Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Something To Sing About


Earthsong is my next rose that is at peak bloom right now.  In the April flush, Earthsong exhibits its deepest pink colors.  This rose is in bloom continually from April till frost, but the colors are richest now.



The blooms are large, fully double, and fragrant.  This rose really takes our Southern heat well and the blooms don't diminish in size as the temperatures get hotter.  



The bush form is full with no "naked legs."  I prune it back while deadheading the old blooms and this keeps it bushier. 



Earthsong is another of the Griffith Buck roses that are gaining in popularity these days.  It's classified as a shrub rose, though it looks like a grandiflora rose.  The blooms are held up over the foliage in a pleasing fashion, though the stems aren't overly long.  They don't last exceptionally long, but there are plenty of replacements as they blow away. 



The stems are a neatly contrasting red against the purple-rimmed leaves, especially in early spring before the blooms start.  This is one of my top five best performing roses and is highly recommended for Louisiana.  It supposedly does really well in colder areas of the country too.  My specimen has had almost no leaf loss due to blackspot, though it will get some spots late in the summer.  As noted before, I do not spray my roses with fungicide, so blackspot resistance is something I really appreciate. 

2 comments:

meemsnyc said...

That color is great. What a lovely pink rose! Does it have a scent?

Davy Barr said...

Some people claim that this rose doesn't have fragrance, but mine is quite sweet smelling. Not as strong as many other roses, but a definitely noticeable fragrance to my nose.