Well, this is the third full spring for Old Blush (Cl) and I HIGHLY
recommend this rose for people wishing to get a large display QUICKLY.

Here are some downsized shots of the bush today:

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOWzdi5bMWzhw

I hope this link works - Shutterfly has a rather byzantine way of
sharing pictures.

I've noticed that the blooms are now almost twice as big as the first
year's blooms. The largest are almost 4 in. wide. And the spread from
side to side is 35 ft.

Now if only I nipped the rose rosette virus in the bud, I'll be a
happy camper.

For those who are interested, the scent is pretty mild but definitely
present. And when you have hundreds of open blooms, it gives off a
pretty nice scent, but not overpowering. It's also among the first in
the garden to bloom and it will bloom sporatically throughout the
season. The first flush is awesome though. I can't say enough about
this plant. The bumblebees are just loving it as well.

I've gotten my first Sombreuil blooms (and is budding nicely) as well.
Felicia has two blooms and a few buds, Portland from Glendorra has
already shed two blooms (they shatter pretty quickly) and my Cecile
Brunner (Cl) has its first blooms as well. Aloha has about 20 opening
blooms in various stages and lots of nascent buds - usually about this
time, I have problems with balling because of massive rains, but it's
been pretty dry (until today where it's lightly raining). So I might
actually get some nice early buds. Ingrid Berman has its first small
bloom - I'm sorry, but I think this thing has a fairly strong aroma.

Desert Peace is not looking so hot right now. We'll see how it turns
out in the next month.

I think this is going to be a shakeout year for a couple of my roses.
Sadly, they might be some of my favs. I hate having to start over, but
I guess I can chalk it up to experience gained...

Very nice!! Sandy

Hi, love your pictures, Dave, where do you live? what is the climate, from
tina from tasmania
"dave weil" wrote in message
...
Well, this is the third full spring for Old Blush (Cl) and I HIGHLY
recommend this rose for people wishing to get a large display QUICKLY.

Here are some downsized shots of the bush today:

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOWzdi5bMWzhw

I hope this link works - Shutterfly has a rather byzantine way of
sharing pictures.

I've noticed that the blooms are now almost twice as big as the first
year's blooms. The largest are almost 4 in. wide. And the spread from
side to side is 35 ft.

Now if only I nipped the rose rosette virus in the bud, I'll be a
happy camper.

For those who are interested, the scent is pretty mild but definitely
present. And when you have hundreds of open blooms, it gives off a
pretty nice scent, but not overpowering. It's also among the first in
the garden to bloom and it will bloom sporatically throughout the
season. The first flush is awesome though. I can't say enough about
this plant. The bumblebees are just loving it as well.

I've gotten my first Sombreuil blooms (and is budding nicely) as well.
Felicia has two blooms and a few buds, Portland from Glendorra has
already shed two blooms (they shatter pretty quickly) and my Cecile
Brunner (Cl) has its first blooms as well. Aloha has about 20 opening
blooms in various stages and lots of nascent buds - usually about this
time, I have problems with balling because of massive rains, but it's
been pretty dry (until today where it's lightly raining). So I might
actually get some nice early buds. Ingrid Berman has its first small
bloom - I'm sorry, but I think this thing has a fairly strong aroma.

Desert Peace is not looking so hot right now. We'll see how it turns
out in the next month.

I think this is going to be a shakeout year for a couple of my roses.
Sadly, they might be some of my favs. I hate having to start over, but
I guess I can chalk it up to experience gained...

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 14:25:25 GMT, in rec.gardens.roses you wrote:

Hi, love your pictures, Dave, where do you live? what is the climate, from
tina from tasmania

If you dug a hole from where you are, you'd be likely to end up in my
garden eventually.

I'm in Nashville, TN, USA, USDA Zone 6b (possibly soon to be Zone 7 if
their reorgination of the climate chart is to be believed).

