'Royal William' rose reviews and comments

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'Royal William' rose Reviews & Comments

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Discussion id : 114-135 most recent 19 NOV 18 HIDE POSTS

Initial post 19 NOV 18 by jeffbee

the color is not dark red but magenta to me. it's a bloomer, the quantity and frequency is good as it's an HT. It grows fast. Its fragrance is sweet old rose tone, and is strong, but not as strong as fragrant cloud or Alec's red.(i will see if the second flush will improve)，but lasts longer as cut flower than these two. a little bit prone to powder mildew. overall I'm happy with it.	REPLY

Discussion id : 17-093 most recent 28 JAN 16 SHOW ALL

Initial post 6 MAR 07 by John Moody

Fall 2006 I saw a bush of Royal William in a friends garden in Dallas, TX and was very impressed with the overall quality of the blooms and the bush itself. The blooms were very large, had tons of petal substance, were nicely fragrant, and had excellent form. The bush was loaded with blooms and the foliage was dark green and healthy all the way to the ground. My friend told me the flowers last a long time on the bush and when cut for the vase. I wonder why it isn't more widely grown. I made sure that I got one ordered from Pickering for myself to plant this Spring 2007. I am going to start it in a pot instead of straight into the ground. I have read in a couple of places that this is a good rose for beginners as it is easy to grow because it is disease resistant, winter hardy,and vigorous growing.

Reply #1 of 16 posted 15 DEC 10 by Penelope

Reply #2 of 16 posted 15 DEC 10 by John Moody

I just put in my Royal William bush this past Spring, so it didn't do a whole lost this first year, but it did okay. I live by the old adage,
First year they sleep,
Second year they creep,
Third year they leap!
I have always found that to be very true. The blooms I got were pretty nice and had a decent fragrance to them. I really think as good as these first year blooms were, that by the third year this will be one heckuva nice red rose bush.
Another red that I think is truly my best rest garden display for a red has got to be "Pride of England". This bush is huge and is loaded all growing season long with about 40 nice big red blooms. It is a bloom factory. There isn't any real fragrance to the blooms, but if you are just interested in alot of very pretty blooms, this is the bush for you.
Another of my favorite reds is "Cesar E. Chavez" or "Beloved"-J&P changed it's name--It puts out the most beautiful deep velvet red perfectly formed blooms in my garden all year long and they last forever in a vase or on the bush and have super long stems. Again, not overly fragrant, but the blooms are spectacularly beautiful.
For the best combination of big, beautifully made, and fragrant, none can best "Veterans' Honor". I have a grafted and an own-root bush and both are wonderful. The blooms can be huge with perfect form and smell like raspberries.
Other good ones I grow and would recommend--Black Magic, Liebeszauber, Olympiad, Ingrid Bergman, Grande Amore, The Passion, and the mini-flora Robin Alonso.
Most have proven to be pretty disease resistant for me as well. Liebeszauber will get just a little bit and Robin Alonso will get a good amount of blackspot if you don't spray for fungal diseases.
Best of Luck!!

Reply #3 of 16 posted 17 DEC 10 by Penelope

Thanks for your reply. Per your great review, I ordered a Pride of England ( the photos were just gorgeous! ), Royal William (you said the foliage was great on your friend's bush..and I hate half naked rose bushes), Liebeszauber and another Drop Dead Red. Can't wait to get them in the ground!	REPLY

