But it can ball, which is surprising (to me) for a little flower. I don't recall Narrow Water doing that, and would therefore consider it the better option.
The problem with this rose is that with so much rain the flowers all turn brown and unfortunately in my area May is the month of rain. It becomes a large rose.
Does this rose grow slow? I purchased a young own root from Antique Rose Emporium & planted it in January. A pair of buds appeared mid-March and they still haven't bloomed in early April. One eventually fell off while I was spraying it with water to battle a mild aphid infestation (which it seems to be fighting since I keep finding dead aphids stuck in its leaves). It gets Down to Earth 4-8-4 rose fertilizer at a low dose every 2 weeks.
Ahiko, mine (also own-root from ARE) grew to maybe 3 ft. In its first season, and has 7 ft canes in the 2nd. I wouldn’t worry too much…own root roses can take their time getting settled, and it would have been relatively dormant when you got it in January.
