Hall of Shame Roses

One of the only rose I would struggle to have in my garden is Burgundy Iceberg which for me looks too much like Dr Huey rootstock. For me the most disappointing rose to come out in recent years has been Jane McGrath which I am led to believe is a sport of Bonica. Can anyone confirm or repudiate my belief. My attitude towards the Jane McGrath rose in no way reflects my attitude to the McGrath Foundation and its founders as I believe it to be a very worthwhile charity which should have our support. As a cancer survivor I am very grateful for the work done by all charities aimed at supporting medical research into cancer.

Ron and Barbara Inverarity, these are the people that found the rose called 'Jane McMrath', would it be not called a 'sport'. My reference comes from HMF.
Ausrose, as far as your thing with "BI", mine is with the whole Iceberg clan. It is not one that comes to mind even though we have some that came with the house.

The people who found Jane Mcgrath rose actually work at Treloars. I sort of put my foot in it when I told Treloars a lot of my clients were dissappointed with it and it was n't worth a cracker, they then said it was found here at Treloars , then I went to find a place to hide . I don't know if they appreaciated the comment, knowing what people thought or not. That Starlight light rose is another one.

What gets me , if they put up a very worthy rose , they would get more for charity as more people would buy them and not some rose that has been thrown in just for the hell of it.

About Burgundy Iceberg - I purchased two of these but they looked like mens'grey and maroon hankies to me. I traded one bush for a fishing lure for my husband. However over the four years I have grown the other one, the colour has grown on me, particularly before the buds really open to full bloom and then turn to faded hankies!

I have to agree Warren and I wouldn't buy it.
I prefer Bonica.
People will buy it for the name I expect.- but how many!

These two roses have beautiful flowers but drop their leaves at the first sign of blackspot , they are Mary Rose David Austin , and Delbard Chartreuse De Parme . I had two Chartreuse de Parme one a standard , one a bush , in different locations , both have struggled , but what beautiful flowers , but i give it the thumbs done for being such a straggly , bush , pulled the bush one out , and still hoping the standard will come good .

Oh and i'll add David Austin William Shakespeare too , a most unattractive rose bush , pulled that out along with the four Mary Rose standards . I do love Jubilee Celebration , a truly beautiful rose .

I have two roses that comes to mind when thinking of real bad ones in our garden.... one would be "Remember Me". A beautiful rose at first sight but the flowers went from bud to blown in less then 2 hours. Nothing to enjoy at all, just deadheading all the time.
The other one is probably "Ebb Tide". The way it was marketed and the way everyone said it was... well, it wasnt. Not purple, no strong scent, no healthy bush (BS & Aphids all the time)...

They both went into pots and to the church raffle to find a nice new home with people that might appreciate them more Or perhaps it was nasty of us to give them away *lol*

Rose-Anna , i too bought Ebb-Tide , with much anticipation from Swanes and was so dissapointed in it , as you say no fragrance to speak of and flowers not good , i'm afraid mine went in the rubbish bin ...

Ebb Tide improves with age but the common complaint have coming across my desk is the pinking when flower is formed during peak temperatures. after growing it for some seasons at Narromine, near Dubbo we have found it to be quite as we describe it. unfortunately, it is not until is has been widely distributed that truly international appeal can be proved, or disproved. the hard part is will Twilight Zone be better? as for Burgundy Iceberg, love the colour or dislike it, at least it never stops flowering?

Hi Maree and finbarr. I have been MIA for a while , just so many other things happening and the roses looking manky and ready to go to sleep .... not much to post about.

Well Julia's Rose always tops the list for my HoS list , although I do keep a bush growing , simply because she is like the little girl.

" Once was a girl
with a little curl ...
Right in the middle of her forr'ead.
When she was good ....
she was very very good.
And when she was bad .....
She was Horrid. "

So it grows in an obscure corner of the garden , where it can be as horrid as it likes. Very soon it will have Ebb Tide as a near neighbour. What a waste of $30 that plant was. 2 X Jane McGrath bushes have gone to God [also at similar $] so they won't be getting replaced ....
Makybe Diva gets one more chance .... perhaps.

I'm almost tempted to try Ebb Tide just to see if it would be okay here. Surely my "BS year from hell" will not be repeated..... (during the drought I led myself to believe that BS wasn't a problem here.. haha)

OzRose wrote:Well Julia's Rose always tops the list for my HoS list , although I do keep a bush growing , simply because she is like the little girl.