Reply #4 of 16 posted 17 DEC 10 by John Moody

Penelope I think you made great choices and I will almost guarantee that you will love all of these roses. I forgot to mention the Drop Dead Red. I just got mine this past Spring so it to is still in a container and didn't do a whole lot but I did like what I saw. Beautiful blooms and very good disease resistance so far. You will not be disappointed with the foliage on any of these either. I insist that my roses make a good bush even without flowers, so they cannot have bare knees. They must have good foliage all the way to the ground for me to keep them. I do always take off the bottom three inches of leaves on every bush in my garden and it drastically reduces the amount of blackspot. That is because blackspot usually gets it's start by the fungal spores being splashed from the ground onto the bottom leaves and stems and then the fungus continues up the bush. If you look at a bush with blackspot just starting, 95% of it starts at the bottom. So, by my taking off the bottom 3" to 4" of foliage on every bush, I really have reduced blackspot in my rosebeds. Try it and you will be amazed at the difference. And, you really don't notices the bottom little bit of foliage missing.
Good luck with your good choices for red roses. I have 400+ roses, so if you would like any thoughts or advice on other colors, I would gladly give you my opinions. Not that I am absolute, but I do think my experience gives me some pretty good knowledge.

Reply #5 of 16 posted 18 DEC 10 by Penelope

I absolutely love my Drop Dead Red that I purchased last year. It gives you hybrid tea blooms on a fuller, shrubbier plant. And the red stays red. No bluing. Mine is standing at 5 ft tall right now. Excellent disease resistance. I've posted some pictures.
Good thinking, about removing the bottom leaves to reduce blackspot. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Anything to keep spaying to a minimum too. :-)
Thanks for all the advice.

Reply #8 of 16 posted 19 DEC 10 by John Moody

Penelope that makes me more anxious to see my Drop Dead Red more mature!! I can't wait to see hybrid tea style beautiful red blooms all over a nice thick shrubby floribunda bush. That is what a gorgeous rose is all about. Maybe i will need to add a few more Drop Dead Red's to my collection. I hope that it is fertile and I can use it for hybridyzing as a pollen or seed parent. Have you seen any hips on your bush?
John

Reply #9 of 16 posted 19 DEC 10 by Penelope

Reply #10 of 16 posted 20 DEC 10 by John Moody

Why thanks very much! I would be very eager to know and appreciate it alot. You must live in a warmer climate than I am. I am in zone 5b/6a just north of Kansas City. Are you in southern California or Arizona perhaps?	REPLY

Reply #11 of 16 posted 21 DEC 10 by Penelope

I'm in Dallas, Tx. Zone 8a. It's supposed to be in the 70's this week. 60's next week. We got a cold front a couple weeks ago and it got down to 30 a couple of nights but it's warmed back up.	REPLY

Reply #12 of 16 posted 21 DEC 10 by John Moody

Penelope--My Mother, Sister, Brother, and several nieces and nephews live in Dallas and the Metro area. I am there most every summer visiting since my mom is now getting nigh on 82 years old. My sister there, Barbara who lives with mom since my father passed away several years ago, also grows roses. They live in an apartment which means of course that they have to keep their roses in pots. They have decided to try to find a house this spring which I think is great because now they are excited to get a rose garden started outside and do away with those pots!! I hope it happens and if it does I will most definitely be coming to Dallas to see and probably help them move. I always try to visit another rosarian friend there who is the one I saw Royal William on fortuniana rootstock at. She has lots of roses all in very high raised beds and it looks spectacular. Maybe with a little luck and planning we could all meet and visit and look at some roses!!
John

Reply #13 of 16 posted 21 DEC 10 by Penelope

Reply #14 of 16 posted 22 DEC 10 by John Moody

Penelope we all begin somewhere and visiting a great garden like my friend Nancy Pierce's there in Dallas I am sure would be so educational for you. You could look and ask questions and learn, learn, learn. That is what I feel my responsibility is as a half knowledgeable rosarian. I am not a master rosarian. I am not even sure how you get that title. But, I have done it and researched growing roses enough that I have learned a few things. One thing I love to do is teach. I have given presentations to the 4th grade classes at the school my grandchildren attend about roses and plant reproduction in general and loved every single minute of it. Also, a couple of the area Rose Society's and Garden Clubs come to my house during summer where I host a nice outdoor lunch where I grill burgers and dogs and such and they all bring the trimmings. After eating we all walk through the rosebeds and my "Pot Ghetto" where they see all the roses and ask questions. I thoroughly enjoy doing it so much that I anticipate these days with glee. So, come with me and my sister and we can visit Nancy's garden--with her permission of course, but that's not ever been a problem before--and enjoy the roses and learn a few things. After all, every time I walk through another rosarians garden I always learn so much and believe me, I am not afraid to ask questions!! One thing I can do is talk!!! (as if you all here hadn't noticed, LOL!)
Blessings,
John

