Straw: your Evelyn is so healthy! I do believe there are different versions of Evelyn as you told me.

The healthiest David Austin roses for me are Gertrude Jekyll (super fragrant too) and Desdemona (continuos blooming even in summer but less fragrant). Queen of Sweden is healthy and elegant but flowers do not last. Lady of Shallot has the most beautiful color and is a good bloomer but gets BS badly and drops half of the leaves already.

Koedes roses are all healthy for me, except the Blue Girl.

I also have some healthy Meiland: Top Cream, Pcdm, Eden. But they are all in thir first year. Time will tell.

Jim: your Double Easy Orange is a darling!

I am allergic to all shots. Let me rephrase. I have an over exuberant immune system. Several of my lymph nodes swell up painfully when I get a shot. It doesn’t matter which kind. I am dreading the shingles shots.

ColleeninMHD 6a GOOD NEWS: Jim, I (Straw), and my husband all got the 2 Shingles shots with zero problems. All my 8 older sisters got the shingrix shot with zero problems, but many of my siblings had bad reaction to the Covid shot.

Older folks told me that shingles is MUCH WORSE than chicken pox itself. One lady said she had splitting headache and painful sores with shingles.

From msn news this month: "Shingles vaccine ‘cuts dementia risk by 17%'. University of Oxford researchers found that the Shingrix vaccine is linked to a “significantly” lower risk of dementia in the six years after vaccination than the previously-used Zostavax jab, following a study on more than 200,000 people.

Shingles is caused by the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox, over 50 are most susceptible.

The first signs of shingles are a tingling, burning sensation, sensitivity to touch, or painful feeling in an area of skin. This is often accompanied by headache or feeling generally unwell. A few days later, the classic single stripe of blisters that wraps around the left side or the right side of your torso usually appears, but can occur anywhere on the body including the face."

forever_a_newbie_VA8 Queen of Sweden lasted only 1 day in the vase for me (despite Austin catalog listing it as good for the vase back in 2011). Queen of Sweden was healthy but stingy in partial shade.

You are right about low-thorn Blue girl .. tried that twice as grafted-on-Dr.Huey and it always lose ALL leaves after blooming if I don't water it daily. I find that low-thorn roses are rain-hogs, such as Kim Rupert's marvelous creation of below thornless Annie L. McDowell (never see blackspots, and the scent is amazing lilac and musk):

So happy to hear that Gertrude Jekyll is healthy for you (it's on my buy list for the future). Lady of Shalott is 100% clean as OWN ROOT for the past 11 years in my rock-hard clay, and I never water it. I fixed my dense clay with a bag of coarse sand for below Lady of Shalott (prefers fluffy soil). LOS is very thorny and thorny roses are more drought-tolerant.

Jemma Z10Socal Thank you for your info. on Oregano oil, which led me to research on Berberine and its positive effects on gut bacteria and blood sugar. With Amazon same-day delivery, I took 2 capsules. Today 8/8/24 is the 1st time in 4 years that I'm able to go for 7 hours fast without feeling weak or zero energy.

30,000 people buy below product per month from Amazon. It's the best seller and I have the same report about its effectiveness as the many positive reviews on Amazon on its curbing hunger and stabilizing blood sugar.

Below natural supplement is cheap at $25 per 120 capsules and SAFER than Ozempic ($1,000 per month). The money that I save by eating less is more than the $25 per month spent on Berberine & cinnamon supplement to prevent diabetes & lose weight.

My last blood test at 62 year-old showed high cholesterol (thanks to eating 2 fried eggs per day), and I'll know by upcoming Dec. blood test if below product helps to lower my cholesterol & triglycerides.

NutriFlair Premium Berberine HCL 1200mg, 120 Capsules - plus Pure True Ceylon Cinnamon, Berberine HCI Root Supplements Pills - immune system, healthy weight management sold for $25 per 120 pills on Amazon.

Jim - your Double Easy Orange blooms are wonderful...lots of petals!! I didn't realize you had such problems with flu shots/Covid shots. Sounds like terrible experiences.

