California, United States

I love roses. My wife and kids think I'm nuts because I would rather be smelling, looking at, planting, pruning, feeding, watering, and enjoying roses more than just about any other hobby in the world. The roses closest to my heart have always been Old Garden Roses and David Austin Roses, but after a decade of mollycoddling these gigantic thirsty plants in zone 9b and getting only a couple flushes of bloom in spring and fall, I have decided that Hybrid Teas are the way to go in Southern Cal. To poorly paraphrase a brilliant statement by someone else: "When other classes of roses do as well as Hybrid Teas, then I will love them as much". I have about 50 HT's in my yard currently. Fragrance is the most important attribute to me, followed by color, then form. Lately, large flowered older varieties have been calling to me, such as Amelia Earhart. My garden is a no-spray, mostly organic garden, for the sake of the bees and butterflies that visit. Even with Chili Thrips arriving, by letting nature take its course, predators have moved in to help balance out the pest populations. Go nature! :-)

Experienced (26 years)

Last visit: Saturday, June 8th