Roses In Bloom

The hot, dry weather doesn't seem to have stopped my roses from blooming. Most of them are still going full swing.

Archduke Charles still has these lovely little blooms that are darker than normal since it's so hot. In cooler weather, the blooms start off a lighter pink. Still no sign at all of any sort of disease on this plant. It loves Louisiana.

My little Ducher is blooming like crazy still and is going wild with growth and health. I love this little rose which to me acts a lot like a polyantha rose. The bush is staying pretty compact and bushy and the flowers are petite. I detect only a very light fragrance on the blooms, but the number of them makes for a wonderful shrub. Another rose that loves our weather.

Yet another beautiful bloom from my Earthsong rose. This rose makes me want to try some more of the roses that Griffith Buck developed. I'd say the Buck roses are a nice fit for the South.

My Madame Alfred Carriere climber hasn't been getting much publicity from me lately. It lost about 40% of its leaves to blackspot, but seems to be recovering nicely now. Despite the blackspot, MAC has bloomed almost continually since early spring. The other day I caught a strong whiff of fragrance coming off this plant from over 10 feet away. The blooms are so profuse that the wafting scent is natural.

For those of you who are interested, I've got a few comments on what roses take the heat and humidity best based on observing my own roses. All three of the China roses that I have are thriving. The China's I have are Archduke Charles, Ducher, and Cramoisi Superieur. My Buck rose, Earthsong, has never looked better or healthier. My shrub rose, Belinda's Dream, acts like this must be paradise because it's blooming better now than in it's first spring flush. Mrs. B. R. Cant, a tea rose, must also be made for this weather because it's growing like crazy. To be honest, nearly all my roses are taking the heat well with the exception of my David Austin ones, Abraham Darby and Golden Celebration. This heat must not be very conducive to blackspot since I have very little of that disease showing on my roses. In fact, only 3 of my roses are showing any blackspot at all right now! The ones with some blackspot are Madame Alfred Carriere, Abraham Darby, and Golden Celebration - and they seem to be recovering from it now (without spraying!) My other David Austin rose, Gertrude Jekyll, doesn't have any blackspot this year.