Rose Bloom Clusters

I love the perfect, large, single blooms put out by many hybrid tea types of roses.  They stand out so well alone in a vase.  However, nothing in the plant world moves me more than a cluster of fragrant blooms on a rose bush.  They are natural bouquets to delight the heart of any passerby.

Many of my roses bloom in clusters.  Above is just one of many.  This is Compassion who is out-doing herself this year.  This cluster is so fragrant that it begs to have a nose buried in it.

Belinda's Dream is yet another rose that blooms in cluster profusion.  The blooms are also huge and fragrant.

Earthsong also often has nice clusters of bloom that are a much deeper pink than this photo looks on the computer.

Mrs. B. R. Cant makes clusters of these cabbage-like globes of color.  My newer camera just doesn't capture the color of these very well.  These flowers are such a deep rose color tinged with silvery pink that they really stand out.

Super Dorothy makes tight, grape-like clusters of small and frilly flowers.  You almost feel like you can cut a cluster off and eat it.

Dublin Bay also makes velvety-red bunches of blooms that are extremely long-lasting on the plant.  This plant is putting on a stellar show this late spring.

Cramoisi Superieur also puts out sweet little groups of bloom with a hint of cloves in the fragrance.  I love this little rose because Paw-paw had them planted all around his yard.  As a kid, I remember picking blooms off and smelling them and then giving them to Maw-maw.  Fragrances are such nostalgic things for me and bring back many wonderful memories.

May State of the Roses Post

Before anyone should think that all my roses look fabulous, be it known that I'm only showing pictures in this post of my better looking plants or those that I have good pictures of.  My Double Delight looks so bad that I haven't shown any pictures of it this year.  Some of my other roses, such as Mrs. B.R. Cant, Westerland, Madame Alfred Carriere, Gertrude Jekyll, Compassion, Prosperity, Buff Beauty, and Crepuscule, are all in-between flushes.  With that disclaimer in place, on to the show!  The following pictures were all taken within the last day or two.

This is Abraham Darby looking better at this time of year than ever in his life.  Usually, by late May blackspot has this bush looking very poor.  I think it's because we've had an exceptionally dry May that this hasn't happened this year.  Plus, I'm trying to keep this plant pruned back very far so it is continually putting on new, spotless leaves and growth.

Belinda's Dream is performing up to her usually stellar standard.  The blooms are as huge as normal and they have been continual this year.

Dublin Bay is putting out a second flush of bloom right now that will be amazing in about a week or so.  It's really doing well for me this year too.  I've trained the branches quite horizontally along the chain-link fence and he's putting out far more blooms than last year at this same time.

Ducher is also blooming like crazy right now.  Of course, this bush always blooms well for me through the heat.  Because it hasn't been as hot as usual, the blooms haven't started crisping yet and are larger than normal for this time of year.  As usual, no disease to speak of.

Yet another stellar performance month out of Earthsong.  The blooms have kept a deeper color because of the cooler weather.  Such a perfect plant!  I don't think there is a spot on any leaf on this entire bush right now.

Golden Celebration is performing about like Abraham Darby this year and I think for the same reasons.

Julia Child is putting out her best flush of blooms of the whole year right now.  She is such a sweet plant.  The other plants around her tend to shade her out some in the late summer, but at this time she is getting the perfect amount of sun.

My Top Louisiana Rose

If you sat me down and forced me to pick just one rose to grow in my yard, Belinda's Dream would be the winner.  It has a full, hybrid tea form of bloom, wonderful fragrance, bushy plant habit, and is almost disease free.

The blooms have tons of petals and a perfect form that is imminently worthy of a vase.  The stems aren't especially long, but they are plenty adequate for cutting.

The flushes of bloom are huge and come about every month from April through November.  The blooms also hold their size even in the sizzling heat of summer.

The foliage stays green and full through the whole growing season and offsets the blousy, pink blooms perfectly.

The bush form is full and lush.  I recommend dead-heading the blooms back pretty far when they fade to keep the bush form even more compact.  This plant can get pretty tall and wide if left completely unpruned.

Even in mid-May when blackspot and hot weather begins to take its toll on most roses, this plant is still looking fine.  In short, Belinda's Dream inherits the best traits of several families of roses to make for the perfect mix.  It has the size, bush form, and heat tolerance of the tea roses; the bloom form and fragrance of the hybrid teas; and the disease resistance of the china roses.  I have read from other sources that this rose is also quite cold tolerant and would do well as far north as zone 5, so it's well worth a try in those regions too.  It also has the perfect color and form for the traditional English cottage garden look.

Spring, Summer, Fall - Belinda's Dream

If there's ever a rose that gets rave reviews from me, it's this one.  The blooms look just like hybrid tea blooms, but the plant is full, bushy, and disease free nearly year round.  It blooms in flushes throughout the growing season.  It will take a two or three week rest between flushes, then come back out again. 

This first photo is at peak April bloom.  The blooms are slightly deeper pink in cooler weather.  The fragrance is sweet and noticeable.

This is the same plant in mid-July.  Notice that it hasn't gotten much taller.  This is because I keep it cut back as I deadhead the blooms.  I find that this makes for a fuller-looking bush on this and other bush roses.  I like doing this to my hybrid teas and shrub roses.  I don't do this to Old Garden Roses such as hybrid musks, Chinas, and teas.  You can also notice the lack of diseased leaves on this rose.   

This is a month later at a time when the plant is resting between flushes.  In mid-August the plant is still looking robust, green, and quite pleasing in form.  My Belinda's Dream was planted in October 2008, for those of you who want to know its age. 

