Sunday, June 26, 2011

Mystery Rose from a Tampa nursery

TNS Nursery on West Hillsborough Avenue, right next to the airport runway in Tampa, is selling this virtually scentless rose, own root, in 3 gallon pots, for $7 as I recall. My initial reaction upon seeing them,. then checking http://www.helpmefind.com/. is that they are the Hybrid Musk 'Belinda'. It is now planted in my former 'Mermaid' bed in a 5 gallon Water Wise Container Garden where I hope it prospers.....I'd love to use it in my breeding worker as I am a slut for big clusters of blooms.....I can just imagine boinking 'Duchesse de Brabant' or "York Street Yellow" with it and getting stellar seedlings.


                                                                      John

Friday, June 10, 2011

Roses in the drought

 "Jo An's Pink Perpetual"
 "Fairmount Red"
 The original plant of "Fairmount Proserpine" in Denver

"Fairmount Proserpine" bloom in Tampa

As I luxuriate in the good energy of having healed in less than 24 hours from my first stomach flu in 20-25 years, I was further bolstered this morning to enjoy, despite this crushing drought, new blooms on 'Safrano' and "Fairmount Proserpine" and "Jo An's Pink Perpetual" and Rosa bracteata, plus my first ripe OP hip this year on 'Louise Odier' as those on "Fairmount Red" ripen. Folks can order "Fairmount Proserpine" and "Jo An's Pink Perpetual" from Heather Campbell at High Country Roses in Utah. John

Monday, June 6, 2011

'Reve d'Or'

I love this rose and lost a couple here in the long term drought when they were very young, but this one is thriving in a 4 gallon Water Wise Container Garden made from a hard boiled eggs bucket and is buried next to my mail box. The ancestry of this stunning climber is alluring, so I look forward to seeing in 2013 or so the seedlings resulting from the open pollinated seeds in this very nice crop of OP hips  now ripening on it. Plus I have  fat hips resulting from my pollinating this lovely Tea-Noisette with 'Rose Eduoard' and "York Street Yellow" from Denver.



I love the sensuous, tawny petals plus the vigor of the plant if given ample moisture. When I lived in Denver I knew someone growing one in Ft. Collins! I intend to do a lot of breeding with this gem of a climbing rose.

John