Straw - your Annie McDowell blooms are such sweeties...wow!!

What is happening to my Rouge Royal new bareroot (this spring)? I defoliated this rose after I had to use a lot of stored rainwater on this rose and the leaves looked terrible. It grew new, wonderful leaves that just turned not so good after 1 1/2 inches of rain. This rose seems to hate rain. Any thoughts?

@rosecanadian, sorry to hear about your Rouge Royal. I do not have this rose. The leaves are a bit pale. I hope Straw and others could give some suggestion.

And how could I forget to mention Bolero? It is amazing, great health, very full petals and super sweet fragrance

rosecanadian I had the same problem with Rouge Royal as own root: always break out in blackspots when we had tons of rain, even in a FAST DRAINING fluffy soil pot, while Tess of d'Ubervilles was 100% healthy in the same potting soil.

Rouge Royal is much healthier with my alkaline tap water at pH 9, and hates acidic rain at pH 4.5 So I have to top it with biochar at pH 8.6, or mix dense clay with pelletized lime (pH over 9) to buffer the acidic rain here. One cannot top pots with a thick wad of clay like in the ground, so Rouge Royal did better in my clay, buried under ALKALINE dense clay, than when it was a blackspot fest in a pot.

forever_a_newbie_VA8 Yes, I love Bolero .. always healthy even in a dinky pot. Bolero can take acidic rain much better than Rouge Royal as own root. Below was Bolero in a dinky pot it shot up to 2.5 feet tall within 4 months from a tiny rooting (1/2 band size). Bolero did better in fluffy potting than my dense clay:

Below is Bolero once planted in my heavy clay, it becomes shorter but always healthy. Leaves are dark green thanks to the trace elements in horse manure topping:

rosecanadian Very happy with berberine and cinnamon capsules to prolong my fasting and eating less. It's so soothing for my stomach, so I don't feel gnawing hunger pangs, or feeling weak with low blood sugar. Thank God that I'm NOT on any meds so I can supplement with berberine and cinnamon.

I googled and found below info: " Taking berberine with high blood pressure drugs: Combining berberine with amlodipine (a blood pressure-lowering drug) may reduce blood pressure better than taking amlodipine alone. Berberine should NOT be taken with other blood pressure medications."

I like how berberine changes my gut bacteria so I don't have that "sour, gnawing" urge in my stomach to eat more .. like a bottomless pit. Metformin (a diabetes drug) that many of my skinny siblings take does the same. Metformin UP the skinny gut bacteria (Akkermansia muciniphila) so the stomach feels full, rather than always hungry.

I credit sniffing Evelyn to drop down to 119 lb. I'm going to be 63 next month, and Evelyn makes it easy to abstain from carbs like sugar or bread. Evelyn is THE ONLY rose that smells like sweet Danish pastry with peaches jam with alkaline pH (topped with biochar at pH 8.6). With tons of acidic rain, the scent is old rose and ripe nectarine.

My weakness is French bread and cheese, or pastry, and Evelyn has the sweet scent of bread/pastry so I don't need to eat such. Below white is Bolero, left pink is Sonia Rykiel, and right with 100+ petals is Evelyn. Sonia Rykiel smells like raspberry, and Evelyn smells like a peachy Danish pastry:

Below 12th-year-own root Evelyn is the most healthy among my 160 own-root roses since it has deep root and can take full sun. It's very good in getting potassium for disease prevention, fast repeat & constant blooming, and for many buds per stem:

Straw - sigh. Rouge Royal. I do have some clay here. I had bought it for mason bees to use. I could put some of that on top of RR. Do you think that would help? Your Bolero is SO healthy!!! Oh!!! Your Sonia Riekel is DECADENT!!! I love it so much!! That's a beautiful Evelyne...your roses are always sooo beautiful!!

This is a new rose that I've lost the tag from. It's a bareroot (I think, lol). And I think it's Roberto Capucci. Does anyone grow this rose? It has a ton of buds...but the first buds didn't open properly.

