On Wed, 11 Jun 2003 08:36:54 -0400, "Zack Lau" wrote:

Our roses are finally blooming--first blooms yesterday
from Zepherin Drouhin, Iceberg, Brilliant Pink Iceberg,
and Demitasse. Demitasse is in fine form this morning
with a nice display. Last year ZD bloomed from start to
finish.

The winter was exceptionally harsh--it looks like our
neighbor lost a beloved 40 year old Butternut tree--it was
found in a children's sandbox... UConn is busy trying to
find surviving Butternuts in Connecticut. Only two of the
HTs we planted last year survived--Love and Simply Marvelous.
(boxed J&P roses) Surprisingly, we didn't lose a single rose
out of the 13 planted the previous year, including Moon Shadow,
which is reported to be winter tender.

I planted Fragrant Cloud, Sunsprite, Betty Boob, and
Cherry Parfait (3 gallon pots) on Sunday, along with a
small shrub--I can only manage five big holes a day.
We were surprise how big the roses get--the new ones
have more space (we tried to get 16 roses in a 4x24 ft bed)

Zack Lau W1VT
Zone 6

Wow, sounds like you guys had it rough. Here in zone 6b, I thought
*we* had it rough (relatively speaking of course). It's been a strange
last 12 months, that's for sure. 7 inches of snow in an hour and half
(we usually only get an inch here and there a couple of times a
winter). A near record for May rain (but that's nothing unusual for
the eastern seaboard, eh)? Looks like June is starting out cool and
wet as well...tornado and storm season is ramping up, it appears...

I didn't lose anything this winter, so I'm thankful. I*did* lose my
Europeana to crown gall, but that's a different matter.

Enjoy your first flush!

Oh yeah, my first impressions of Don Juan aren't favorable. So far,
the blooms haven't been very impressive at all (not from a size aspect
but from a form and longevity standpoint), but the plant's young yet.
The two that I planted on the dying Cranberry tree are just starting
to throw their first buds so we'll see what's what there as well. I
might not have a lot of patience with them at that location and they
might end up somewhere else while I find another Cecile Brunner
Cl.esque bushy small blossomed plant to cover it, but that will wait
until next season for me to make that determination.

And finally, I'm happy that I have a reblooming CB Cl. because it's
throwing out huge panticles at the moment. I wonder, is there anyway
for people to tell which variety they have? I guess I just got lucky.

Here's a recent shot of Brunner in full second bloom:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/ddweil2/CBJune8.jpg