Hi all!

Well, my roses are in bloom--yay!!!! But there is something very
odd...

You see, I have fifteen rosebushes so far... 10 red and 5 yellow. In
the red row, there a 3 Mister Lincolns, 3 Oklahomas, 2 Climbing
Blaze, a Monumental, and a Climbing Don Juan. The yellow row consists
of: 1 Electra, 1 Golden Celebration, 1 Julia Child, 1 Canary Diamond,
and 1 Gold Glow.

All of the bushes have buds. A few are in full bloom. All of my
yellow roses are coming out the right colors.... several beautiful
shades of yellow. The problem--although they are absolutely stunning
and beautiful--is with the red row. The blooms are nowhere near the
color they are supposed to be. The Mister Lincolns that have bloomed
so far have produced large, heavily scented flowers that are beautiful,
but instead of being a deep rich red, they are instead a vibrant and
rich but decidedly PURPLE color. Likewise with the Oklahomas, although
they are an even lighter shade of purple. The Monumental and Don Juan
have not opened yet, so I don't know what color they will be. The
Climbing Blaze are blooming as well. Their color isn't purple like the
others, but it isn't exactly red like it should be, either. Instead,
they are a bright orange!

So, the question is: Why? Is it perhaps the soil content, or the
fertilizer I used? A combination of both? And if that is the case,
why are the yellows coming in properly? My home is on a mobile home
lot one street away from the river and has several different types of
soil--probably due to the preparation for putting a trailer on the lot.
At one end of the trailer, where the Climbing Blaze and Don Juan are
located, it is all red clay? Towards the middle of the house, where
the bulk of the roses are planted, the soil is a mixture of red and
brown clay. At the back of the house, the soil is mostly chert. I
fertilize the plants with the Wal-Mart equivalent of Miracle Gro for
Roses.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
Jason
(A Satisfied but Mystified Rose-Gardener)
Zone 7b.