My new RAINBOW NIAGARA from Palatine is starting to bloom, and I love it! It arrived as a bareroot rose in mid-January, and three months later look at how it has grown!




I also have a couple of blooms on SHEER ELEGANCE, my favorite HT.


It was just under 100 here for the past two days, and now we're starting our next dive down to the low 70's-60's by Wednesday. Crazy, crazy weather!

Beautiful Betty, both your roses!! I have always admired SHEER ELEGANCE every time I see it, always has the perfect hybrid blooms, the name fits!

Thanks! And can you believe how big RAINBOW NIAGARA has gotten in just three months?

A rose on steroids!

Wow! Great show, Betty. Sheer Elegance is a showstopper. And your photo of Maurine Neuberger got me looking for it online. Starina and Loving Touch are terrific, too.

What do you feed your roses? And how do you water them? They seem to do well for you.

I've decided California is magic for roses. (Or maybe the magicians just happen to live there,)

I'm not claiming any credit at all. It's a combination of good weather and good soil in my case. In my location, we have lots and lots of sunny days with virtually no humidity, and with nighttime temperatures dipping down into the 40s and 50s, even on the hottest days. Roses love to cool down at night (and so do I). In addition, in my neighborhood you could dig down 5 or 6 feet (and I have) and you'd still find sandy loam. We also have no Japanese beetles.

Just got back from spending a couple of days at my Mom's, this is her Golden Celebration, full of buds. It's about 6 ft tall. My hubby built her that great rose arbor, it has a new Malvern Hills planted on it that is just starting to bloom. He owes me one now, (or two)








Tamora


Prospero


a pretty delphinium

Kumquats


Honey Perfume~love this color!


The Endeavor, lots of dusky apricot with rose undertones, it's ages to a pink


'Invitation' iris


a pretty bud on Sharifa Asma


My favorite mini, Denver's Dream


and a few pretty geraniums/perlargoniums

Everything is very pretty. I love the orange of Denver's Dream!

You know what's so funny about Denver's Dream? I can't find it here. I've seen it once in 4 years, and that was one little sprig of a mini for $24.99 and it definitely wasn't something that I figured would survive, as sickly as it was. I'd gotten much healthier roses from Walmart's clearance rack after Valentine's than that little sprout.

I meant to add that post on the April chat thread but oh well, it fits in any bloom thread I guess.

Well, I'm embarrassed to say that I never fertilize my roses -- I'm having tons of trouble just keeping up with the irises and now daylilies, and the roses just sort of have to take care of themselves. But this seems to be the year of the roses here because of all the recent rains -- it usually never rains in Bakersfield from about mid-March until November or December, but this year we've received about 3" of rain since mid-March -- and you can sure tell with the roses. Here is a seedling of mine, floribunda sized, from a cross of FLAMING BEAUTY X ANGEL FACE. I've kept it all these years because I love the flowers, but it has never ever looked like this -- has to be the rain, since rainfall has nitrogen in it. Gee, what if I fertilized... hmmm...

I call it "ANGEL BEAUTY"

Sue, your pictures are soooooo gorgeous, and I love that fantastic rose arbor your hubby built for your mom -- very thoughtful and absolutely perfect! I think you should have two or three of them here and there with all that property. And I especially love that little mini DENVER'S DREAM -- I'll have to check that one out!

I am hopelessly behind in pictures, plus my sis is visiting for a couple of days, but since I only have a few rose pictures I'm squeezing them in here now. My SEXY REXY is blooming -- I really love this rose!





And my new MARTINA MONDADORI, the last of the three I got from Palatine - The shutter on my camera keeps hanging up and sometimes I forget to manually open it, as you can tell from the plant shot. Ah well... it's not easy being me!

*cries* Y'all's pix are so purdy... I just take in the fact that I may some flowers in the next week or two in my mini bed.

Angel Beauty is awesome!

Betty, I can can attest to the difference fertilizer makes, my Mom's roses and daylilies always look so healthy, lush, deep green and full of blooms because she always makes sure to fertilize in early spring and then again in the fall. I am not that good at doing in and you can sure tell the difference.

I don't know how Betty's roses could look any better...

Oh I agree, can you even imagine if she had used fertilizer?! I haven't used any either yet but the ones in the ground look great right now, they love the clay soil and the nutrients in it.

I fertilize, water, beg, sing, do blood sacrifices and my roses don't look 1/100th as good!