Kristine,
I'm going to go with the worst first, so that I can end up on a positive note. The much talked about Chantal Merieux on our Roses Forum, two, 'in ground-ers' of them, are certainly proving the adage true for me, "The first year they sleep... ".
One of them bloomed a little unimpressively in spring, with barely a second flush in July, and nothing after that. The flowers were very small, but pretty, and very fragrant. The second one did not bloom at all. Chantal Merieux is a black spotter, but may develop resistance with age (If she makes it past my "shovel prone," inclinations).
The worst of It is that no canes produced this year, in spite of reaching 30" in length, were any thicker than a wooden pencil, most were coat hanger size thin. I'm in a holding pattern with this rose.
My second year Climbing Pink Don Juan amazed me again this year as she did last year, 2017. At that time she was planted in spring as a tiny gallon from Chamblees, one of his 'not big enough to ship yet roses,' you can get from Mark Chamblee. However, do not interpret this as hard criticism, just stating a fact. Mark Chamblee's usually superb, large sized stock is what I almost always receive from his nursery.
This little upstart Climbing Pink Don Juan, barely 5" tall, took off like it was on steroids. Nice 5-6' long canes survived over winter, unprotected, to their tips. As young as it was it bloomed continuously, and I mean continuously, remarkable for any rose, yet alone a climber!
This year, she has reached 7-8' with heavier, more continual bloom than she made her first year. This is a sleeper rose.
I got her on a whim. Here's how I reckoned: Since Mark Chamblee is in a holding pattern, trying to sell his nursery, he has drastically cut back on the VARIETY of roses he is still propagating. Those left, must be really good ones, I figured. So, I went through his offerings and Climbing Pink Don Juan caught my eye. The bloom looked particularly lovely, classic HT form to me in the . It falls a little short of its in reality, still stunning, but not show queen material like the photo implies. The color in my garden is almost hot, vibrant pink, not the medium pink in Chamblee's photo.
One more point on CPDJ...She grows nothing like the regular, OK, 'so-so' to me, wickedly thorny Climbing Red Don Juan, which you see growing around my area, here and there. Her thorns are few.
Pretty Lady Rose should be in every garden. Mine was a gallon, Chamblee rose, but a true, big gallon sized one (Thank you, Mark Chamblee!). She was put into the garden this spring, took off, and never looked back. Her fragrance surprised me the most, strong! Her flowers don't nod like her mother's, Grand Dame, and her compact, bushy growth habit is very welcome.
Cori Ann praises this rose, and I second her position on Pretty Lady Rose. Does the rose world need another dead common PINK rose? NO!, but in Pretty Lady Rose's case, she raises the bar a few notches for great pinks.
Moses
Q
Love song
Q