Since it is a 2007 introduction from Weeks Roses, I doubt there is much history yet. The color is reputed to be rather unique but I'd reserve judgement until seeing it in bloom in person - flowers in blues and purples are notoriously difficult to photograph accurately.

I haven't seen it but the photos in helpmefind.com have a lot of what I consider magenta.

Here is a link that might be useful: Night Owl photos on hmf

Fun post! Thanks for the pic link too, Nancy.

'Night Owl' is also the cover child on the latest paper catalog from Wayside Gardens (link below).

Let us know if you give it a try, and how it works out. The pics on their website are very different from the ones on Nancy's link.

Keep us posted!
Take care,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Night Owl pictures/offering from Wayside Gardens

Not to hijack your thread sweetpea, but I've ordered two. How are you planning to grow yours if you do get it? I can't decide whether to flank them on a Monet's arch or to do two rebar obelisks or tripods. Should I have them grow in and about the obelisks or up through them? It also is said to have grey-green foliage so maybe I should put an artemisia near it too to emphasize that color tone and contrast the dark flower color? And I was thinking about moving my ebb tide to put within the vicinity to continue pulling that color through the landscape. Any thoughts?

KariLei

Notice that hemnancy's link shows it apparently fading to a perhaps rather blah red while still open. Funny that Wayside's pictures show only the newly opened, purple flowers and that they describe it in such a way as to imply they stay "deep purple" the whole time...the combination of deep coloring and clove scent would make it a must have for me - if I hadn't seen how it fades.

In fact, the pictures here remind me of 'Dr. Huey'! Not a pleasant association, as this is used for rootstock and is seen all over here, often with mosaic and/or blackspot where the scion died and left it to live on in its place.

Not to beat it to death, but reading it again I see that the Wayside description states explicitly - twice - that this rose does not fade, even in hot climates. Clearly that is not the case, based on hemnancy's link where most of the flowers shown have faded to red.

Hmmm, I wonder if Wayside is playing with words?! They describe it as "refusing to fade even in the strongest summer sun". If challenged, it seems they've left room for themselves to say it does "age" to a different color. I don't like the looks of the image on hmf.

If it would be/stay the color shown in the catalog, I'd love it. The flower form isn't special, but the color & fragrance sould appealing. I can see any number of different clematis intertwined with it...even Nelly Moser.

I hope a member of a local rose society has some knowledge of it's trial results & will post on this thread.

Patrick

I found a limited discussion & a couple of pics over on the Rose Forum.

So far, my feeling is I'd be willing to incorporate it into a combination planting, for it's color & fragrance. I doubt I'd be impressed with seeing it grown just by itself.

Patrick

Here is a link that might be useful: 'Night Owl' rose

I purchased a Night Owl almost 2 months ago and it's 6 canes are still bare. Is this normal? It this rose a late bloomer or do I need to treat it differently?
This is my first time with a climbing rose so any help is appreciated :)

I am interested in this rose too. I have "Wild Blue Yonder", and it has the same looking foliage, that greyish-green color as "Nite Owl". It is really striking with the purple rose. I also have "Ebb Tide" too. I was thinking this would be a cool rose to naturalize into a tree. I wanted to get "Viechenblau" - but it's a once bloomer. It is so much more tempting to get a repeat. There's another one called "Rhapsody in Blue" that is a really pretty climber too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rhapsody In Blue at Heirloom

For some reason I thought "Rhapsody in Blue" was a climber. It is actually a Floribunda. Sorry. It is really beautiful though. Here's a picture of someone who grows it here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Picture of

One with bare canes now would seem to be dead.

Just checking in to say I have it and it's blooming right now - and it's definitely on the redder side of purple. In fact - it kind of looks like a darker red Dortmund. It's a perfectly nice rose - though its scent isn't strong at all - and I'll keep it. But it's not the dark purple that Wayside is showing it as.

Hi shaolin ~ thanks for the report. I was going to get this for a new arbor my husband is building. I am beginning to wonder if these photos we all drool over aren't the slightest bit, "enhanced." Burgundy Iceberg in person looks nothing like the picture to me. I have Ebb Tide and it is not as purple or dark as the pictures in catalogs. The fragrance of it is really heady & strong though, just like the catalog says.

A once-blooming Gallica I have, Tuscany Superb, is blooming now and the color is very like the photos of Night Owl. Since it only blooms once and is not a climber it is perhaps not what you are looking for but is a very tough rose and is covered in flowers right now. The stems are very short and the flowers are in clusters that bloom one at a time so it's not very good for cutting, but a lovely bloom. I cut them anyway and put them in a small vase that supports the bloom.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tuscany Superb

OOHHH! Pretty hemnancy! You have such amazing roses ~ We are like-minded rose people! I just got Paul Barden's Fara Shimbo (moss) & I have Cardinal de Richelieu, and Belle de Crecy. (gallicas) All dark purple, all once-blooming. Decided to not be afraid of once-bloomers anymore.

