Thursday, January 6, 2011

'Tis the season to buy roses...

Fa La La La La La La La La.  So here's a few dozen recommendations from my Florida garden.

DEFINITE SAFE BETS
Arcadia Louisiana Tea - Tea
Bermuda's Anna Olivier - Tea
Borderer - Polyantha
Climbing Maman Cochet - Tea
Duchesse d'Auerstadt - Tea/Noisette Climber
Duquesa - Tea
Faith Whittlesey - Tea
General Schablikine - Tea
Lauren - Polyantha
La Sylphide - Tea
Leonie Lamesch - Polyantha
Le Vesuve - Tea/China
Louis Philippe - China
Madame Abel Chatenay - early Hybrid Tea
Madame Antoine Mari - Tea
Madame Antoine Rebe - Tea
Maman Cochet - Tea
Mrs B R Cant - Tea
Red Cascade - Mini Climber
Reve d'Or - Noisette Climber
Souvenir de Francois Gaulain - Tea
Souvenirde la Malmaison - Bourbon
White Pet - Polyantha

GOOD BETS
Alexander Hill Gray - Tea    Would be a safe bet except that he was just planted in November. Flowers are a beautiful shade of yellow.
Archduke Charles - China  
Blush Noisette    Going into 2nd spring, probably fine, just hasn't grown into its shape.
Capitaine Dyel de Graville - Bourbon   Only a year old but looking good.
Climbing Pinkie - Polyantha   New in my garden last September but looks good.
Clotilde Soupert - Polyantha   I love this rose. Repeatedly gets covered with with globular fragrant flowers. She does ball sometimes but not a lot.
Comtessa du Cayla - China   Being a China, she's probably fine, but she's been a slow grower and small - which isn't a bad thing.
Duchesse de Brabant - Tea  Everyone loves this rose. I'm on my second try with her. 1st one couldn't keep any leaves on her. This time she's in a cooler spot.
Enchantress - Tea   Personally, I love this rose for her beautiful, abundant, healthy foliage and magenta flowers, but she does tend to ball. Some might find that objectionable. I don't care.
Hermosa - China/Bourbon   Gorgeous lilac/pink blooms on leggy small bushes that defoliate a good bit between flushes in my garden. I will trim more this year after blooming, hoping to promote more bushiness. I have three, and they're staying.
Madame Lombard - Tea   New in my garden last October. Probably should be a Safe Bet. Good color.
Mlle Franziska Kruger - Tea   She produces a lot of veggie centers which can be appealing - or not. Only in this spot since March and a total bloom machine. Pale peachy flowers, perfect tea form.
Mystic Beauty - Bourbon   Only a year old but looking good.
Souv de Pierre Notting - Tea   I need to move her into more sun. She's probably a Safe Bet being that she's a Tea.
Sweet Chariot - Mini   Really quite a good, healthy rose. Probably should be a Safe Bet.

DEFINITELY WORTH A SHOT
Bow Bells - Austin   New in August, perfect healthy foliage even after our freezes. It looked good growing at Rose Petals Nursery, too.
Crespuscule - Tea/Noisette Climber   Very slow to take off in my garden but started to grow last fall.
Fellemberg - China/Noisette 
Etoile de Mai - Poly/Tea
General Galieni - Tea   Very slow in developing and irregular shaped blooms, but their nearly red (!), and besides, he's a Tea.
Niles Cochet  - Tea  Unbelievably slow to grow, but he's a Tea in the Cochet clan.
Polonaise - Shrub   New in September. Beautiful flowers that last and last. Quite healthy.
Quietness - Shrub   Here since October and looking good.

Happy shopping!

9 comments:

  1. Hi Sherry!
    It looks like we are all burning the evening oil on the internet. DH and I have both visited and enjoyed your blog this evening. You 15 minutes of fame is getting longer each day! Thanks for promoting the flower that brings us all such joy!

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  2. hey, I'm living vicarious through you and your tea roses, girl. Fame's not going to give you the big head, is it, lol?? Great list.

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  3. Alas, I have no sunny spots for more than the four roses I have. But you sure had me reading that list and thinking...

    I do have Red Cascade and Louis Philippe though, and feel reassured that I will be able to grow them since they made your "definite safe bet" list. Do you cut Red Cascade back in the spring? I just have it growing on a trellis and have pretty much just whacked it back without any particular care. Should I do something different? It grows like crazy!

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  4. Nanak, I'm going to have to get back to you on Red Cascade. This will be the second year for mine so I'm clueless. I was kinda thinking of hacking him way back, but I think I should get some more expert advise. I certainly don't want to be any bigger than it already is. I'll have to do some homework.

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  5. Oh my gosh! I just stepped in from NanaK's and boy am I glad I did. I am in Tallahasse and could use some help with Roses...the first thought I had when I read your blog, was, "where has this lady been the last 10 years of my life?"
    I am now a follower and hope to catch every post from here on out!

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  6. Darla, for the last almost 4 years I've been on the 'Antique Roses Forum' (see the link in the sidebar below the blogs. When you get there, you'll also see the 'Roses Forum' button if you're interested in modern roses.) Before that I knew nothing about roses, but it would have been nice to chat anyway. Wow! You can't imagine how thrilling it is to read your comment. You are exactly why I started this blog about ten days ago. I just knew there had to be Florida gardeners out there who were struggling to grow their beloved roses. Thank you! I'll be here from here on out, too!

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  7. It's great to see your list here, Sherry! So many folks have no idea how many different types of roses there are, and how well each type does in different parts of the country. Keep up the good work!!

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  8. Hi Sherri!
    Tonight, I will make sure there are no spelling errors. Once posted........ouch.....it's out there for everyone. This is all totally new to me, and I don't expect to be able to "play" very much. However, I am so glad that OGR rose lovers in Florida have someone to share with. You are a great ambassador for the rose!

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