Savannah blooms very well for me in spring and fall. However, in the hottest months of July / August it seems to shut down, while some other traditional older hybrid teas do not. In my garden Love Song and Grande Dame do a better job of blooming in summer than Savannah. My nights are probably hotter than yours, so you might not have that problem.

It’s a relatively large plant, but I think you could keep it to be say 4-5ft without it looking too hacked. There’s nearly bloomless Savannah plant at Dallas Arboretum trial garden that is 15 ft tall x 7 feet wide (not a typo) that could really use a prune.

I don’t think it has much problem opening in wet weather, Savannah’s petals are rather thick and waxy, and more resistant than a rose like Belinda’s Dream.

Tons of thanks, Straw! I always appreciate your valuable advice! Although I rarely post here, I read this forum almost everyday.

Thank you for the solution of using gypsum to fix balling problem! But I don't regret getting rid of Belinda's dream. Just like you, I am not a fan of her blooms. Even when they fully opened, they were indeed sloppy.

shallow cups also make sense. If you Savannah can handle 4 hours of morning sun without problem, I guess mine should be fine. The spot I save for Savannah is receiving full sun.

@BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14) Many thanks, Ben! I read from your old posting about the Savannah plant at Dallas Arboretum trial garden. That's why I am concerned it will not bloom well😅. I also remember you mentioned before that several Kordes roses don't do well in warm days and warm nights. If that's the reason, then I should be fine since here in North California our nights are pretty cool even in summer. I have lived in Dallas for four years. I remember how hot it is!

May I ask why the colors of your first picture and send picture look so different? The first one looks more orange, while the second one is light to medium pink. Is it due to the weather?

My Love Song and Grande Dame are in their 3rd year. Grafted. They give me a fabulous fabulous spring flush, but don't bloom much ever after. I keep them because I love their spring blooms so much, but wonder if there is anything I can do to make them bloom more in summer and fall.

KJ...my Savannah loves the cool! Not sure why BenT has 2 different colors, in my yard she is always a light pink. Love, love the smell and she repeats well. Mine is more or less full sun and mildly acidic soil. 80f is hot for us and we usually have 50-40f at night. I usually prune 12 inches after blooming, but the deer ate just my buds so she is over 6 feet right now.

@ann beck 8a ruralish WA Ann, I am so jealous about your weather! Our hottest day is definitely over 90F, and around 60F at night. Choose Savannah because it's in Sunbelt series and supposed to handle heat well . Hope it won't mind our intense sun here.

Light pink is my favorite color. I have always been looking for a light pink, heat resistant and disease resistant rose. Got a Quietness which I love so very much. Savannah looks a little bit deeper than Quietness, but is still in very pretty pink shade.

Seems like the lighting is completely different in both pictures. First picture has the glare of a noontime sun, second picture might be very early morning.

Magpie, yes exactly, different lighting. Savannah is a coral mid-pink, quite color stable, and the color could look like either pic depending on the lighting.

This rose is such a mystery to me. I have seen pictures of her which I loved but in my yard I had to move her to part shade to get a softer color. In more sun she was a very neon pink-orange. Think a mix of the 80’s version of pink and orange

I planted this last fall as an own-root gallon sized plant from Chamblees. It was love at first flush! After that though, it stopped blooming and just out on size. it is now 7ft tall and only throws out the rare bloom. I will be moving it and tinkering with the culture to see if I can make it bloom more.

oursteelers 8B PNW Well, that is strange! I had 2 one in part shade and one full sun (as much as we get) both were very stable colors...not like Tiffany or White Licorice or South Africa that really change with the weather and sun.

KJ - 9B - CA Our Walmart sells Savannah every year, but last year they took the "sunbelt" tag off and had just Kordes.......I think that is because she really does well in so many places. I know she does well in Chicago (which is hot, humid and rainy.) I would get her own root from High Country Roses...Kordes do really well own root (even Walmart ones are own root.) and it will be around $20 + shipping....HCR grows nice roses. If you keep her in a pot, you can move her around to see where you like her and how she does....if she just isn't the color you want, Craigslist or Offer up or Facebook Marketplace. Oh and have you checked helpmefind to see other's pictures and where else she is grown?

@oursteelers 8B PNW Oh, that's not too good since we have intense sun here. But maybe she can be light pink at least in spring and fall? None of my roses looks good in summer except Moonstone and Quietness.

@Markay MD-Zone 7A (8A on new map) That's the exact reason I have been hesitating to buy Savannah! I remember several members mentioned the same thing: she grows too big without many blooms. I wonder if heavy pruning would do the trick, or is something to do with the weather in your area?

She and Deelish both got ridiculously tall. the Obelisk in the pic is 7ft for reference. Deelish is loaded with blooms while Savannah just puts on size.