Straw, I'm happy that you've found a way that works to lose weight. I'm still trying to find my way. :)

rosecanadian jim1961 Central Pennsylvania Zone 6b

Rouge Royal does FANTASTIC for Pakistan rosarians, zone 9b with loamy & sandy soil high in iron. Red roses need A LOT of iron. If too much Garden Lime is used to neutralize acidic rain, it will zap out iron. What would help is HIGH IRON and HIGH POTASSIUM fertilizer, such as SOLUBLE Tomato fertilizer Master Blend.

I'm down to 118 lb. today, 8/11/24 by sniffing Evelyn to curb my sweet tooth and taking Berberine & cinnamon capsule. I will be 63 year old next month, and it's much harder to lose weight as I get older.

When I was young in my early 40's, it took me only 6 months to lose 20 lb. (down to 97 lb), but in my 60's, it takes me 1 month to lose 1 lb. and that's through DAILY work of doing 2 miles on the treadmill, plus 1/2 hour bowflex. Much harder to lose weight when one's gut bacteria is crying out for food or producing hunger pangs via excess stomach acid.

The key to easy weight loss is through gut-bacteria. Berberine, like metformin and $$$ Ozempic or Wegovy help with weight loss through changing one's gut bacteria, with more skinny gut bacberia and less hunger pangs. Berberine is better since it stabilizes my blood sugar.

The problem with Ozempic and Wegovy: it's $1,000 per month, plus folks get ravenously hungry if they stop taking such. Natural supplements from plants such as Berberine, cinnamon, oats, and barley have fewer side effects and less withdrawal symptoms.

I credit Evelyn rose for stopping my desire for bread and pastry. This morning husband bought pancakes from McDonald, and I COULD NOT stand the artificial sweet scent of pancakes. Evelyn rose with its sweet peaches and fresh pastry scent set the standard so high, that I have zero desire for artificial baked goods. Below is Evelyn, deep purple are Twilight Zone. Light yellow is Tchaikovsky.

Below peachy pink is Evelyn. Right pink cluster is James Galway, blooming well this August. Upper yellow is Crown Princess Magareta, blooming well this August. Evelyn gives me the most cut blooms for the vase. I'm growing a 2nd Evelyn for myself so I can have DAILY cut-blooms since its scent is far superior to any pastry/bread temptation.

Strawchicago, this video might interest you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuOvn4UqznU

I wish roses would curb my sweet tooth. You have so many lovely roses. If only I could smell your Evelyn through the screen.

Straw - I found the gecko Grow Masterblend Tomato formula...but it's $59 for 6 lbs. Doesn't that seem too expensive? I'm using a tomato fertilizer anyway. :) :)

I eat for emotional reasons...I'm not hungry when I eat junkf ood...just trying to feel better. Good for you, though, Straw!!! You're doing really well!!

Those are gorgeous roses!!! Some of my faves are your James Galway, Evelyns and TZ. :)

Carol - the only reason why I buy Masterblend Tomato is it's CHEAP HERE. But it's NOT best for roses due to SALTY potassium chloride (muriate of potash) at salt-index of 113.6, rather than sulfate of potash (salt index of 43).

It's better for roses to use sulfate of potash (low salt & high potassium at NPK 0-0-50), plus kelp (high in iron and trace elements for best blooms).

Folks who grow roses in pots in dry CA get tons of blooms with MaxSea fertilizer, at $63 for 6 lb, with kelp powder and blood meal (high in iron). But it's expensive.

Kelp powder for plants is cheap (has iron and all trace elements), blood meal is also cheap (very high in iron and nitrogen NPK 12-0-0). Sulfate of potash is also cheap. Using these 3 will be best for Rouge Royal (needs trace elements & iron to have dark-green leaves and lots of blooms).

Best to schedule them apart: High nitrogen blood meal to stimulate leaves & growth & taller canes (after pruning). Kelp and sulfate of potash to force blooms. Then more sulfate of potash to prevent diseases (blackspots) after blooming.

Best split potassium into half: 1/2 to force blooming, then 1/2 AFTER BLOOMING for disease prevention:

Below is Dee-lish in only 4 hours of morning sun being fertilized with MasterBlend Tomato fertilizer (high in trace elements) in hot August.

