Continuing on with the rose trials is more of the first wave of roses I planted, 3-4 growing seasons ago. I still had the idea that I would find that one perfect rose and plant the whole back yard with beds of this rose. Silly me. I'm still looking for heat tolerance and fragrance, but I gave up on the idea of white roses. These are mostly roses I planted just because I considered the photos some of the most beautiful roses I'd ever seen.
Radio Times
Approximate seasons in the garden: 3
Color: *****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: *
Bloom frequency: *
Fragrance: ****
Foliage: ***
Bush form: *
Vigor: *
Disease resistance: ****
Heat tolerance: ****
Wind tolerance: ****
Comments: This one started out impressively. It had nice growth that first year, and glowing pink blossoms with an intense fragrance. The flower form was exquisite, like pink petticoats. It was like an Austin version of Tiffany. The first year's blooms were not to be repeated, however. Since then, it has been slow to grow and bloom despite extra water, fertilizer, horse manure, alfalfa pellets. The bloom form turned quite ordinary. Part of the problem may be siting. It might be better with more sun and less root competition from a large pine tree.
Overall rating: *
Falstaff
Approximate seasons in the garden: 3
Color: ****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: ***
Bloom frequency: **
Fragrance: **
Foliage: *****
Bush form: *****
Vigor: ****
Disease resistance: *****
Heat tolerance: **
Wind tolerance: **
Comments: This is one of those times when I realize how funny my mind works. When I first saw this rose at the nursery, it derided its dense blooms and cupped shape. The more I looked at it, the more I liked it, and suddenly I had to have it despite lack of fragrance. After planting, I fell in love with the vigor of the plant, the shape and color of the leaves. The flowering has been erratic, however. The blossoms do have a lovely form and color (although the red fades to pink). This spring, no flowers at all survived the dry wind. I discovered later however, that at certain times, the flowers do have a delicious fragrance. The flowers can survive the heat, but crisp quickly in the wind. I suspect that it will be a bush I remove.
Overall rating: **
William Shakespeare 2000
Approximate seasons in the garden: 4
Color: *****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: ***
Bloom frequency: ***
Fragrance: *****
Foliage: **
Bush form: **
Vigor: **
Disease resistance: **
Heat tolerance: *
Wind tolerance: *
Comments: I would consider William Shakespeare 2000 to be one of the most beautiful of all the roses I own. When I first saw this rose in a photo, it was described as a "quarter pounder" of a rose, and interesting description but I knew exactly what they meant. Upon growing this rose, it has indeed some of the most beautiful blossoms, in color and in the quartered form that I love so much. It has a delightful strong violet fragrance. It has turned out to be a rather quirky rose in that the bush form is scraggly, the plant does not tolerate wind well (branches get torn off, and flowers crisp quickly). The flowers are not very heat tolerant. Still, there are those moments of beauty, and as the plant has grown, it is showing a bit more tolerance.
Overall rating: ***
Eden
Approximate seasons in the garden: 4
Color: *****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: **
Bloom frequency: *
Fragrance: *
Foliage: ****
Bush form: **** (climber)
Vigor: *****
Disease resistance: ***
Heat tolerance: *
Wind tolerance: *
Comments: In addition to William Shakespeare 2000, I would consider Eden to be one of the most beautiful roses in the world. It is said to be the most popular rose in France. That could be why it isn't the greatest rose in my climate. It is primarily a spring bloomer here, with a few later flowers whose form and color are such that it would be just as well if they did not show. There is almost no fragrance. Part of its lack of performance may be cultural in that I've just realized how little water I've been giving it. In my mother's coastal California garden, it is incredibly lovely with huge luscious flowers. In my garden, the flowers are smaller, and easily wind damaged. In fact, this spring, my bush produced many buds which turned crispy and fell off in the winds. Only one survived to open.
Overall rating: *** (maybe better with better irrigation).
Alnwick Castle
Approximate seasons in the garden: 3
Color: *****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: ****
Bloom frequency: ***
Fragrance: *****
Foliage: *****
Bush form: ****
Vigor: *****
Disease resistance: *****
Heat tolerance: **
Wind tolerance: ****
Comments: I chose Alnwick Castle primarily for its bloom form: cupped blossoms filled with petals, but as I have grown it, I enjoy it more for the fragrance. I can smell it from a distance even in bud form, a sharp raspberry fragrance, without much rose. I keep going back to it for another sniff. It is a strong rose, very upright, and the flowers vary a bit in color, from peachy to cool pink. When they open, they lose the form that I loved in the photos. Until I wrote this evaluation, I didn't realize how good of a rose it is. Not much flowers in the heat, and they don't last a particularly long time, but they are beautiful, fragrant, reliable, reasonable abundant and the bush is tough, if not particularly graceful.