@ann beck 8a ruralish WA I used to buy bare root from Regan since it's local. But later I heard own root might be have a longer lifespan and more drought resistant then grafted (correct me if I am wrong), then I only buy own root from HCR. I trust them. Never sent me a mis-labelled one. But Savannah is currently out of stock at HCR. Searched online and found It's in stock at antique rose emporium. But I never bought anything from antique rose emporium before.

With what Markey mentioned above I am so hesitating buying. But I might try your suggestion. Keep it in a pot for a while to see how it's doing. Then decide to keep it or not.

Savannah with glossy & dark green foliage likes wet alkaline clay & high in potassium. She was in more sun (6 hrs) & raised-bed & acidic loamy soil and she was very stingy. So I moved her to 4 hrs. of morning sun, wet alkaline clay, and she blooms way more. She blooms well like Dee-lish, with a short pause between flush. I got about 20 blooms for 2nd flush, but blooms open one at a time, so it's a long, long flush. I prune her down to less than 2 feet after each flush. Among my 145 own-roots, I notice that own-roots with dark-green leaves prefer a higher pH.

It takes ungodly amount of water & potassium to pump water up a tall cane, so I'm ruthless in pruning Savannah, like 1 foot in spring, and 1.5 feet after each flush. See below, each branch ends with a bloom in 4 hrs. of sun, so she's a good bloomer.

@strawchicago z5 Many thanks! 20 blooms for 2nd flush sounds great! I decide to try Savannah and follow your pruning height (1 foot in spring, and 1.5 feet after each flush) to see how it goes. Also I found Masterblend NPK 4-18-38 Tomato & Vegetable fertilizer on Amazon. Is it the same one you used for your Savannah?

@KJ (9B, San Jose CA) I think High Country Roses tends to update their website in December for the new order year.

KJ: Yes, I use Masterblend NPK 4-18-38 weekly for Savannah, also chicken manure NPK 2-4-3 early spring when there was acidic rain to dilute the chicken manure. But NO manure after June 1, temp. gets over 80 F.

I give chicken manure only to those who don't blackspot, the high phosphorus of chicken manure tend to make BS worse. Chicken manure helps with larger blooms.

Yes, they open ordering for 2022 on Jan. 1. Last year they had 15% off gift cards in Nov or Dec and my husband gave me that for Christmas.

Most places that ship semi-year around are very limited in what they have left, as they took cuttings in June and are growing them out for around March.

Kordes doesn't graft much and Savannah is usually sold own root is my understanding.

Straw my soil is sandy and acidic. Since I have a woodstove and generate a lot of wood ash, I scatter some on my beds in the winter around the non-acid-loving plants. Now I am wondering if the phosphorus might account for my roses growing so much taller than advertised.

Markay: From Wikipedia: "Much wood ash contains calcium carbonate as its major component, representing 25 or even 45 percent. Less than 10 percent is potash, and less than 1 percent phosphate; there are trace elements of iron, manganese, zinc, copper and some heavy metals."

From Straw: It's the calcium in wood ash that makes roses grow tall. I posted a "before" pic. of Lavender Crush at 2.5 feet tall, and an "after" Lavender Crush at near 10 feet tall AFTER I dug down to the root level to put pelletized lime & alfalfa.

I also posted a pic. of 1st-year-own-root Munstead Wood threw a 3 feet octopus cane after I threw some gypsum (calcium sulfate) on its dinky pot (2.5 gallon).

I don't give lime to Savannah during tons of rain. Calcium is the "building block" for plants, it generates growth in canes & roots.

Phosphorus actually shortens plant since phosphorus is for branching of roots & branches into a "rounder" shape. Phosphorus helps with more blooms through more branching and cluster-blooming.

@ann beck 8a ruralish WA I didn't know the 15% gift card before! That's very nice. I want to try antique rose emporium since it's currently in stock. So hard to wait until December😅

@strawchicago z5 Did you get Masterblend NPK 4-18-38 from Amazon? Just sprinkle around the rose bush and water in?

I bought Masterblend from Amazon but local Walmart sells it as well.

I put MasterBlend in a plastic container (small sour cream container), then shake just a tiny bit (about 2 teaspoons) per 3-gallon-bucket of water. That stuff is expensive so I don't want to sprinkle around the rose bush.

Potassium and phosphorus is best in a solution, and applied at tiny doses frequently. Both bind up with soil (stay as granular form) if excess amount is used. Nitrogen can be "sprinkled" on top like bloodmeal, but not potassium and phosphorus.

Nitrogen mobility is a 10 (it moves down fast with watering), but potassium mobility is a 3, and phosphorus mobility is a 1 (stay put where applied). That's why I use high-phosphorus chicken manure only in spring, when there's lots of acidic rain to flush it down.

Thank you, Straw! New things learned😊