WOW, Jeri - I knew some chinas darkened over time, but this progression from pale pink to an absolutely gorgeous dark, dark, red is something I have not seen before - thank you!

Jackie

I love these.

I love almost any rose which changes color over time - makes the bushes look so interesting! Chinas and teas are famous for that. I particularly like the color changes on roses like 'Mutabilis' and 'Rainbow's End', where the blooms start out pure yellow, and then progress through orange, to reddish, to red and white.

Jackie

I am SO HAPPY you're still here.

And those are lovely! My only china is Cramoisi Superieur and its dark red buds open into surprisingly globular blooms with white-pink centers.

Neat, thanks for sharing.

How big does it get in your garden, Jeri? Your climate is not that different from ours now, and I can never depend on HMF or any other source for estimated sizes of roses, except people who grow them themselves in a similar climate to mine.

Jackie

My only remaining China is a little Sophie's Perpetual...which does indeed, do the colour change to darker as the blooms age. A lovely, modest little rose.

rosaprimula - is it blooming now? My chinas are (all 2 of them) just coming into their full Fall bloom. Just curious - why is it your "only remaining" china? Do they not like your climate? Would love to see pictures of your SP - especially the darkest blooms.

Here is a pic of one of my "Cramoisi Superior" bushes, taken on Jan 1 ! They bloom all year here.

Jackie

Grrrrr...Houzz will not let me post a photo right now - will try again later.

Jackie, most Chinas love it here, but Sophie's Perpetual was unhappy no matter WHAT we tried to do to please it. It finally dwindled away to nada.

I couldn't keep the mildew off Sophie in the Newhall garden. It finally did the only honorable thing and died.

Chinas, and also many Teas, are WONDERFUL winter bloomers, in our mild climate.

I only had 3 of them - Mutabilis, Sophie and a random 'Bengale'. To be honest, I just got a bit fed up with their generally straggly habits. My fault though, cos they all got shaded by various fruit trees. I only have SP because it is daintily modest, so has been spared the desperate editing of the past few years (when those reminders of 'size after 10 years' rolled around and were shown to be laughably inadequate). I honestly should dig up SP and give it to my daughter who has a 3ft stone wall it could lean up against and maybe peep over the top. I have never seen a decent China growing in the UK without some sort of extra support system...but if I had a natural sunny slope, or terrace, I would grow Chinas as a sprawly ground cover.

I have Sophie’s Perpetual growing in a container and it seems to suit her. Maybe she likes it cooler?

Rosaprimula . . . Different circumstances. Different environments.

I finally figured out that Graham Stuart Thomas gave Teas and Chinas short shrift because they did poorly in the conditions HE knew. . . . ALMOST as badly as the roses he said EVERY garden needed did here, in "La-La Land".

The roses that are MY "besties" are probably never going to be yours. And vice-versa.

"Location, Location, Location."

Absolutely, Jeri...and I would also consider how fortunate we are with such a diverse genus as rosa, that this heterogenous flower has found a home in every corner of the globe. So there will always be a selection for us to grow, whatever our soil, climate, geography and personal desires.

It is what keeps me coming back to roses after numerous sidetracks into wildflowers, umbellifers, wild tulips, salvias, woodlanders, alpines...on and on...but always with some rose or another holding court.

What an interesting rose! It starts out like Old Blush and changes to- 5 Yuan? China roses are so changeable. It seems to like your home.

I currently have half a dozen China's. Two (maybe three?) came as a nursery error to my original order. I don't think of my yard as the rose-growing center of the world but I've lost only one China. It was a small band that got eaten by voles then struggled through a late freeze. Not all have thrived but they've come through cold- for zone 7- winters, drought, disease and critters and bloom every year.

Here, Chinas seem to prefer morning sun only and benefit from a little shade. They do seem to appreciate drought less than the teas but get through them, if a bit worse for wear. I water them with a hose when needed and add compost or organic matter when I have it. That's it.

My 17 year old 'Oakington Ruby' (a dwarf China) is in flower here for as much as 10 months of the year. It typically has a few flowers hanging on at Christmas. I suspect it does this well because its somewhat protected in an open-ended greenhouse.

Paul, that looks like one happy rose.

And, btw, say hello to 'Tajique'.

@jerijen Its a pretty thing, Jeri. thanks for the photo! I just wish it grew to adulthood a bit faster than it does.

Well, Paul, it's making good progress here. I think that, next spring, it could make it into the ground, and I've got just the spot for it. I am grateful to have it.

Jeri - how long have you had it? I could not find any photos of an entire bush on HMF - I hope when yours grows up, you will post some!

Jackie