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.

A Day With Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay is my only pure red rose.  I have Double Knockout, but it's more of a crimson or maroon than a pure red.  Dublin Bay is a stiff-limbed climber that doesn't really climb that well.  I have mine espaliered on the chain link fence where it can sprawl more than climb.

It blooms in clusters of the deepest red blooms.  The blooms are semi-open and double. 

The blooms last for days on the vine and are equally long-lasting in a vase, though the stems aren't long enough to be ideal for cutting.  One slight knock on this otherwise wonderful rose is a total lack of any fragrance. 

This is how my bush looks right now in the depths of summer.  It's not really a pretty plant at this time of year.  Blackspot defoliates it around 40%, but not nearly as much as it does some of my other roses, such as the David Austin's and the hybrid teas.  I'm willing to put up with this to have such nice blooms.

The above picture is Dublin Bay at peak bloom in mid-April.  That's a whole bush shot showing just how florific this plant can be.

This is another picture at peak bloom in April.  Shows how nice the blooms are. 

Let's Go for a Sail in Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay is my red climber.  It hasn't got large enough to really climb much yet but I'm sure it will eventually.  It has bloomed so much this year that I don't think it could bloom any more.  One of the wonderful things about this rose is just how long the blooms last on the plant before fading and falling.  Each bud seems to last at least a week.  It doesn't fade at all until the day the petals fall either.  A truly delightful rose.  It does get some blackspot in the summer, but not enough to really hurt the plant.  The one drawback of this rose is that it has no fragrance at all.  But who cares!?  This first picture is of the whole bush

This next picture is a close-up of some clusters of bloom.

And finally another bloom cluster.  My camera has a hard time capturing the red of these flowers.  Suffice to say it's the deepest, most velvety red imaginable.