Paul,

I used La Belle Sultane quite a bit for about 3 years. I've gotten some seedlings with good vigor and foliage and above average disease resistance - but no flowers. I am a bit too far south for Gallicas, but I love them and always have one or two that I am trying to see if they will bloom with relative reliability down here in TX.

This winter we had several snow events and extended cold, so I was hoping my two remaining seedlings from the 2006 breeding season would flower. They both put out convincing laterals and I was sure I would get flowers - but I was disappointed that almost all of them grew out 6 to 12 inches (more in some cases) and stopped growing. Both of these are from a cross of LBS X Sachet. I did get one flower that was exquisite.

Still, I was ready to get rid of both plants, as the one that flowered is big enough that I've trained it as a climber (that was a surprise from this cross) and I've too little space to devote such real estate to a non-contributor. I thought that before I did anything drastic, I would contact someone who has worked with this variety to see if the seedlings only bloom if well established. Any thoughts you have along those lines would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
JoeB.