Tuesday, September 13, 2011

My Rare Roses Report

I would like to offer a few observations on some of my rare roses. I feel that now is the time to write this post because  Vintage Gardens, the nursery with the largest rose collection in the US, has recently announced that it will be winding up its business and stay open only for the next two years. I know some of you may be looking through their inventory for a last chance to get a rare rose, so I hope this will be helpful.

Dame Edith Helen is a hybrid tea bred by Alexander Dickson II in England at the turn of the century.



 I didn't expect much vigor from a classic own-root hybrid tea, so I put it in a pot and made sure it got lots of water and fertilizer. It is now in its second year. You can see it is the stiffly upright growth habit which is a fault of many roses in this class.









































The blooms however are a joy, very full petalled and extremely fragrant. Even though Vintage says it is "shy of bloom", my cosseted plant has been blooming regularly and well. In my opinion, this rose should be a prime cutting-garden candidate.


Taischa is a hybrid tea bred at Vintage Gardens from Rêve d'Or and Lavender Pinocchio. I received it this past winter. The rose had a bout of rose spring dwarf but since has recovered nicely.



It has been growing vigorously with regular flushes on bloom.

Second flush of bloom showing little color. The blooms still had trouble opening.

The blooms have a lot of petals and the little plant has had trouble producing high quality blooms so far although I can see color improving considerably from the second to the third flush (the first flush wouldn't even open).

Current flush. Much better color, and the blooms have all been opening. Lots of thrip damage on blooms so far.

I am looking forward to seeing how it does in its second year. The rose is recommended for hot climates because of its high petal count.

Etoile de Feu is a turn-of-the-century Pernetiana from the French breeder Joseph Pernet-Ducher.

Etoile de Feu at the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden


It is a very small rose with unusually colored softly orange blooms. I love the blowsy petals and the strong fruity-tea fragrance. The rose is very short, but well branched and has very healthy glossy foliage. I can find no faults with it so far.



Hermann Lindecke, yet another turn-of-the-century hybrid tea (I am beginning to see a pattern to my rose obsession). This was a pure impulse purchase - I bought it simply because at the time I knew of no one else who grew this rose :).


I can't say a lot about its growth because I recently discovered that it hasn't been getting enough water most of the year and it is only now coming out of dormancy forced on it by my inadvertent lack of care. The blooms are large, and I like the contrast of silvery pink petals with bright pink reverses. The blooms have a strong tea fragrance.




Cynthia Brooke is a Sam McGredy rose bred 1943. I bought it for its lovely cabbage-like blooms in a warm orangey yellow.



It has a strong fragrance and blooms a lot for such a tiny plant (I got it this past winter). It does get heat-stressed in my yard, so partial shade in the afternoon would probably be best for it in my climate. The blooms have a strong tea fragrance, and the plant itself is bushy and compact so far, with no foliage diseases.




40 comments:

  1. Love the color and blowsy look of Etoile de Feu Masha. Nice post!

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  2. Thank you, Professor, I hope more people will grow them.

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  3. They are all lovely. Those white fillers blend in so well.

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  4. Beautiful presentation, Masha ! New roses for me, all of them . A joy for my eyes ...

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  5. Oh my, my heart oooohhhed and aaaahhhed over Etoile de Feu and Cynthia Brooke.

    Thank you for sharing your lovely roses and your experiences with them.

    FlowerLady

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  6. Pretty varieties, Masha. I so wish I could grow the hybrid teas successfully, they really are the divas of the rose world.

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  7. So sad to hear that Vintage will not be with us for long. They kept alive so many varieties that now will fall by the way side. "Cynthia Brooke" is an outstanding McGreedy rose.

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  8. Hello Masha...I prefer "Etoile de Feu" but i love all roses of the day.All roses are very beautiful.
    By By jocelyne

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  9. Thank you, One. I like the look of feverfew with it too.

    Dani, I am glad you liked them. Researching new roses is always fun.

    FlowerLady, thank you. These two are my favorite too.

    Donna, you are right. I am lucky to live in a climate that favors them.

    RR, it really is. I am especially sad about the French imports, of which I ordered only 4 expecting them to be available for many years. I guess not...

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  10. Jocelyne, thank you. Etoile de Feu is a wonderful rose, I hope it is grown more in Europe.

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  11. Hallo Masha,
    I wished I could step on my bike to get some of the beautiful roses you have shown. But helas. Hardly can believe that roses can be grown in a pot. I did not know, until now.
    Warm wishes Marijke

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  12. Marijke, I wish you could! I would gladly share. Lots of roses can be grown in a pot, usually small ones or own-root hybrid teas which were originally meant to be grafted.

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  13. Beautiful roses. I, of course, am partial to all the apricot colored ones! It's a sad day for rose lovers when any rose nursery goes out of business. This economy is really taking its toll, and I hope these rare roses get placed with gardeners that will grow and share them. So sad that so many roses through the years have been lost.

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  14. Yes, Holley, it really is sad. I am trying to get some rare ones to grow on, but by and large it often seems to be a hopeless task...

