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lynn2112

First out of the Gates

Like many of you, I live in one of the places where the season has begun. The local nursery is filled with potted roses, annuals, perennials, potted tulips, herbs, and veggies.

First out of the gates, but it is of no surprise - " Don Juan"! There are numerous buds on this climber, but yesterday I happened to walk my yard and discovered two opened blooms thus far.

Please forgive the image as in person, the rose is a much deeper darker red.

I am eager to see the first blooms on Twilight Zone, Bolero, Carding Mill, and Reine des Violettes, all of which are new to my garden.

Which rose was the first to bloom in your garden? If you are still waiting, I suspect you garden in one of those areas where you can grow Gallicas, peonies and a bunch of beauties I wish I could grow. If you had to guess, which of your roses do you think will bloom first ? Which ones are you most looking forward to seeing?

Lynn

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Thu, Feb 27, 14 at 20:31

Comments (23)

  • rosehog
    10 years ago

    Beautiful rose. I like Don Juan. I even won a blue ribbon last year for a great one with a long stem. Around here I still have months to wait ( Mother's Day pout) and pruning begins this weekend.

    My bet is that one of my Austin's will be first. Not sure which but they like the cooler weather so they tend to be first.

    Sunni

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    10 years ago

    The only roses that are in full bloom are established roses. Of my new roses, Wild Edric has one bloom that is showing color and La Reine des Violettes has quite a few buds which are still small and green. These are the two roses that I most look forward to seeing in full and fragrant bloom.

  • redwolfdoc_z5
    10 years ago

    The forecast high for tomorrow is -10F, -31F when you factor in the windchill. Sigh. But I did plant some peonies last fall...

  • Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Rosehog, would you happen to be gardening in the PNW or Northern CA? Which Austin's are your favorite?

    Ingrid, my La Reine is growing rapidly but no blooms. I purchased it as a band last July. The fragrance on the one bloom that emerged last summer was amazing! I have two Reine des Violettes that are bands, and one bare root. None of them have buds yet. I have never seen a bloom from this rose in person but can surely relate to the excitement you must feel.

  • nanadollZ7 SWIdaho
    10 years ago

    Lynn, that is one gorgeous, hunk of rose. No wonder he is called Don Juan.
    We've had a pretty mild winter, so I'm more worried about damaging late freezes right now. It's been extra wet, and the water situation has reversed itself. I'm very happy about that.
    Let's see...if I could fly down to Vegas right now and find a bookie who would take bets on the first blooming rose in my garden this spring, that would be nice. I'd say it's between Tamora, an Austin, and Ebb Tide, one who likes the cooler weather. Both were blooming away later in the fall till the deer moved in. The deer left a few now dried buds which are still on ET. but first, I have to do a little job called pruning, and that won't be for a while.
    Have fun watching those blooms pop, Lynn. Diane

  • sara_ann-z6bok
    10 years ago

    Beautiful first bloom of Don Juan, Lynn. Of course it has been a colder than normal winter here, but I think we've been much more fortunate than a lot of folks. My roses are looking good and I feel good about that. Right now I'm anxious for the forsythia to bloom, so I can prune. We're not quite through with winter though, I was hoping that groundhog was wrong! I believe my Dublin Bay rose will be the first to bloom, I think it usually is. I'm guessing that will be in early May, but that's in a normal year, who knows with the kind of winter we've had this year.

    This post was edited by Sara-Ann on Fri, Feb 28, 14 at 16:50

  • lesmc
    10 years ago

    Very beautiful rose. Oh, I envy you! Here in KY. we have months to go. Our winter has been so bad and the rose canes look terrible. Keep posting your beautiful roses. It helps to see them.Bolero is a beautiful rose here and I know you will enjoy her blooms. Lesley

  • jaspermplants
    10 years ago

    My teas have been blooming since November or so. They'll stop when it gets hot in May,most likely. My ever blooming teas are mrs BR Can't, Mme Joseph Schwartz, Maman Cochet, Mons Tillier, and others. My Chinsa don't bloom as often, but nearly so. China's are Old Blush, Eugene de Beauharnais (blooms all the time), Mutabilis, and others. My noisettes also blooms constantly, Alister Stella Gray, Mme Berard,Setzer Noisette.

    I put in a new bed of mostly modern roses this fall (because I HAD to have Fragrant Cloud and wanted to blend with the color). Mostly I have floribundas such as Tuscan Sun, Trumpeter, Julia Child etc I this bed. These are all budded out and will likely be in full bloom by mid March.

  • mendocino_rose
    10 years ago

    Only a few single blooms here and those are earlier than usual. Here is a photo of Don Juan taken last May.

  • SylviaWW 9a Hot dry SoCal
    10 years ago

    Here's my first ever Double Delight. I took it inside and it's opened up beautifully.

    Can't wait to see what happens after the rain.
    Sylvia

  • seil zone 6b MI
    10 years ago

    Your DJ is beautiful, Lynn! Don't feel bad for being excited. Come sometime in late May, or maybe early June this year, I'll be just as excited to post my first bloom too! What that might be I have no clue. They surprise me every year!

