My Banshee roses (two types from MA) did very well this year. I've had Roberta Banshee for maybe 16 years but I've pretty much ignored it. It often balls, but this year did not. The WPI Banshee (below) I easily rooted from a bouquet cutting. I just left it in the glass for a few weeks, then stuck it in sandy loam garden soil. IIRC, I got a bloom on it the next year. I've had it three years and it doesn't ball and I've see no blackspot. I'm in Z5a MA in a humid area. Extremely fragrant, of course. It's different than the Roberta Banshee. I've got better photos but not handy at the moment. I don't spray it. I should probably find a few minutes to go take some cuttings of this so that all my eggs are in one basket.

I hope you know that I've been talking about Hallie's Rose on the antique rose web for a long time, over 10 years, and didn't even know about High Country Banshee when I began. HCB is not Banshee, but that is what they originally thought so, that is what they called it. I went out to look for dark purple foliage and small red berries on my rose, and they were there. This is a Halloween rose mystery, I guess. I've collected albas, centifolias, damasks, eglantines, rosa xanthina, rugosas, hybrid perpetuals and none of them have the cane hardiness nor the scent and grandeur of Hallie's Rose in full bloom. She still is my most beautiful rose. Gosh, I would love to know the story, if roses could talk.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I means so much to me that my rose friends took the time to wish me a happy birthday and 'send' flowers. This week was a blur, and my birthday on Friday was no different. Because of that, I decided ahead of time to reassign it to a more convenient day ... and I can play it for a few more days in the process. Crossing one's 50th birthday seems like such a milestone. I intend to take after my grandmother who was active in life and in her garden until shortly before she passed at age 105. I remember my father scolded her for climbing and trimming her orange tree when she was in her 90's. (my parents are both Californians, and I still have many relatives in SoCal.) I am humbled by the generosity and kindness that is here. Though there are times when tempers come forth, we keep this mostly a peaceful, helpful place ... where we can come for support, or a laugh, or to get help with the rose problem-du-jour. We take pride in others gardens, we cry at their losses, and we rejoice at accomplishments. This is what our community is, and I like it here. Kathy, Maureen, Robert, Deb, Pamela, Ingrid, Florence, Sherry, Liz, and Joe .... thank you for the birthday wishes and kind thoughts. I am excited to see many of you again here in the garden this afternoon, and I hope to meet the rest of you in person one day. Garden friends are the best friends, and I count you all among mine. Connie

Interesting discussion! To which I can add nothing of value except a couple of close ups of the rose in my garden (from Graham Thomas's collection) showing the charm of the tiny, tight-scrolled buds which unroll very slowly (so that shape almost defines the look of the bloom). Also as mentioned the Autumn colouring beginning in the photo taken this morning - and the quite significant rebloom. The canes are long, lax and wiry. Left to its own devices the shrub would mound on the ground. It is better displayed in a garden tied loosely to a large tripod where it can arch from a greater height. It is only pruned to take out dead twiggy material, and is now (after about 10 years) about 9 feet tall. I cannot see the slightest hint of 'Alba' in any part of the plant. Best wishes Jon