Hello. Does anyone know where I might be able to find Tuscany in the USA? I was fortunate enough to buy Tuscany Superb from David Austin last year before it sold out and I'd really like to have the original in my garden as well but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. Greenmantle Nursery lists it as unavailable at this time, and I'm not finding any other nursery carrying it that's willing to ship to me in New York State. Any advice you could give me would be very welcome! Thanks.
Thanks. I've looked at Corn Hill Nursery before, and they have a few cultivars that I might try to order but their description of "Tuscany" says this "later form is a deep rich velvety purple double bloom" - the original Tuscany is semi-doubled at best, so this is probably Tuscany Superb which I was able to get from David Austin. Still searching for the original ancient form though.
Do the "blue" genes in roses all come from 'Tuscany' ? Is this where the dark purplish-blue colour in roses originates. Is that where these tiny traces of delphinidin could be coming from? You can see it in old hybrids like 'Russelliana'. If 'Erinnerung an Brod' was the grandparent of the so called "blue" roses like 'Mainzer Fastnacht' or 'Neptune', these types of rose all seem to have one thing in common, a very strong sweet fragrance. Any suggestions you may have on this subject would be very much appreciated.
Does any-one know what makes this rose vary in colour from year to year? In 2010 it was very dark purple, but this year its colour was brighter and leaned more towards pinkish-mauve.
Hi Jay Jay, temperatures, nutrient levels (iron and probably others), intensity of light can all alter the colors of roses, particularly dark reddish-purple ones, greatly. When I could get the purple Gallicas to flower here, they were usually pale and rather pink. Reine des Violettes is notorious for pinkish flowers instead of the expected violet ones. The only way I could achieve them was to heavily apply iron, keep it very wet and grow the plant in partial shade. Otherwise it was always pink here.
Thank You Kim, over here it was a strange year with an extended winter and a very dry summer, so lack of essential elements and water might be an option. We'll see what next season will bring. Best regards from Annie too!