Below is Mary Magdalene with Masterblend Tomato fertilizer NPK 4-18-38. It gives tons blooms, but NOT best form thanks to too high phosphorus along with too much potassium. I get better form on my blooms if I split potassium into half: 1/2 to force blooming, then 1/2 AFTER BLOOMING for disease prevention:

I was wondering can you tell me what I'm doing wrong with Frances and Top Cream. Unfortunately, all my roses are in pots right now and most look fine. These two are so stingy with giving me repeat flowers. I'm wondering if its a french thing or something else like soil ph.

Z10Socal French Meiland roses with shiny leaves are biggest waterhogs .. won't bloom unless it's day-long rain OR with VERY moisture retentive 100% peatmoss potting soil (peatmoss can hold water 10 times its weight). Some potting soils in CA are dry-bark-based, and NOT peatmoss and too dry for these shiny-leaves water hogs.

Rice hulls are used as sub. for peatmoss in potting soil and it holds moisture OK, but not as good as peatmoss.

Both Francis Meilland and Top Cream are best in partial shade. Water-hogs are best as own-roots (stay cluster-roots longer) to get more water. I bought low thorn Bluegirl as grafted on Dr.Huey and it gave only spring flush when it was week-long rain.

Dr.Huey is a chunky and woody stick (like a tree) and NOT good in getting water like cluster roots (petunias or marigolds). That's the advantage of own-roots: repeat faster with cluster-roots.

My Rouge Royal and pink Baronne de Rothschild with shiny leaves below are best in partial shade, and they don't bloom unless it's all day rain:

Straw - I ended up buying some Marphyl soil enhancer...phytoplankton, etc. I looked at the sulfate of potash on Amazon.ca and couldn't find any that was powdered (like you told me to get last time). Now, I'm thinking it'll be too salty and maybe shouldn't use it every week with my other fertilizer. But there's supposed to be lots of trace elements. Thanks for your in-depth description of what I should get...but I already bought the other stuff. Your roses shown (especially Dee Lish) are great bloomers and beautiful!! You certainly know your stuff, to be sure!! Oh, look at your precious Rouge Royal!! So beautiful!!!!

Z10Socal and rosecanadian SOLUBLE fertilizer is so much easier on plants than granular fertilizer that burns in hot & dry. Same with us: at my age of 63 I feel SO MUCH better with soups than with fried chicken or fish. I will NEVER make fried chicken nor fried fish again, I can't digest it well and my 21-year-old skinny daughter prefers soup, even for hot summer. I watch the entire below YouTube on fasting recommended by Jemma (z10Socal). THANK YOU, Jemma !!

The doc. of below YouTube goes into biochemistry just like Dr. Jason Fung. Years ago, I read Fung's two books "The Diabetes Code" and "The Obesity Code" and fasting or eating 2 meals max per day is the key to health (NO SNACKS in between meals).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuOvn4UqznU

Below is one of the comment from above YouTube which I will try. With my family history of diabetes, and blood sugar at 106 ... I need a snack before bedtime to sleep well, so I DO NOT eat breakfast nor lunch (coffee or broth only)

I do much better with ONE SOLID MEAL: BIG dinner at 4 pm. This doc. recommends a bit of salt water or bone broth for electrolytes so one doesn't feel weak nor dizzy while fasting. Below is a comment from above YouTube on fasting:

"I have a cousin that lost 90 pounds over a year’s time with the One Meal A Day fasting plan. He had a four hour eating window, from 4pm to 8pm. That way they could go out to dinner with friends or family if they wanted. After 8pm, no more calories until 4pm the next day. Only water and unsweetened tea or coffee. He looks amazing! OFF all medications for high blood pressure and Type II diabetes.

He said he had anything he wanted during that four hours…his beloved Doritos included and did not count calories. He said as time went on, he noticed he was eating healthier…less sugar and junk. I asked him what kept him motivated. He said he took a picture of his weight on digital scales when the number was less than the last picture he took was great encouragement. He is 66 and says he has more energy now than when he was 30 and overweight." A viewer's comment from above Youtube on Fasting.