Reply #15 of 16 posted 22 DEC 10 by Penelope

Reply #6 of 16 posted 18 DEC 10 by HMF supporting member

RoseBlush

Reply #7 of 16 posted 19 DEC 10 by John Moody

Reply #16 of 16 posted 28 JAN 16 by HMF supporting member

Michael Garhart

"I wonder why it isn't more widely grown. "

Well, as you noticed, the rebloom and quantity is not that high. The rose has a lot of positive qualities. If I recall, it doesn't really branch a lot, either. A similar rose from its era, Velvet Fragrance, blooms a lot more. But the blooms are very heat sensitive. So they both have a type of fault that prevented them from gaining even wider recognition. The other part of the equation is inconsistent fragrance. Royal William is fragrant when it wants to be. And Velvet Fragrance cannot emit fragrance if the blooms crisp within hours on a hot day. When I replaced my Velvet Fragrance with Firefighter, in the exact same location, the blooms lasted a lot longer and were consistently fragrant. Not that Firefighter is perfect by any means, but it shows why many "fragrant red HTs" from the same era as Royal William tended to not become popular. Even my older reds, like Proud Land, bloomed more, and were not bothered by heat.

Discussion id : 85-446 most recent 30 MAY 15 HIDE POSTS

Initial post 30 MAY 15 by mtspace

In its first year from Palatine Roses, I was pleased with this rose. The plant is reasonably vigorous and disease-free. Its flowers are a good shade of red and nicely fragrant. In the subsequent years I have grown less fond of it. In the mountains of Arizona it is a little too affected by the freeze-thaw cycles that tend to kill the hybrid tea roses bred in France or California. Its fat, unbranched canes stand leafless through the winter. Through spring they sprout short leaves which die regularly as frosts hit. So the plant looks ridiculous through as much as half of the year.

By contrast, Olympiad branches nicely at the top and makes great foliage that seems to withstand spring freezes here. It has a less fragrance and its roses may be a little smaller, but it is altogether a better plant. Firefighter has some of the problem with frost that Duftzauber 84 has, but not to the same extent. Its growth is quite vertical, but it seems a little more graceful and a little better branched. I am charmed by the purpleness of Firefighter's new foliage, too. And by its determination to set blossoms even as frosts nip at its leaves in the late fall. So if a red hybrid tea rose is in order, either of these would be better. I know, too, that Olympiad was one of the rare HT roses I grew successfully in the humid northeast without spraying.

I will tolerate a rose that underperforms for a number of years so long as I see it making some forward progress in the garden. Duftzauber 84, however, seems to be in retrograde motion and is in serious danger of being shovel pruned next spring. It will be a tough choice because fragrant red hybrid tea roses are not so easy to grow here. Papa Meilland and Oklahoma, for example have failed repeatedly due to freeze-thaw cycling. As much as I love fragrance, I may elect just to get more color in this spot by planting one more Europeana.

Discussion id : 76-264 most recent 27 JAN 14 HIDE POSTS

Initial post 27 JAN 14 by JARDIN DE LAVANDA

Stating the obvious: this rose was named after the red-haired heir to the British throne,
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. (William Arthur Philip Louis;[fn 1] born 21 June 1982),
is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales. His paternal
grandparents are Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He is second
in line to succeed his grandmother, after his father.

Reply #1 of 1 posted 27 JAN 14 by HMF supporting member

Margaret Furness

Can't say I've seen either of them in person, but I think it's the younger son who is the redhead.	REPLY