Moonstone ???? for Neptune

Now I know you grow Moonstone neptune, can you please tell us about the rose. How have you found it, what consistency, what the foliage is like, is it a vigorous plant etc..  

Let see now......
 
Its a tall bush, growing to about 2mtrs
The scent is mild....not what you call a scented rose.
Great for shows
Throws out large exhibition blooms
Foliage is a deep green and vigorous
Consistency......keeps throwing out all the time
 
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Moonstone is the top exhibition bloom in NSW. I have 5 bushes and they are as described by Neptune. The rose has one major fault that being a number of the flowers suffer with split centres.

Ausrose wrote:. The rose has one major fault that being the flowers suffer with split centres.

 
That it can....
 
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thanks neptune and ausrose. i'm sold sounds awesome.

It's a rose for the experts like Ausrose and other good exhibitors. Doesn't like neglect and performs poorly without plenty of TLC. There are certainly more vigorous
roses available for the average gardener. Hibiscus beetles seem to favour it over red roses to bore holes in the blooms.

One of the best I have seen at Swane's over the last 5 years for the average gardener is 'Good Samaritan'.

I must agree with Bruce Good Samaritan is a far better rose for the average gardener than Moonstone and if its the colour you like I would recommend Our Rosamond (Bell) for the average gardener.

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[quote="Ausrose"]I must agree with Bruce Good Samaritan is a far better rose for the average gardener than Moonstone and if its the colour you like I would recommend Our Rosamond (Bell) for the average gardener.[/quote

Our Rosamond looks nice Ausrose, only being into roses for about 3 years, so it sounds like Moonstone could be a bit of a handful for a novice like me.  

Exhibitors put many roses on the show bench that I wouldn't recommend to gardeners who just like to grow and enjoy a few roses as they require extra care. A couple that come to mind are Granada and Red Queen. Granada suffers badly with powdery mildew while Red Queen lacks flowers however both do well on the show bench.

Guys I bought 2 of these this season Moonstone got one full price and the other half price looking forward to see how they both go.Paul dont be afraid to try the rose and give it a go.I'm a novice like you ,but if I like a rose enough I will try it.I love Moonstone flower very classy.

Paulh, WA has a dryer climate than the east coast of Aus.
I can't grow WA eucalyptus trees, they suffer all sorts of problems due to humidity. Tea roses are great in WA and a must in Queensland if you want roses in those climates.
Most of the roses seen winning at exhibitions make poor garden roses. These are nurtured along by very experienced experts in rose growing for the purpose of winning awards. It's not for me because I have around 250 different roses to look after times 3 or 5 of each.
I like to see roses that do well despite lack of attention so a lot of HT's are discarded here. I don't know how much attention a grower gives to his or her roses but somewhere along the way they are going to be neglected for various reasons. Go on Help me Find Roses.com and check the rose for health. There's a lot of information there for members costing about $20 per year.

There's not too many all rounders, in the last 35 to 40 years growing and propagating roses I think 'Kardinal' is a stand out. It started life as a commercial cut flower rose,
then a garden and exhibition rose. It's still here so it must be good. If you go to a rose exhibition there's a big chance it has won a major award.

I never spray roses to prop them up health wise because my health is too precious. Sprays damage ones immune system so pick roses that are healthy. Light coloured roses whatever their name attract more bugs like Hibiscus Beetle.
If you must have white roses then go for the more open blooms. Iceberg is very healthy but those tight whites and cream coloured blooms are a problem.
There are duds in both Heritage and modern roses. I have a love affair going with Jean Ducher, like all Tea's the winter blooms are the best. She blooms all year, is evergreen, quite large but so soft and gentle to feel.
Another beauty later bred in the 1970's is 'Titian' bred by Riethmuller and what a wonderful show it is at the moment mid winter.

In the last year there has been very little input apart from discussion about the latest roses currently at the nurseries selling PBR roses. It does get a bit boring after awhile when there are so many feel good stories about all roses old and new.
Ausrose is excellent keeping us up to date with exhibitions and roses that won.
Most members seem to visit the nurseries and tell us about the latest claimed to be so good we must have one.
We need someone to highlight the Heritage roses and another to report on breeding roses to keep the Forum alive and well.
Bonita is a very knowledgeable, pity she doesn't tell us more about the Vintage rose happenings in Queensland.

Ozeboy wrote:Most of the roses seen winning at exhibitions make poor garden roses. These are nurtured along by very experienced experts in rose growing for the purpose of winning awards. I like to see roses that do well despite lack of attention so a lot of HT's are discarded here. I don't know how much attention a grower gives to his or her roses but somewhere along the way they are going to be neglected for various reasons.

This pretty well sums it up with respect to many HTs that are used for exhibiting.

Moonstone is a lovely rose but for some reason it reminds me of a big marshmellow. I prefer Pope John Paul II for a white rose. Don't have to pamper it much but it blooms like crazy, lasts forever and has a nice smell and  great form, perhaps not for exhibiting, I don't know. To me its a good all rounder rose...Just my two cents worth.

Ausrose, I grow Granada. I have to say I haven't had much problem with mildew on it. It didn't have as many flowers on it last summer as I would have liked though!
Still, it has a lovely scent an the colours are beautiful!

Thanks Ozeboy and others for the continued information. Being a novice of about 3 years you do get blind sided at times. what I mean is, I go and buy a rose that I like, but when after a couple of seasons it still doesn't perform, the first thing I think of, is what have I done wrong. Instead, I guess I should do a lot more research and critique others to see if it is indeed a rose that needs an experienced hand, or one that others have found to be troublesome.

Sorry Guys, I don't want to be a "Killjoy" and ruin your enjoyment shopping for roses. Just get to know the different groups of roses and shop for those that will best suit your needs. Try to resist impulse buying, instead, go home and check the ones you like on Help Me Find. There's 45,000 roses listed with all the information you will probably need.
Sometimes health statistics are not available, then look through all the comments etc. If nothing is available on health then have a look at the health of parents and grandparents. You may even get an idea how healthy based on the breeder. Some breeders are known to breed for health like Brownell who breeds for cold weather districts. One of theirs I grow is Arctic Flame which I find good, even in heat.

To trial this method go to Help Me Find and bring up a recent release rose you all know, Pope John Paul 11. Won't take long to see it's a really good rose, it ticks all the good boxes. Now you should go back to the nursery and buy it with confidence your money is well spent. You know Hibiscus beetles will be a problem at some time during the year but they are not there all the blooming season so resist the temptation to spray.

That is interesting Sue as in the Sydney Basin Granada and the red Christian Dior are notorious for powdery mildew. I don't have a problem with number of flowers.I have two bushes of Granada that I have had for over twenty years and I have only put two units on the bench in that time so it is hard to catch for a show. One of the units I put up won Champion Decorative Rose ribbon and this was only in recent years so you can see patience is a virtue.

Well, what can I say Ausrose, except, Well Done! I must admit I love Granada. I have just transplanted it in a different spot of the garden. I dug it up, it was near(ish) a rampant Wisteria, (now a swear word for me!). I found the wisteria roots have wrapped themselves around the roots of my Granada. This is probably why it didn't flower so well last season! Will be very interested to see how it goes after I've fed it etc, at the end of Winter beginning of Spring. Hope this is the right time!!