Below is a bouquet fertilized with Azomite (rock dust rich in minerals), it's well-formed. I consider bone broth as the "Azomite" for human beings. Husband was NEVER hungry when he drank bone broth during his 2 days liquid-fast prior to his colonoscopy. Pinks are Evelyns, dark yellows are Crown Princess Magareta, and middle is Stephen Big Purple hybrid tea.

I'm glad you could watch the whole thing, Its a long video. I like how he mentioned you can't put a cactus in a rainforest and expect it to thrive. Same with us eating processed food all day long.

One of my sister is very skinny at 5'1" tall and 85 lb. at 66 year-old. She's still working and does a light breakfast, then skip lunch at work, and eat a BIG DINNER. NO SNACKS in between and she allows herself bread and plenty of butter. She eats only 2 meals per day.

The doc. in the fasting video stressed the importance of Omega-3 fat ... which should be 1 to 1 ratio with Omega-6 (in animal fat, dairy, and seeds' oils). My skinny daughter is on a high Omega-3 diet for her entire life (up to 3 TBS of RAW Barlean's flax oil per day), and she was able to fast 8 1/2 hours during her 4 years of high school:

In school my daughter had high-fat & high protein breakfast of eggs & bacon and fruits at 7 am & skipped lunch due to wearing dental braces, then eat a BIG dinner at 4 pm. She took 16 college credit classes while in high school and graduated #4 out of 743 students.

I stopped buying flax oil for her since the last bottle was rancid and gave us tummy ache. For the past few months of deficient in Omega-3, she wanted food constantly and it was tiring to make 4 meals for her while she's working as an actuary remotely at home (she graduated from college in 2 years rather than 4 years).

We bought a fresh bottle of Barlean's flax oil, and she no longer wants 4 meals per day. Today she skipped lunch since she's busy with her remote work plus NOT hungry, so I was able to watch the YouTube on medical benefits of fasting.

I find that 1 TBS of Barlean's flax oil with a meal can last me 12 hours of fasting. But without the flax oil and its Omega-3, I get hungry much faster. Clinical studies also showed flax oil UP the I.Q. of ADHD kids:

Beautiful roses, Straw!! Every single one is perfection!!

rosecanadian Z10Socal I sniff roses for emotional reasons rather than eating for emotional reasons. Don't have to brush my teeth after sniffing roses like with eating sticky stuff like bread or sugar. Princess Charlene de Monaco's wonderful scent comforted me after my Mom died in 2019 (she died of diabetes at 93-year-old).

I sniff Evelyn at least 10 times a day when I want a sweet treat ... Evelyn smells like Danish pastry with peaches jam, or the sweet scent of bread (so I don't crave for carbs.)

Fasting is much easier when I sniff roses and drink liquids to fill me up. Much of the enjoyment of eating comes from the aroma of food .. so sniffing sweet fruity scent like Evelyn takes away my need for bread & pastry.

Carol, I love pics. of your roses in pots (like a bouquet itself) with your many blooms on Violet's Pride and Parade Day .. those are on my wish list.

My 12th-year own root Evelyn is continuous bloomer and gives me weekly cut-bloom for the vase. Below pic. was taken this August, note that Evelyn is 100% healthy after getting done with 2nd flush, and pumping out tiny buds for the 3rd flush, 8/14/24. I cut all Evelyn blooms for the vase plus to root for friends:

Below is Twilight Zone this August coming down blackspots .. it's a waterhog and doesn't like hot & dry in August:

Below is Royal Jubilee this August 2024. Can smell its fabulous scent 5 feet away in hot & dry:

Below is Wise Portia this August 2024. It's a constant bloomer with 40+ blooms as own-root. Wise Portia blooms until hard-frost & snow in Thanksgiving, zone 5.

Never see blackspots on Kordes roses in my garden: Summer Sun, Savannah, Poseidon and Kiss me Kate. Below is Kordes Summer Sun this August, it's a compact bush, and blooms have a nice spicy scent.