Overall rating: ****
Radio Times
Approximate seasons in the garden: 3
Color: *****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: *
Bloom frequency: *
Fragrance: ****
Foliage: ***
Bush form: *
Vigor: *
Disease resistance: ****
Heat tolerance: ****
Wind tolerance: ****
Comments: This one started out impressively. It had nice growth that first year, and glowing pink blossoms with an intense fragrance. The flower form was exquisite, like pink petticoats. It was like an Austin version of Tiffany. The first year's blooms were not to be repeated, however. Since then, it has been slow to grow and bloom despite extra water, fertilizer, horse manure, alfalfa pellets. The bloom form turned quite ordinary. Part of the problem may be siting. It might be better with more sun and less root competition from a large pine tree.
Overall rating: *
Falstaff
Approximate seasons in the garden: 3
Color: ****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: ***
Bloom frequency: **
Fragrance: **
Foliage: *****
Bush form: *****
Vigor: ****
Disease resistance: *****
Heat tolerance: **
Wind tolerance: **
Comments: This is one of those times when I realize how funny my mind works. When I first saw this rose at the nursery, it derided its dense blooms and cupped shape. The more I looked at it, the more I liked it, and suddenly I had to have it despite lack of fragrance. After planting, I fell in love with the vigor of the plant, the shape and color of the leaves. The flowering has been erratic, however. The blossoms do have a lovely form and color (although the red fades to pink). This spring, no flowers at all survived the dry wind. I discovered later however, that at certain times, the flowers do have a delicious fragrance. The flowers can survive the heat, but crisp quickly in the wind. I suspect that it will be a bush I remove.
Overall rating: **
William Shakespeare 2000
Approximate seasons in the garden: 4
Color: *****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: ***
Bloom frequency: ***
Fragrance: *****
Foliage: **
Bush form: **
Vigor: **
Disease resistance: **
Heat tolerance: *
Wind tolerance: *
Comments: I would consider William Shakespeare 2000 to be one of the most beautiful of all the roses I own. When I first saw this rose in a photo, it was described as a "quarter pounder" of a rose, and interesting description but I knew exactly what they meant. Upon growing this rose, it has indeed some of the most beautiful blossoms, in color and in the quartered form that I love so much. It has a delightful strong violet fragrance. It has turned out to be a rather quirky rose in that the bush form is scraggly, the plant does not tolerate wind well (branches get torn off, and flowers crisp quickly). The flowers are not very heat tolerant. Still, there are those moments of beauty, and as the plant has grown, it is showing a bit more tolerance.
Overall rating: ***
Eden
 |
| In my mother's coastal California garden |
Approximate seasons in the garden: 4
Color: *****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: **
Bloom frequency: *
Fragrance: *
Foliage: ****
Bush form: **** (climber)
Vigor: *****
Disease resistance: ***
Heat tolerance: *
Wind tolerance: *
Comments: In addition to William Shakespeare 2000, I would consider Eden to be one of the most beautiful roses in the world. It is said to be the most popular rose in France. That could be why it isn't the greatest rose in my climate. It is primarily a spring bloomer here, with a few later flowers whose form and color are such that it would be just as well if they did not show. There is almost no fragrance. Part of its lack of performance may be cultural in that I've just realized how little water I've been giving it. In my mother's coastal California garden, it is incredibly lovely with huge luscious flowers. In my garden, the flowers are smaller, and easily wind damaged. In fact, this spring, my bush produced many buds which turned crispy and fell off in the winds. Only one survived to open.
Overall rating: *** (maybe better with better irrigation).
Alnwick Castle
Approximate seasons in the garden: 3
Color: *****
Bloom Form: ****
Bloom quantity: ****
Bloom frequency: ***
Fragrance: *****
Foliage: *****
Bush form: ****
Vigor: *****
Disease resistance: *****
Heat tolerance: **
Wind tolerance: ****
Comments: I chose Alnwick Castle primarily for its bloom form: cupped blossoms filled with petals, but as I have grown it, I enjoy it more for the fragrance. I can smell it from a distance even in bud form, a sharp raspberry fragrance, without much rose. I keep going back to it for another sniff. It is a strong rose, very upright, and the flowers vary a bit in color, from peachy to cool pink. When they open, they lose the form that I loved in the photos. Until I wrote this evaluation, I didn't realize how good of a rose it is. Not much flowers in the heat, and they don't last a particularly long time, but they are beautiful, fragrant, reliable, reasonable abundant and the bush is tough, if not particularly graceful.
Overall rating: ****
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