Thanks for the nice comments=) Yep, not quite private enough for skinny dipping - lol! Donna, the one that doesn't bloom every year I can't quite figure out. It hadn't bloomed in 3 years, so last year I dug out most of the clump, leaving only the mother bulb in place. I moved offsets to several places around my yard hoping to figure out what conditions it needs to bloom regularly. I'm not sure what I learned exactly - 3 bulbs bloomed, in 3 different locations. And in each location where one bloomed, there were other bulbs that did not bloom. The blooms were on the original mother bulb that had not been disturbed and which is in a shady and damp spot, a bulb in a sunny and dry spot and a bulb in a shady and medium dry spot. So it doesn't seem that resetting is necessary to induce bloom, nor does it seem that sun and moisture are the key factors. Only thing I can conclude is that only the largest bulbs bloom. The three that bloomed are the biggest ones. So will be interesting to see if now they have attained blooming size if they bloom every year, or if there is some other environmental factor I'm missing. Oh, and the other thing I did was defoliate all of them in January, so it's possible that's the key. kaboehm - Screen room here is key! Sometimes the mosquitos are so thick that the outside of the screen is literally covered in them. The scape heights are actually a carefully designed illusion. Among any single variety, scape height is quite consistent. However, the scape heights for different varieties vary a lot (as much as 15"). Those first cross braces on the screenroom are actually at different heights on different sides of the room. So I've planted the varieties such that the bloom height is approximately the same relative to the cross brace, which gives the illusion that the blooms are all the same height. That's more of a side effect though, what I was really aiming for is not to have the bar block the majority of the blooms. Oh, and gators are a possibility, but they don't like this pond. There is a lake across the street with lots of natural shoreline that they like better so haven't ever seen one in our pond.

Rita, Like I said in the last post, I have never really done a bud count. I am making some records of some of my later bloomers that still have scapes, but anything early or already cleaned up is just a guess. I was amazed at some of your numbers for the flowers that I have as well, and agree with some of them as well. As we are in areas that may or may not be substantially different in climate, take it all with a grain of salt. Here is my input on the flowers you listed that I grow as well: MOONLIT MASQUERADE-- First year in my garden... a double fan division from my mom last fall (2007). Very few blooms for me this year. My Mom's on the other hand, is wonderfully prolific. AUTUMN WOOD-- Three years old for me but in a fairly shady location. First two years, minimal bloom at best.. this year, I would guess at 12ish buds per scape. CELEBRATION OF ANGELS-- Three years old--would put it at medium bloom the first year, heavy bloom the second, and this year, it was incredible..both in bloom quantity (probably around 15+) and rebloom that was just as generous. JULIE NEWMAR-- New to me last fall. Probably had 6 blooms total this year. AWESOME BLOSSOM-- Another 3yr old. I know that you didn't like it too much, and if I remember correctly, gave it away. Mine had tons of buds this year, but was a very poor opener. It is planted in a bed that has overhead water... I moved a division into a different spot for next year, and if it doesn't perform better there, it will be out of my garden. FRANCOIS VERHEART-- Another 3 year old-- a lot of these are in the same garden. Didn't bloom the first year, a couple of so so blooms the second, and this year it was SPECTACULAR! Tons of flowers, and absolutely beautiful. MARAUDER-- Dito as FV, but bloomed a little better the second year. This year, not only was it full of buds--again would guess at least 12+, but it rebloomed wonderfully as well. LEE PICKLES-- New to me in fall of 2007. Had only a handfull of blooms this year, but was gorgeous. I am hoping that it follows the pattern of FV and MAURADER SABINE BAUER-- Another 3yr old. Didn't bloom at all for me the first two years.. moved fall of 2007 into a different spot. Had a few blooms this year, but none opened correctly. Still crossing my fingers that next year may be a better story, as I love the pics. GIFT FROM HEAVEN-- Same as yours. Wonderful plant. HILLBILLY HEART-- Two--bloomed with three buds for the first time this year. Pretty, but hoping that it gets much more vigorous. AESTHETIC BALLET, ELEGANT CANDY, STRAWBERRY CANDY-- All stars since I planted them. I wanted to post this as detailed as I did to give you hope on some of yours that got off to a slow start. It seems like some are troopers out of the gate, and some take a little time to get settled. I remember being bummed about the performance of Julie Newmar earlier this year, and someone (Deborah maybe?) said that theirs was wonderful. Here's to keeping our fingers crossed for next year! Julie

Rox, thanks! It's great to have blooms after pouting for two years about how I never got any blooms that I didn't buy! Mike, I haven't forgotten--your cutting is still on the tree, my friend! Next spring when TLD starts waking up I'll take it off and ship it to you. Should be an easy rooter. Spiro and plum, thank you! Desert Sunrise is on my "can't be without" list. It'll turn nearly red in our Texas heat. Kenny, I have Kimi Beauty, which is also a deep red. I'm pretty excited about it, too! But the seedlings--ooh, the anticipation! I'm so nervous I'll accidentally knock one off before it blooms, lol. Don't worry, with your weather you'll probably see some seedling inflo next season. Mine are the big boys, the back left and the tall center ones in the photo (tall one on the right is a cutting). They matured faster than the others, and are thick in the trunk. George, yes, that's FCN's Leona. All the photos I've seen of Waimea show the wide petals you describe. I hope they're different; I have both. You definitely must have Desert Sunrise! And we can't wait to see your new varieties! Your photos are always so good.

Goodness, Sara Ann! What beautiful pictures! I found myself studying and admiring Crazy Love, before I remembered that I don’t like orange roses. Lol. It’s quite beautiful with a mesmerizing blend of colors. Your Poseidon is lovely as well. Isn’t it a wonderful rose? I’m enjoying seeing your Mystic Beauty. It’s not shown/grown enough for how wonderful a rose it is. Yours looks great. I personally prefer it to SDLM, but my SDLM may just be a dud plant. My Mystic Beauty blows my SDLM out of the water in every way. Thanks for posting so many beautiful roses! Lisa