Strawchicago , have you ever tried creating a rose? I wanna make a thornless rose.

Famous breeders like Kim Rupert successfully created thornless Annie L. McDowell (it's a gem in my garden with its lilac and musk scent).

Robert Neil Rippetoe created several thornless roses, and I bought such rose hips from him to grow roses from seeds, getting 100% thornless Sandy Hook rose that survives over a decade of my zone 5 winter, see below, pic. taken this early August with reddish pink Sandy Hook (intense red wine and grape juice and old rose scent). Below left pink is PcDm, upper yellow is Well-Being, and apricot is Queen Nefertiti

Below red is 100% thornless Sandy Hook, and peachy blooms are Evelyns, yellow is Golden Celebration. This bouquet smells like a bakery and a florist shop:

Straw - I may try your sniffing method with a cinnamon spray I have. Cinnamon reminds me of baking with my mom...so there's an emotional response there. Good idea. I hope it works. lol Thanks, Straw, about my roses!! Violet's Pride is on a long break now. She blooms for about a month or more and then takes a long break and blooms again. Right now, I'm really enjoying my Pink Peace. The blooms are really large and luscious with a wonderful Fruitloops fragrance. My Parade Day is really making me happy with its tons of blooms. Your Evelyn is such a good producer!! Royal Jubilee has a wafting fragrance? I didn't know that. Wonderful!! Ooooh!!! Your Sandy Hook bloom is gorgeous...it looks like an Austin! Your Evelyn is beautiful!!

Pink Peace. The leaves aren't great. But the blooms are wonderful!!

Carol: Sniffing peppermint and grapefruit have been shown in studies to reduce appetite and to slash calories consumed. Cinamon did zap out my appetite back when I was 43 and weighed 97 to 100 lb. I had 1 teaspoon of cinnamon for dessert, and it took away my need for eating more. I grew up in Vietnam and my mom chewed on a cinnamon stick for dessert. Saigon cinnamon is famous for its flavor. The cheap cinnamon in stores is contaminated with lead, see below: FDA warns consumers to stop using six brands of ground cinnamon found to have high levels of lead | CNN

" The cinnamon brands are:

• La Fiesta, lot 25033, sold at La Superior SuperMercados
• Marcum, best by 10/16/25 and 4/06/25, sold at Save A Lot
• MTCI, sold at SF Supermarket
• Swad, lot KX21223, sold at Patel Brothers
• Supreme Tradition, best buy dates from 4/25 through 9/25, sold at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar
• El Chillar, F275EX1026 and D300EX1024, sold at La Joya Morelense in Baltimore, Maryland."

I miss Pink Peace (died years ago), but local stores are NOT selling it so I will have to get it from Roses Unlimited. The OWN ROOT Pink Peace I got from Roses Unlimited were much healthier than the GRAFTED Pink Peace I got from local store.

Better scent on the OWN ROOT Pink Peace. Below was own root Pink Peace (much shorter and healthier):

Below was GRAFTED Pink Peace (leggy and blackspot fest), much taller as seen through my screened window. Next to it is my rain-barrel:

Straw - Oh, there's no way I could eat cinnamon by itself...so bitter. That's hardcore!!! lol Thanks for the cinnamon brand warnings. Thankfully we don't use those brands. My Pink Peace has 3 huge open blooms with tons of petals...pictures don't do justice. There are 10 more buds. :) :) I hope you can find another PP. I love the fragrance on my grafted PP....like Fruit Loops. Wow to think that it could get better own root. If you were here, I'd make a cutting and get you an OR PP. :) :)

The best smelling rose in my garden today was Rosemary Harkness...oh my goodness!!!!! I couldn't quite figure out the fragrance...could be oranges with rose? or lemon with rose? Incredible!!!!

rosecanadian I'm kicking myself for NOT buying Rosemary Harkness when it was on sale years ago from Roses Unlimited. I probably make another order from Roses Unlimited to get Rosemary Harkness & Sonia Rykiel and Versigny (both died through my zone 5 winter). How do you like Gabriel Oaks compared to Grand Dame (in terms of scent and beauty?)