This first flush is just incredible. First, you get lots of blooms and
you think that it might be over. Then, you get 3 additional blooms to
replace the initial blooms. I've probably got another week or two of
heavy blooming. Then, it takes a break for a few weeks and then starts
blooming more sporatically throughout the year. The great thing about
the timing for me is that I have a Fairy Cl planted right next to it
and as soon as the Old Blush finishes, the Fairy starts blooming in a
great first flush. So I really get about a month and a half of great
blooming on that fence. Of the two, the Old Blush is far and away the
most vigorous. The Fairy isn't half bad though - it's about 10 feet
side to side. Plus, it's a bit more black spot proof, although i got a
little of it in one area this year.

The biggest challenge to a good display during the first flush of Old
Blush is that we almost ALWAYS get some really heavy showers right in
the middle. That was the case this year. It usually causes some bloom
droop. Fortunately, we've got a few days of good sunlight, so those
prematurely shattered blooms are being rapidly replaced.

Another good point about this plant is the strong cane development.
They create a good structure to build upon, especially in the
horizonal configuration. You can make them arch over the top of the
plant which really adds to the shape of the plant.

The plant *isn't* immune to black spot though. Also, it tends to
defoliate in the winter, so if you're looking for year 'round
"hedging", this isn't the plant for you (although the heavy caneage
*does* offer some cover).

I'm adding a few "post torrent" shots to the same link (which I hope
still works). You can see some of the droopy blooms in them...

In one of them, you can see how I arched a sizeable cane to add height
and structure to the plant. Just a note - this fence is 4 feet tall.
The bush is about 6 1/2 feet tall in addition to being 35 feet from
side to side. From front to bakc, it's probably about 3 feet on either
side of the fence.

I'm adding the pics now, so look for them in about 10 minutes...

"dave weil" wrote in message
.. .
Well, this is the third full spring for Old Blush (Cl) and I HIGHLY
recommend this rose for people wishing to get a large display QUICKLY.

Here are some downsized shots of the bush today:

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOWzdi5bMWzhw

I hope this link works - Shutterfly has a rather byzantine way of
sharing pictures.

I've noticed that the blooms are now almost twice as big as the first
year's blooms. The largest are almost 4 in. wide. And the spread from
side to side is 35 ft.

Now if only I nipped the rose rosette virus in the bud, I'll be a
happy camper.

For those who are interested, the scent is pretty mild but definitely
present. And when you have hundreds of open blooms, it gives off a
pretty nice scent, but not overpowering. It's also among the first in
the garden to bloom and it will bloom sporatically throughout the
season. The first flush is awesome though. I can't say enough about
this plant. The bumblebees are just loving it as well.

I've gotten my first Sombreuil blooms (and is budding nicely) as well.
Felicia has two blooms and a few buds, Portland from Glendorra has
already shed two blooms (they shatter pretty quickly) and my Cecile
Brunner (Cl) has its first blooms as well. Aloha has about 20 opening
blooms in various stages and lots of nascent buds - usually about this
time, I have problems with balling because of massive rains, but it's
been pretty dry (until today where it's lightly raining). So I might
actually get some nice early buds. Ingrid Berman has its first small
bloom - I'm sorry, but I think this thing has a fairly strong aroma.

Desert Peace is not looking so hot right now. We'll see how it turns
out in the next month.

I think this is going to be a shakeout year for a couple of my roses.
Sadly, they might be some of my favs. I hate having to start over, but
I guess I can chalk it up to experience gained...

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 10:08:52 -0500, dave weil
wrote:

I'm adding a few "post torrent" shots to the same link (which I hope
still works). You can see some of the droopy blooms in them...

In one of them, you can see how I arched a sizeable cane to add height
and structure to the plant. Just a note - this fence is 4 feet tall.
The bush is about 6 1/2 feet tall in addition to being 35 feet from
side to side. From front to bakc, it's probably about 3 feet on either
side of the fence.

I'm adding the pics now, so look for them in about 10 minutes...

Here's the new link:

http://www.shutterfly.com/jump/sign_...id=XS5SHAR4SUM