  • canadian_rose
    10 years ago

    Oh My Goodness!!!!! That Double Delight is exquisite!!! Mine have NEVER looked that good.

    And those Don Juan pictures are really beautiful. I had no idea that DJ was that pretty!
    Carol

  • andreark
    10 years ago

    Good morning.

    Lady Emma Hamilton has already had several blooms and has 4 or 5 new buds. Molineux has 2 buds almost open, I can see the color. And believe it or not, First Prize (which our local rosarian suggested that I HARD prune in December), has a HUGE!! bud. Not even ready to open yet but already a giant thing. First Prize, at 2 years old was still only 24 inches tall and very unhealthy looking. This is why Victoria suggested giving her a jolt.

    My other Austins that are still in 5 gallon pots due to all our rain, should be planted soon. In the last couple of weeks of rain, they have grown huge considering they are not even in the ground yet. Golden Celebration is already definitely a climber. And Tradescant, Sceptered Isle, and Molineux are all looking to be much larger than I had anticipated. I hope it's just the buckets of rain we've just gotten.

    I am SOOOOO ready for spring.

    andreark

  • Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you! Don Juan is one of those roses I would not be without due to its presence in the landscape, health, vigor and fragrance.

    Sylvia, your Double Delight is gorgeous!

    Andreark, I go back and forth between excitement and please wait I am behind schedule, still having a few things to do! My established roses need fertilization, a couple of climbers need to be cleaned up ( light pruning)â¦â¦etc.,etc...

    Mendocino_rose,

    Your DJ is gorgeous! May I ask, what method are you using to train it?

    This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Sat, Mar 1, 14 at 20:28

  • andreark
    10 years ago

    I am Soooo ahead of schedule! I have already fertilized once (a month ago), foliar sprayed with Neptune's Harvest, cleaned out beds and laid a new layer of compost.

    I will be fertilizing again Sunday.

    This is my first year with so many roses (only 30, but a lot for me) and despite the drought, my babies are all looking great. Lots of leaves and many buds.

    Happy rosing all,

    andreark

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    10 years ago

    The only roses that are in full bloom are established roses. Of my new roses, Wild Edric has one bloom that is showing color and La Reine des Violettes has quite a few buds which are still small and green. These are the two roses that I most look forward to seeing in full and fragrant bloom.

  • caflowerluver
    10 years ago

    Yesterday I finally picked the roses I have in bloom. They are Joseph's Coat and Paradise. They started opening up in Feb. In the 37 years I have lived in CA, this is the earliest I have ever had roses. I usually don't get them till mid April. All my other roses have lots of buds. It was this crazy hot winter we had in Central Coast CA that did it. Everything is blooming early.

  • jacqueline9CA
    10 years ago

    Some of my roses started blooming a month ago when our rains returned. My Yellow Lady Banks is about 20% out. Peace Drift is starting to bloom, but the rain keeps ruining the petals. Duchesse de Brabant ditto. Mme Joseph Schwartz, a sport of DdB, is doing better than DdB - may be the location.

    The two roses which are the furthest in to their first large bloom cycle are the mystery rose "Schmidt's Smooth Yellow" (thought that it might be 'Eugenie Lamesch'), and 'Burbank', both of which are located way out by the street. Here is a pic I just took of them:


  • jacqueline9CA
    10 years ago

    Oh, I forgot Kim's 'Lauren" - just put out a bloom today:

  • Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Jacqueline,

    Wow, your roses must be unfazed by winter pruning? I have always wondered how pruning in warm climates impacts the overall health or longevity of roses?

    This is my first glimpse of Lauren, what a beauty! Thanks for sharing your images.

  • noacceptance772
    10 years ago

    That Don Juan looks like it can make an AMAZING cut flower!
    I think the first flower to bloom will be my pampered, indoors miniature hybrid tea.
    You read that right, it does better indoors cause I pampered it. LOL
    I think next will be my other minis then my National trust rose. and last will be the Blue ribbon.
    I have no hope for my "Garden princess" rose bush.
    It has not flowered since last year, well I did get it in a horrible condition.
    I had to cut off all but one cane.
    Anyhow, I will come back and post the pictures when they bloom :)

  • jacqueline9CA
    10 years ago

    desertgarden561 - I didn't do much pruning this year because of our drought. The deer did a lot of pruning on the roses, but not me. Also, many of my roses are old teas, chinas, etc, which don't get pruned much anyway, except to take off dead stuff and keep them off the paths and the driveway. What I did do re pruning was in December, so when the rains came back at the beginning of Feb, I think the roses were ready to sprout, and did so.

    Jackie

  • Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Jacqueline3,

    I purchased my first Tea Roses this year and am looking forward to a less pruning in December:)

    I really hope the Tea Roses perform well here. While they perform well in Phoenix gardens, which is a hotter place than here, it is colder here during the winter, but they should be just fine.

    Lynn