How was the vigor of the Poet's Wife for you? I haven't bought that since it has a reputation of being wimpy as own root for cold-zoners.

Z10Socal jim1961 Central Pennsylvania Zone 6b It's recommended that older folks consume more protein, and I agree. Yesterday 8/15/24 I fasted for 15 1/2 hours (from 12 midnight to 3:30 pm), thanks to a HUGE dinner of beef & zucchini & tomato & brown rice soup the night before, plus 1 TBS of flax oil.

Last night I didn't have much protein, but had high-fiber cereal & milk before bedtime, and was ravenously hungry this morning !! Having enough protein & fat is the secret for fasting without hungry, but eating starchy foods make me so hungry sooner. I could eat the entire loaf of French Bread plus cheese and still feel hungry (not enough protein nor good fat).

The doc. in the fasting-video recommended a HIGH PROTEIN and Omega-3 fat, and low-carb, he even said 1 fruit is enough. Lots of Princess Charlene de Monaco blooms this August, along with blue Poseidon, and dark-pink Dee-lish. Yellows below are Moonlight Romantica. French Meilland roses really like it hot & humid and make the best fragrant cut-blooms:

Thanks Straw & nice looking roses! :-)

Teresa - yeah, my husband told me that a few years ago...protein is so important as we age so that we don't lose so much muscle mass. I haven't been that thrilled with Rosemary Harkness, but it's getting better and blooming a lot now! And the blooms are looking more filled out. And that fragrance knocked me over! :) Heirloom roses (own root) is offering Harkness roses now...they have Rosemary Harkness. I really, really like Gabriel Oak. It has charm. And the fragrance is waaaay better than Grande Dame's fragrance. I like GO better for beauty too because the blooms don't nod as much and they last a lot longer. Fair warning...GO doesn't like too much rain. I got rid of my Poet's Wife a few years ago. I don't have patience and maybe should wait longer to toss roses. Indeed, it was wimpy. Lovely bouquet...my fave is Moonlight Romantica. :)
Gabriel Oak

water restrictions and dry grass.

rosecanadian Your Gabriel Oak is perfection !! LOVE IT. Yours is the best looking Gabriel Oak bush-shot loaded with blooms (I love your short & compact roses).

You are right that GO doesn't like too much rain. Hoang Ton (the master of Austins in air pots) .. reported that GO is a weaker grower than James Austin for his high-rain Northern Florida.

Yellow is the least hardy color for cold zone. I had 2 Golden Celebration: one die, and the 2nd one is thriving for 13 years .. but a friend nearby also lost his Golden Cel. through our zone 5 winter. Golden Zest also died through my zone 5 winter, and died for another cold-zoner. I'm content with rooting another Golden Celebration to sniff (best scent ever) .. I don't need to buy another lesser-scent yellow to die through my winter.

Golden Celebration smells like cup cakes from the oven. YUM. It's the EASIEST rose to root, plus it doesn't fade like Julia Child.

Below is Golden Celebration and the pink blooms are Eustacia Vye (loses its scent in the vase), but Golden Celebration smells good forever, just like Evelyn and Munstead Wood.

Straw - Thanks!! :) :) I love how the canes/blooms don't flop. I agree about yellow roses being less hardy in general. I love the rose White Licorice, but it died TWICE for me in the garage. Last winter we put it right up against the house in the garage. It did well there. I love this rose and so do the bees. Oh, YUM...cupcakes fresh from the oven!!

I don't think I'll ever buy another white rose again. I have 3 white roses and they've grown so well and bloom their hearts out...but the flowers are ruined by thrips.

La Perle aux Fontaine...fabulous bloomer and grower. Wonderful glossy leaves. Ugh.

La Gruaud LaRose

All wonderful photos of roses in this thread! And great info!

Thrips are a pain for sure Carol!

I checked my other roses but it seems the leaf cutter bees prefer Earthsongs leaves for whatever reason...So do the rose slugs...lol..ES leaves are in demand...

