@newbie77, if you like GD where she is, I would give her another year, someone on HMF said theirs did nothing in the first year then exploded the next, maybe it’s only in warmer climes it takes off right away.
I think I like the semi-double look of Odyssey better than Astronomia @Tack and I suspect it holds onto it’s petals more than a day or two?
New roses that impress right away tend to make our lists, but two I love the blooms of but am withholding judgement on are Soul, because it hasn’t bloomed much at all, so far and The Prince because of it’s awkward, upright habit. Bonica has grown well but I’m not in love with it - it’s just kind of there, occasionally.
The Prince really should be called The Chameleon it has such variation in bloom form and colour, but they are all lovely. Here it is today:
And remember these earlier ones?
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Do you think Thomas A Becket is suitable for growing up a short obelisk. I've had one now for about 4 years, (plus another one which I ordered by mistake in April), but I don't think I've ever really seen the blooms as the older one is so floppy, they always end up facing downwards.
@newbie77. Early days but so far The Prince is pretty healthy, just a touch of mildew early on and no BS so far. It doesn’t like windy conditions as the foliage is a bit delicate and is better out of afternoon sun - at least here. Repeat has been reasonable - no big flushes yet, but usually something on it. @edhelka’s, planted in the ground is more of a bushy shape than my tall, HT-like growth - I don’t know whether that is climate, my position in a pot against a wall or just luck of the draw in terms of individual specimens. You need edhelka’s input for balance, I suspect...
If I had the space, I would be tempted to get another and plant it in the ground as an experiment.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie I'm glad you like Odyssey, I think it is really pretty, the way the stamens jiggle is just dolly. The blooms have lasted 3 to 4 days for me so far, we have had sun, wind and rain seperately in higher than normal amounts this last week (only got it last week) and the flowers hung on ok. I admit that was the aspect that put me off Astronomia because I find those flowers exquisite so I am grateful you mentioned that.
The Prince does look great. The purpley red is such a difficult colour to convey accurately, how are you photographing it? My Ebb Tide is much purpler than these convey and I know @poppyfield64 was waiting for my pics to see the colour but I cannot capture it. An iphone, a modern Samsung and a Canon EOS40D with telephoto zoom have failed so far.
@newbie77@Nollie My 'The Prince' will be moved to a pot this autumn. It was a very bad idea to plant it in the ground in my front garden. I plan to grow it for cut flowers only.
It absolutely doesn't work for me as a garden plant. I wouldn't see a single bloom in the garden.
- The foliage gets easily damaged by wind - The short flowering branches get easily snapped by wind - The blooms get rain-damaged easily/won't open well if the weather isn't nice - The blooms can burn a bit in sun, not too much here though - The foliage isn't disease-resistant which was expected
I lost the 1st flush to the wind, 2nd flush to the rain (with the exception of two blooms that I cut right when they started to open), now there's 3rd flush buds biting the dust.
The single reason why I like it and want to keep it is the blooms. They are the prettiest I've ever seen, I love both the dark purple colour and the form. I can't say I will keep it forever but for now, I enjoy it.
@edhelka, thank you. Very very helpful as i am a fan of those dark red purple blooms, i would have bought two!! If i get it,i will get only one to see how it does for me and will keep it in a pot in sheltered area.
@Tack, Astronomia does compensate for fleeting blooms by producing a lot of them, but I think Odyssey will prove the better rose, somehow... it just looks more robust, and blooms lasting 3-4 days is a big improvement!
I use my creaking old Ipad for all photos, but it doesn’t cope well with the red/purple spectrum in sun, so my most accurate colour representations are taken early morning before the sun hits them - so try that with your Ebb Tide.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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New roses that impress right away tend to make our lists, but two I love the blooms of but am withholding judgement on are Soul, because it hasn’t bloomed much at all, so far and The Prince because of it’s awkward, upright habit. Bonica has grown well but I’m not in love with it - it’s just kind of there, occasionally.
And remember these earlier ones?
other than upright habit, how is it in terms of health and bloom frequency?
If I had the space, I would be tempted to get another and plant it in the ground as an experiment.
- The short flowering branches get easily snapped by wind
- The blooms get rain-damaged easily/won't open well if the weather isn't nice
- The blooms can burn a bit in sun, not too much here though
- The foliage isn't disease-resistant which was expected
I use my creaking old Ipad for all photos, but it doesn’t cope well with the red/purple spectrum in sun, so my most accurate colour representations are taken early morning before the sun hits them - so try that with your Ebb Tide.