Hi Everyone,

My mother was on holidays recently and really liked the rose Tradescant she
saw at one of the rose places in Melbourne. Does anyone grow it or have
experience with it? She liked the really dark red colour.

Thanks,

Kirra

Zone 10
Brisbane, Australia

Kirra wrote:
Hi Everyone,

My mother was on holidays recently and really liked the rose Tradescant she
saw at one of the rose places in Melbourne. Does anyone grow it or have
experience with it? She liked the really dark red colour.

Kirra,

I grow Tradescant and really like it a lot. Great colour, fragrance,
vigour and disease resistance (in my dry climate, your mileage may vary)
and all that. One recommendation is to plant it in a spot that gets
shade from hot afternoon sun and to water well when temepratures rise;
roses of that colour tend to burn in the hot sun and watering well tends
to protect them.

Mine is only two and a half years in the ground, so I am not sure what
the size of the mature bush would be; heard that it can produce some
nine feet long arching canes in Southern California. That is the other
consideration when one picks a spot.

If your mother likes that colour, she would certainly like Francis
Dubreuil, who is a great fore-runner to Tradescant in form, fragrance
and colour - here is a photograph of FD by Dee Choi who posts onthis
forum when she is not too busy - and incidentally, the flowers of
Tradescant are also smallish, some 1.5 to two inches across:

http://www.roseshawaii.org/jpeg/francis.html

--
Radika
Northern California
USDA 9 / Sunset 15

In Kirra wrote:
My mother was on holidays recently and really liked the rose
Tradescant she saw at one of the rose places in Melbourne. Does anyone
grow it or have experience with it? She liked the really dark red
colour.

I haven't grown it, but I have seen it growing in Sydney Kirra. It does
OK, but both the bush and blooms were a little small compared to some of
the dark red 'classic' Austins.

You might want to check the following, especially if larger blooms are
your thing:

* The Squire
* Falstaff
* The Prince
* Fisherman's Friend

The Squire is my favourite; it adorns my personal rose page:
http://members.optushome.com.au/djhanna/

On Mon, 19 May 2003 09:47:07 +1000, "Kirra"
wrote:

Hi Everyone,

My mother was on holidays recently and really liked the rose Tradescant she
saw at one of the rose places in Melbourne. Does anyone grow it or have
experience with it? She liked the really dark red colour.

Kirra,

Although I am not in your zone (or hemisphere!) I do grow this rose
and I love it. I received my Tradescant from Muncy's Rose Emporium
last fall as a baby ownroot rose. This spring it had a big flush for
such a little rose, and the blooms are so dramatically beautiful and
different--particularly for Austins since so many are in oale colors.
It has a "rosy" rather than fruity or myrrh scent, and wants to grow
as a climber. Had I not propped it on a three-foot obelisk it would
have trailed on the ground. It grows in full sun (six hours or so),
but with some shade as the day progresses.

I can tell it is going to be one of my favorite roses, good for a
point of dramatic interest in the back garden. One thing--it ages ugly
here. The deep, deep wine color goes caca brown. I expect your mom
will want to deadhead regularly.







Thanks,

Kirra

Zone 10
Brisbane, Australia

I grow Tradescant and really like it a lot. Great colour, fragrance,
vigour and disease resistance (in my dry climate, your mileage may vary)
and all that. One recommendation is to plant it in a spot that gets
shade from hot afternoon sun and to water well when temepratures rise;
roses of that colour tend to burn in the hot sun and watering well tends
to protect them.

Thanks for the growing tips.

Mine is only two and a half years in the ground, so I am not sure what
the size of the mature bush would be; heard that it can produce some
nine feet long arching canes in Southern California. That is the other
consideration when one picks a spot.

I'm sure we can locate a nice spot for it that would allow it to spread out.

If your mother likes that colour, she would certainly like Francis
Dubreuil, who is a great fore-runner to Tradescant in form, fragrance
and colour - here is a photograph of FD by Dee Choi who posts onthis
forum when she is not too busy - and incidentally, the flowers of
Tradescant are also smallish, some 1.5 to two inches across:

Actually, we saw Francis Bubreuil at our local council's rose garden, New
Farm Park, on mother's day. I took a photo of it's solitary bloom (it's
getting late in the season down here) and the name - just in case I might
want to buy it some time. I think after reading comments about it on the web
that I will have to include it in this year's rose selections I also have
a friend who is looking for a small, bushy, red, fragrant rose and think she
might like this one.

Kirra
Zone 10
Brisbane, Australia