Earthsong

Achieved this darker pink color by adding two tablespoons of Alaska Fish 5-1-1 fertilizer AND one small but heaping scoop of Miracle Gro Bloom Boost (10-52-10) into 1 gallon of water and that darkened the blooms up nicely

DEO

Jim - your Earth Song is a beauty...but my fave is your amazing DEO!!! Glorious!!

rosecanadian Bolero is my best white with the BEST scent, never see thrips nor brown stains on Bolero like with Betty White. Plus Bolero lasts long in the vase and blooms until November past frost. Below bouquet was taken November 15:

Agree that Jim's Double Orange has the best color !! My next rose purchase will be orange and purple .. my 2 most favorite colors. I miss orange Solitude rose below (tree roots killed it, so had guys chopping down my 2 HUGE spruce trees).

Lavender Crush is my most favorite purple rose, it gets BETTER as it ages (bought in 2015). I bought it for $5 with blooms in a pot from Walmart. Scent is best with biochar. The big tree behind it was chopped down, so it repeats blooms better.

Straw - really? Bolero doesn't get thrips? That's great! I'm not going to buy anymore light colored roses because of thrips...except for Chantilly Cream which I have coming next year. I don't think that yellows show thrips much anyway. What are the pink roses on the right of Bolero? I really love your Lavender Crush!! My goodness...all of those blooms from one truss!

Carol: Would love to see your pic. of Chantilly Cream since I love yellows. I repost the pic. to identify my roses last November better: White is Bolero, pinkish cluster is Mary Magdalene, red buds are Munstead Wood, yellow is Strike it Rich, orange bud is Carding Mill, and bi-color lowest bud is Double Delight. I cut them in bud before hard-freeze last November:

I'm down to 117.6 pound today .. which is a miracle, considering that I was overweight at 122 lb. this May. Last year when I was 62, it took me ONE MONTH just to lose 1 lb. Berberine with cinnamon capsule really helps, that's why it's the best seller in Amazon with 30K purchases per month. My goal is to lose weight down to 115 lb. by Christmas, then I will be safely in the NORMAL weight BMI for my height of 4'11" & will be 63-year-old next month.

In the past I could never lose weight unless I skip breakfast and work for hours in the garden, or skip lunch while walking/shopping for hours. Fasting via being busy/active and eating only 2 BIG meals of protein/fat/fiber is the easiest way to lose weight.

Straw - I'm getting Chantilly Cream next year. :) :) I'll show you pictures then...but it will be a baby. Mary Magdalene....I don't know much about that Austin rose...I love those blooms!! I think it's supposed to have a myrrh fragrance? Good job on losing weight...it's a hard thing to do. :) Thanks for the tips. :) :)

What do you think this rose is...I'm guessing Princess Charlene de Monaco (on multiflora rootstock). The other rose I ordered that it could be is Roberto Capucci (own root). The fragrance is sharp and strong.

I'm thinking it's got to be PCdM.

rosecanadian Yes, it's PcDM which can be apricot sometimes, below lowest peachy pink is PcDM, and above it is Evelyn.

Note how Princess Charles de Monaco turned peachy apricot in below bouquet picked last early September:

Straw - excellent...another new rose identified!! I'm really happy with this rose. :) :) Yours are beautiful!! So PCdM can sometimes be a more pink color? I love the peach. Your Evelyn is so pretty!

All beautiful roses! :-)

Good advice Straw!

@rosecanadian, my Pcdm looks just like yours

Pcdm is a big pleasant surprise to me. Beautiful ruffled petals, and excellent fragrance

This was earlier in May

Forever - I'm really happy with PCdM too!! I don't know why I feel extra happy when I look at her flowers...but I do. :) :) Your PCdM blooms are lovely!! Happy, Happy Rose Dance!!

@rosecanadian, great to hear you are happy with your pcdm. For me I am especially happy because according to my friend’s report on mothers day last year, she was very BS prone in our local botanical garden. But so far she is fine and only started to get BS after July

Forever - Hopefully she will grow out of getting BS...but it doesn't sound like it (botanical garden). Mine has no BS...but we hardly get any rain.