In mid-September, the plant is going into yet another flush of blooms.  Notice that the blooms are not diminished in size at all by the blazing heat of our Louisiana September.  The pink might be a little lighter in color from the hot sun. 

This last picture is late October just before the full flush of bloom.  You'll notice one limb that has broken and fallen to the ground.  This was because of the weight of so many buds on that particular limb.  Still no loss of leaves and almost non-existent blackspot. 

For anyone in my corner of the world that wants a stellar performer that needs little care, this is one of my top recommendations.  It has fragrance, perfect blooms, health, and pleasing bush form.  I've given it the same care as all the rest of my roses - plenty of water during drought times, a cup or two of alfalfa pellets in the spring, heavy pruning in late winter, light pruning in the growing season to keep it bushy, and hardwood mulch around its feet.  It gets no fungicide or insecticide.  I'm guessing that it would do fine without any of the stuff I give it.  A definite "must have" rose for Louisiana.

End of Season Awards

It's almost November and the flowering season is nearing its end.  That means it's time to give out some of the awards for best performance of the year.  These awards go out to the flowering plants that performed best for the longest period of time.  Longevity is the key here.  These are not necessarily my favorite flowers, but they have merited favor by looking good for the duration.

In the perennial category, there is a two-way tie for the win.  First up is Arizona Sun gaillardia.  This plant brightened up the flower bed from mid-spring all the way till now and is still going.  It has never been without blooms and is in a bed where I don't have irrigation.  It's taken all nature can throw at it and kept on smiling. 

The other winner is lantana.  I'm not breaking it down into varieties because all three of my lantana varieties did equally well.  They too have bloomed from mid-spring on and with little to no care at all.  Above is Ham and Eggs.

The lantanas bloom like crazy and are never without the constant buzz of insect and hummingbird wings.  Above is a mix of Miss Huff and (I think) Dallas Red.

In the annual category we have a surprise winner.  I didn't even plant this vinca, but it hasn't taken this slight to heart and has performed through heat and drought without a blink.  I've never watered it and it has happily bloomed away from it's crack in the concrete.  It is constantly covered in bloom and has a very pleasant form.  No other annual in my yard has looked this good for such a long time.  Next year I will definitely plant a bunch of these. 

In the shrub category, a couple of roses share the honor.  None of my other shrubs bloom as often or as long as these roses.  Above is Earthsong.  It keeps large blooms even in the heat of summer, gets no disease, has a pleasant fragrance, and asks for little care.  It has almost never been without at least a couple of blooms.

Belinda's Dream has a similar description.  Huge blooms, nice fragrance, pleasing bush form, no disease, and carefree.  It puts on a new flush of blooms at least once per month and the blooms are not diminished by heat.  It has not been touched by blackspot, even without fungicide. 

Honorable mention in the shrub category goes to my Royal Red buddleia ("butterfly bush.")  It has also bloomed all year, spreading sweet fragrance to people and sweet nectar to butterflies and hummingbirds for the duration.  I don't have a decent picture of it to post here. 

In the tree category, the winner is my Chaste Vitex tree.  Such lovely flowers, interesting foliage, a pleasing form, and sweet fragrance.  I also love that it attracts the friendly flyers that I delight to see. 

Dreaming Along With Belinda

This is Belinda's Dream today.  Still performing wonderfully in our humid weather and hot temperatures. 

Here's a picture of the delectable blooms as they first start to open up well.  They have a sweet fragrance and a pleasing form.

This is a picture of the whole bush as it looked two days ago.  You can't see the buds well because of my poor photography, but you can get an idea of how the bush looks.  There are a few discolored leaves, but by and large this plant is unaffected by blackspot.  It has basically no leaf loss from the disease.  That fact makes this rose a huge winner for my area.  Notice the full form of the bush.  This is my ideal in a rose.  Notice the lack of "naked legs" as well.  This is how a shrub rose should look!

I'm finishing up with a picture of Belinda's Dream at peak performance in April.  Wonderful!

Belinda Still Dreaming Away

This is Belinda's Dream, a medium pink, shrub rose that is purported to be nearly disease free.  It is on the Earthkind list of roses, which means it is a top performer in our climate without needing all the spraying and watering that normally are required for roses.  The blooms are shaped like normal hybrid tea roses and have a wonderful fragrance.  The stems aren't especially long, but are adequate for cutting.  Notice just how huge the bloom is even in the deepest part of summer here. 

Here is another shot that shows the beautiful leaves and stems as well as the perfect blooms.  I can't think of another rose in my experience that is less prone to blackspot than this one.  The leaves stay clean all year.  Also, this is a nearly continuously blooming shrub.  It puts out flush after flush of bloom from April till December where I live.  One way I help it bloom better is to prune each stem way back after the blooms fade.  This helps the plant also maintain a full, bushy appearance instead of a tall, leggy look.

I prune this plant just like a hybrid tea.  Cut it back to about 18" in February, keep the stems cut back after each flush of bloom, and give it a secondary pruning to about 30" in late summer (August) before the fall flush.  In this shot you can see the full shape of the plant and the perfect, deep green of the leaves.  There is no yellowing anywhere.  You cannot ask for more from a rose in Louisiana.  (Note that I don't spray at all.) 

Once again, this is a rose that is not commonly seen at my local nurseries.  Why!?  I had to order mine from Chamblee's Rose Nursery.  It sickens me to visit nurseries and see tons of hybrid tea, grandiflora, and floribunda roses that are guaranteed to fail unless constantly pampered.  The only exception is the ubiquitous Knockout family, which is the only group of roses that common people can easily find and grow.