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  15. Sad to hear about another nursery going out of business. This economy is definitely affecting discretionary spending. Very nice photos and information.

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  16. That Cynthia Brooke is very, very pretty! I'm partial to the cabbage-shaped roses.

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  17. So sorry to hear of another important company tanking. I still can't believe J&P went down.

    Thank you for sharing your passion so beautifully.

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  18. Greggo, that's true, not enough people buy roses. It is really sad.

    Clare, thank you. I hope you can still get it

    Patrick, unfortunately, looking forward times seem to be bad for rose lovers. There are fewer and fewer sources for roses, and soon we might all be reduced to pass-along plants and Knock-Outs. What an awful thought...

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  19. There is a Tom Cruise movie where Renee Zellwigger says to him, " You had me at hello." Well, you had me right from the first picture. What a glorious pink rose! I noted down the name so I can look for it here at a nursery here in Canada that sells rare and antique roses. The other ones are lovely too, but this one really caught my eye and I was thrilled to read that it is very fragrant.

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  20. I really love the short apricot orange one! It's so frustrating when incredible nurseries go out of business. I would love to buy a few but don't have the room and my humidity would probably kill them, anyway. Grrr!

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  21. Casa Mariposa, I am sure there is a rose or two that would do well for you... Maybe old European once-bloomers?

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  22. Oh how sad that the rose garden you said will be closed in the future! I hope they will still tend properly to the roses collection. When we were kids i remember my mother has roses, and one is just like your first photo fitting its description. However, i don't see that kind in our neighborhood before. Rose scent in a garden is really unique and evokes a wonderful awesome feeling. More power to your roses!

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  23. Your rare roses are gorgeous. I too was very sad when I got the email announcing Vintage Gardens' eventual closing.

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  24. They are all beautiful to me Masha, love visiting your blog and share your passion for the roses, so many beauties!

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  25. Oh, my... you've sold me on Cynthia Brooke! All of your roses are stunning, but that, by far, is my favorite of the ones you showed today.

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  26. Andrea, you are right, and thank you for your kind words. I hope too that rare roses won't disappear off the face of the earth.

    Sweetbay, thank you. I made an order of older HTs that I really love. I can't believe I won't be able to order them again.

    Klaraau01, thank you for your compliments. I appreciate them very much.

    Cathy, I love it too, so much like Soleil d'Or without its drawbacks. I hope you can still get it. If not I can always send you a cutting.

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  27. You're very lucky to have such beauties in your garden !

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  28. Masha, thank you so much for this post. It's even rarer to see actual photos and growth habits of these rare roses. They're all lovely, but Hermann Lindecke caught my attention with his similarity to Le Vesuve and the added plus of fragrance. But Cynthia Brook is my favorite. I'll have to check on her parentage if it's known.

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  29. Sherry, thank you. I hope you can still get it, and if not, I will share!

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  30. Thank you, Janny. I am glad you like them.

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  31. What a great post! Thanks for showing these rare roses. Etoile de Feu literally took my breath away! What an incredible beauty this rose is! I also especially like Cynthia Brooke and Dame Edith Helen. So many gorgeous roses, so little garden space, sigh...
    Christina

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  32. Christina, thank you. I thought you didn't like apricot and orange, but I guess I was wrong :).

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  33. Hi Masha, thank you for this post. Great information and so useful. I am so sad about Vintage Nursery. Many of my OGRs came from Vintage. Too many are closing down and such loss for my old and rare roses.
    Brooke

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  34. Hi. I am looking for a rare rose named after General George Patton and am having trouble. Do you know anything about it and/or where one can see it growing? Thank you. Rosy

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  35. Brooke, thank you. I ordered what I could from them to try and preserve at least a few varieties.

    Rosy, I am sorry I cannot help you. I know of no rose named General George Patton. The best advice I can give you is to go to GardenWeb's Antique Roses forum and ask there. There are lots of knowledgeable rosarians that know more than I do :).

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  36. Love them all, especially the Hermann Lindecke, Etoile de Feu & Cynthia Brooke roses. Thank you for sharing your love of roses. Wonderful post! I wish I had a piece of land!

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  37. I have been marvelling at your pictures of roses for a few months now. Your talent as photographer seems equalled only by your skills as a gardener! I think I might order Cynthia Brooke, but first I'd like to ask you something about its fragrance. You mention the scent is strong, but in a later post (April 2012) you found it is not as strong as you expected: has it changed from one year to the next (this seems to happen with some of my roses)? Or when you said it was strong you hadn't yet had a chance to sniff for yourself? Would you say it has a definite fragrance most of the time (even if not very intense), or is it rather elusive? Thank you! :)
    Ale (from the UK)

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  38. Anonymous, CB is a great rose for me, clean and colorful. I would say it is fragrant most of the time, with a medium tea-like scent. It would never beat Double Delight, Mr. Lincoln or some of the Austins on fragrance, but it is definitely there. A rather unusual color is its strongest point though.

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