" Once was a girl
with a little curl ...
Right in the middle of her forr'ead.
When she was good ....
she was very very good.
And when she was bad .....
She was Horrid. "

LOL
I've always applied that rhyme to myself (I have curls.... *g*)

But yes to Julia's Rose. She has a distinct propensity to want to be naked but I've mostly convinced her to be better behaved this year. Kind of. *g*

One of my real "Hall of Shame" roses in a sense is "Gift of Grace". This rose has been in the "good" section of the garden so has no excuses to being stingy with blooms (one or 2 per flush) and it's leaves are inclined to go that leathery/brassy/slightly curled look I'd associate with Red Spider Mite even though there aren't any RSM on it. It doesn't seem to want to throw up new canes much. (Altho it did pick up with a GoGo juice dose earlier) It stands out as a poor doer next to 'Fiona's Wish' which is a fantastic bush.
I will be digging it out this year. Not sure if I will just shift it or offer it up for someone...

I'm a follower of consensus in matters technological and horticultural. I take my lead from a wide sampling of other users' opinions, and I'm never found on the leading edge. Laptops, mobile phones, roses - yeah, I'm always at the back of pack, in the Third Wave of Change ;-}

I moved outside that comfort zone only once, to try to get my hands on Ebb Tide the year it was released. The line was so long for this one, that I missed out two years' running. Now I'm glad that unavailability trumped impulse.

In the consensus thing, I've only been disappointed big time once, and that was with the widely lauded Jude the Obscure. I believe I called it a noddy blobfest in my first post on this board. Let me excoriate it a bit further. Dead piglet flowers with not a redeeming iota of great scent. And talk about shatter.

And yet so many people love JtO ardently. No one agrees with me on this one, just absolutely no one, so I know that it's my specific plant, my particular taste, my impatience (sorry, two seasons' trial only) that are factors in my harsh judgement.

Maybe Ebb Tide will live up to its hype given a few more seasons in people's gardens. For myself, I think that I'm now going to wait for Twilight Zone, which already is receiving the kind of approval rating overseas from the adventurous leading-edgers who have always guided me well.

Betsyw, you certainly have a way with words. The money your parents spent on your education was very worthwhile.
I have had little joy from Jude the Obscure which has been given away or discarded. Ebb Tide is a nice coloured dud, I'm not through with it yet and have budded it onto Multiflora hopeing that may be more compatable to produce greater vigour. Did have a look at it's breeding potential last season and couldn't see much pollen and the inmature plant didn't make hips. To be continued.

Ozeboy, that is the most gratifying comment I have ever received. Not just because of the compliment (although I am Mark Twain-ish in the matter of compliments: I can live on one compliment indefinitely, and often have to). Education is always a good investment, even if it will never rate on the global money market - portable, non-perishable, and just a lotta fun. On the whole, free, too - this board is one example, eh?

Ebb Tide as breeding stock: oh gosh, I hope you continue. This one might be like the thoroughbred who was a dud on the racetrack, but went on to become a sire or dam of champions. If Twilight Zone keeps getting good/great reviews, then there's incentive to try more crosses, maybe. Somewhere in the tetrazillion genetic possibilities of rose breeding, there has to be a luscious purple, intensely clove fragrant rose with the vigor of a triathlete and the disease resistance of an armoured car.

I must have something wrong with me. I have no dud roses. I sometimes whine about my Tipsy Imperial Concubine forming balls in wet weather, or early on in the season. But it more than makes up for it later in the season.

Ian_M nice to see someone enjoying roses to a point where you don't have any Duds.

I have been having a love affair with 'New Yorker' bred in a time when health was not at the top of the hybridisers list.
However it's fragrance will just over power you. It has lived here for about the last 5 or 7 years and done well considering my no spray garden.

Hi Bruce good to hear from you again. Hope you are well. I received the Graham Hart and thanks.

With regard to Ian's post, yes it is good to see someone who does not have any duds. The number of duds we have is reducing as we weed them out. We don't have a real lot but some have not lived up to expectations.

Ian

We could not get of Tipsys to grow all that much. Yes when it flowered it was spectacular but between the budding and very little growth it has not lasted in the gsrden and it has been replaced with something else.

As you live on the Sunshine Coast I can see that humidity would be a huge problem for some roses, like Tipsy, that are prone to balling in wet conditions.

I tried out 'Our Vanilla' twice, and it expired within weeks both times. I had plenty of other varieties which were treated exactly the same way at the same time without any issues, so I conclude that this rose is at fault here.

Hello Gary, hope Mrs Graham Hart is starting to take off.
I didn't find it vigorous here. How's yours David?

If you want to be real critical then 90% of Hybrid Tea's fall into this HOS category. But they are so beautiful, fragrant and colorful we tend to forgive them all their unhealthy habits. The rose enthusiasts, exhibitors have the patience to bring out the best in these roses.

I still like 'Carefree Wonder' as a garden rose and would send buds to anyone with bud grafting skills. Please don't ask for cuttings.

Hello Betsy,just read your post again and must admit I have missed you along with all the other old posters ( New word)
David, I will try to be good but my stupidity meter red lines every now and again and can't control myself.

Bruce at this stage I do not care if you are stupid or anything in between, as long as you are on the right side of the grass mate.