"EV" wrote in message ...
I've had a Fair Bianca for over five years and, although it's a white
rose, the buds are always pinkish before they open. Sometimes the petals
have tiny pale pink streaks. But today I was surprised to notice a pink
bloom ... not pinkish ... but true pink, through and through.

Anyone have any idea how this can happen?

We just had a thread where we discussed
unexpected bloom colors on a rose bush.

One possibility: One of the parents of Fair Bianca
is perhaps a pink rose. Sometimes you'll get
throwbacks (there's probably a technical name) to
that parent. For example, I have a Bourbon
"Variegata di Bologna" which produces red and
white striped blooms. However, in recent years I've
been getting more and more solid dark pink blooms
in addition to the striped blooms. One of Variegata
di Bologna's parents has dark pink blooms.

Another, less friendly, possibility is reversion.
If your Fair Bianca is grafted (has a bud
union), it's possible the top, desirable part of
the plant (called the scion) is being replaced
by the hardier rootstock (below the bud union).
If your white blooms and pink blooms appear
on the *same* cane, it's not reversion, but
more likely the case I described above.

Third and probably most likely, as shown by
some of the photos of Fair Bianca at
www.helpmefind.com , Fair Bianca is described
as having blooms of "white, near white, and white
blend" - i.e. tinges of pink. Check out some of the
photos there. Perhaps your Fair Bianca is simply
doing it's "thing".

And/or it could be cultural influences - soil pH,
temperature, etc. etc. Some roses seem more
sensitive to such effects in terms of the color
of blooms.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8 USA