This could be called "Awaiting the arrival of The Divine Miss M"

Ms Bette Midler received a named rose after here, and apparently, it's aptly fitting for her as it's also a tough and unique rose. Here's an excerpt from an article dated June 21, 2019 (Bloomberg News):

"Marjorie Rosen, the wife of Wall Streeter Jeffrey Rosen, was roaming the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden Wednesday night when she happened upon a striking new flower, ivory colored with a pale golden center.

Luckily for Rosen, she was standing with her personal gardener, Stephen Scanniello, who assured her it could thrive at her home in the Hamptons.

The rose has quite the pedigree. Its parents are “Sunny Sky” and “Pope John Paul II.” “He’s the father and he is high maintenance,” said breeder Brad Jalbert. “That’s where it gets the size of the bloom.”

But perhaps more important is the person after whom it’s named: Bette Midler, the actress and singer who made her motion-picture debut 40 years ago in the film “The Rose.”

The idea for this honor came from Amy Goldman Fowler, a friend of Midler’s who was looking for ways to support the New York Restoration Project, which Midler founded to plant community gardens and trees in the city. When the rose becomes available at retail – which won’t be for at least 18 to 24 months – $1 from each sale will go to the restoration project in perpetuity.

Fowler, an expert on vegetables who has a book on melons coming out in September, isn’t an authority on roses. So she turned to Scanniello, who not only has clients in the Hamptons but is also the botanical garden’s chief rosarian.

“I was told by Bette, ‘I want something that’s sexy’ and I was like, ‘Help!’ ” Scanniello said. “And then Brad told me about this one. What caught my eye is that it flattens, and it has a twist in the middle.”

For now, the “Divine Miss M,” as the rose is called, has found a home at the botanical garden, sharing a bed with a light pink “Wedding Bells” variety. Nearby are hybrids named for Julie Andrews and Maggie Smith.

“I’ve always wanted to have a rose named after me,” Midler said as she got ready for an NYRP dinner celebrating those who had a hand in getting the rose named for her. “When I lived in Los Angeles, I had a book of roses and the way they described them – Madame Bluh bluh bluh, Princess This. That must be the most beautiful, the scent must be overwhelming.”

Scanniello said the tradition of rose naming really took off when Empress Josephine (Napoleon’s first wife) began giving the flowers at Malmaison names like “Cuisse de Nymphe emue,” which translates to “blushing thigh of an aroused nymph.”

“She made roses fun, and all her girlfriends suddenly wanted their name on a rose,” he said.

When Midler saw her namesake, she was quite pleased. “Its petals are curly; that’s wonderful because I’m a very curvy gal. They say it’s bodacious. I’ll accept that.”

The bloom has a citrus fragrance or, as Midler put it, myrrh and lime. “Not since the birth of Jesus has myrrh seen so much press,” Midler quipped in front of guests including Candice Bergen, Graydon Carter and Mica Ertegun."


(photo courtesy NY Botanical Garden)

Heres it is, the 1st of November, and January cannot roll around fast enough. For those of you who also have pending orders awaiting to be filled, this is sort of like waiting for Christmas/New Years as a kid once again.
What a wonderful feeling to know there are little bundles of happiness in the wings just waiting for us to unwrap and place into their prospective little homes. Okay, and then moved later if they tell us they're not quite as happy with that spot as we are.
As the months roll on (for some of us), we get impatient a little, and yet a little satisfied knowing that we have something to look forward to even before the first of the leaves emerge in the springtime. For myself, it's a little different, as here in the tropics, it's much like the extreme south. We get a flush of blooms here and there in the middle of the wintertime when the remainder of the northern places are still debating to just take down their christmas trees. Just like those in the southern hemisphere.
But, as a light of hope for all whom have placed their fall orders for next year, We ALL patiently await those gems we call "Our Rose". :)

Granada is one of those which is an endearing garden piece. If not for its history, then for its many unique features which still hold steadfast even today. I've found Granada to be one which will always hold a place in my collection, and definitely keeps up with many of today's incarnations, if the conditions and situations are suitable,
I read about other's failures and issues, and all I can say is that it must be some other reason why the failure. Surely, it cannot be because of just humidity or rain. I grow 100% no-spray. Our humidity average is about 70% year-round. Our average rainfall tops most all mainland states at around 120" annually. Some days, we can receive up to 4 inches within 12 hours.
There could be one huge difference. I grow all my roses Own Root. Including Granada. I'm fairly certain that many crosses which do terribly could become an entirely different plant when grown on their own roots. Whatever crosses struggle too much on their own, I allow to die out, I note the issue, and never grow that again.
I truly believe soil prep and appropriate location is absolutely key as well. Kim has mentioned this before, and I wholeheartedly agree. While a budgraft is easy to find and plant, I've observed two entirely different end results (which overwhelmingly are highly favorable) when grown Own Root. I believe Granada is certainly one which shouldn't be grown on a graft. It has amazing vigor, stronger fragrance, and even resists all of the usuals, like rust and mildew. Also, the Own Root subject which is a mere 6 feet from the Grafted parent does not get affected by black spot at all. The grafted subject usually loses all of it's lower foliage and is half naked by October. Not so with the Own Root clone.
My observations have led me to understand that when soil and roots collide, there must be enough of the correct elements: Aeration, WATER, Micronutrients, pH corrected, and above all.. Correct density of the soil.
I also observe that some love to grow on hillsides (for example). Others detest it. Some love to grow along side a tree. Others die from that. So, my best hypothesis to this rose and all others which I've tested environmentally, is that one size certainly doesn't fit all when it comes to planting a rose :)