I was at Raft Island Roses yesterday, (fun, everything is in full bloom.) I saw Night Owl and it is actually really pretty. More of a wine - purple color than purple. It was dark. I liked it. I ended up getting Midnight Blue and Rhapsody in Blue. Both are stunning!

Pretty purples, pacnwgrdngirl. Midnight Blue has some Sweet Chariot in both parents- my SC is blooming great this year. I am perplexed why the rose and other growers persist in calling magenta flowers blue. Magenta is one of the most common flower colors, because it is produced by pigments that are found in lots of plants. Breeders try to produce colors in flowers when there are no natural pigments present in that flower to produce that color, an exercise in futility. My Excellenz von Schubert is blooming well this year, but is a light magenta, not dark.

I'm actually in pursuit of apricot roses this year.:-) I got Halloween which I saw at the San Jose HRG but it is a small band and not doing well.

When I started my project, I never really intended to include so many roses but everytime I attempt to solve a "muting" issue when it comes to fences and walls of which I have hundreds of feet, I end up turning to a rose and it has worked everytime. It's a little later this year and Heirloom is out of stock on most of what I was looking for so before I order my second choices, I thought I'd ask you guys about them.

The first site is in front of a 5' Kelly block wall that I am going to face with a 2x2 cedar grid and train them flat on. I'm thinking about an alternating pattern of 'Easy Going' and 'Livin Easy'.

The second site is a cyclone fence that is about 20' long that I was thinking of trying to cover with 'Abraham Darby'. We are doing somewhat of a memory garden in this section with plants we pick to remind us of each of our special loved ones both human and pets that are no longer with us. The fragrance of this particular rose just seemed like it would fit this theme and make it enjoyable to wax nostalgic at times.

The third spot is a south wall near the entrance to both the front door and the walkway to the pond. I really wanted another 'Lyda Rose' for here because the other one is so fabulous and is at the other end of the walk but it's out of stock and I don't have time to go hunting. I just want to order them all together and get back to work. I was thinking of 'Ballerina' for this spot.

Any comments would be appreciated. I want to get them ordered so I can get them in the ground week after next.

I have 'Midnight Blue' and I love it. Have had no diseases and it is very strongly scented. The flowers are purple, not magenta.

I am positive Wayside Gardens in particular, "enhances" their photos. I have many plants that they have in their catalogs and theirs are all on "color steriods"

I have had this rose for about 3 years now here in Edmonton,Alberta Canada and love it.. I was amazed that it even grows here.. as it states higher zones.. It is actually a dark purple flower..I would attach a photo if I could figure it out.. lol

The one I planted never amounted to anything, crowding may be involved but still...

"Darlow's Enigma" in the same bed grew like a weed, as this easy plant often does.

The 'WEKpurost' still squats there, without pushing up canes out into more sun and up through the fence. A specimen with any horsepower should have done that by now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Climbing rose plant named `WEKpurost`

This post was edited by bboy on Thu, Jan 3, 13 at 13:02

This rose is impossible for me to photograph, the blooms are truly a beautiful color, but the pictures turn out quite red rather than the deep burgundy color as represented by the Tuscany superb photo. In fact, the color is very close. Had no fading yet.

it is often too red, or too pale, as in this picture, it is really beautiful with yellow

My first post on gardenweb. Bought one of these at Al's Garden Center. It looked like a pretty nice rose to have survived to be among roses nobody wanted selling at 50% off in November. it still had a couple flowers on it and their color matches the picture. Based on people's comments I won't be shocked if the color is a bit different in its new home.

I got this to solve my "too much pink" problem. I had a Love Song Rose, a couple of Encore Autumn Royalty Azaleas, and a Chansonette Camellia all in the same general area. In November, the rose and azalea still had flowers and the Chansonette was already in bloom. This created a big blob of pink to lavender color in a contiguous area which I found unattractive. (I have concluded that a rather unaesthetic arrangement of flowers is to have similar but slightly different color flowers in close proximity, with it being even worse if they are different species. I planted this rose in place of one of the Azaleas and my hope is it will do a good job of breaking up that "big blob of pink-lavender" effect in that part of the garden, while still being a color that doesn't clash with those others. It might not have been much of an issue in future years because I suspect roses and azaleas don't typically still have flowers this late in the year, and the Chansonette is brand new and I think it is blooming prematurely due to being on an earlier blooming cycle at the nursery it was grown at than when it would normally bloom here (Some evidence for that is the fact that I planted one Marge Miller Camellia in spring, one just recently, and the one I just planted has almost completed blooming while the one I planted earlier, which I presume has had time to acclimatize to the blooming cycle where I live, is only beginning to bloom now). But in case all these flowers do overlap again in some future years then planting the Night Owl should address the pink blob problem. I knew nothing about the rose when I bought it, but I am pleased to learn that it is a rebloomer. I see that this rose is supposed to grow tall (8-10 foot) canes. It will be taller than the flowers around it, but I think that will add some appealing texture to the garden.