wide. No supplemental water for 5 weeks, normal blooms. Grown in half-shade, which would be a factor, the others are grown in full sunlight.

Westside Road Cream Tea, one of my smaller Teas but this and Spray Cecile Brunner' a Tea-Hybrid bloom heavily with supplemental water c. once a month.

Mrs. B.R. Cant. No supplemental water for 2 months and her last flush was lovely.

For some reason Celine Forestier' is the notable exemption to needing supplemental water to produce a mid-summer flush. I still only water her every 2 weeks in July and August and September.

Compared to my neighbor who grows H.T.s and Austins and who waters 3 times a week, I wish someone would do a formal study on which rosebushes are drought tolerant.

Considering all the roses that were Found in the Gold Country, I would think that some of them would be water-wise at least if not downright drought tolerant.

Any Ideas about which Lost and Found roses might be drought tolerant?

Lux.

I have often read that when you have an 8' rose cane, there is a corresponding 8' root to support it. A large plant would require a large root system and the larger the root system, the more area from which to absorb resources. Add a large canopy is going to shade that much larger of a surface area, reducing the soil temperatures (probably also reducing evaporation) and likely reducing the competition from under story plants.

Lux, it's too early for me to say how tall this might get, because the two plants I have are babies. But they're budded onto Fortuniana, so I expect them to get to be pretty tall. I look forward to finding out.

One thing I can say, so far, is that the foliage is REMARKABLY clean. Clear of disease, and beautifully formed -- Opening dark red, and finishing a semi-glossy medium green.

From the time blooms last on the plant, it's my guess that they will have a great vase life. The great substance of the petals certainly hints at that. Next bloom on these baby plants, I mean to try that.

I sure hope they will tolerate a little drought, because I have great fear for what is coming in the future, with regard to water supply. I can honestly see the day that outdoor watering may be prohibited. Clay and I have discussed which specific roses we will preserve at all costs. It's looking that dire.

Oh, and there's a light, sweet fragrance, even to MY nose. So I suspect for others, it will be quite fragrant. A surprise, with such thick petals!