The Socorro Roses

The Socorro Roses, 10/21/99 and now 01/09/2006. A Descriptive Undertaking.

This list originally started out as a "growing" list sometime before 1999, October, but in 2006 that just doesn't seem like much fun anymore because the part of me which never stops changing makes me want to tell you where I've been. I keep saying that. Where we've been, I mean. So this is to the hundreds more unlisted varieties, all of which were positively worthy of something in their breeder's eye. These occupy a list, the incompleteness of which is known only to God. And another thing: Good God!!, have I spent a lot of cash on this obsession.

Avandel...bright, sometimes strikingly so, colors, a tuff unit, BIg for a mini, a real survivor, easily understandable why it's been called a breeder
Vigilance...white sport of Jeanne Lajoie, though you would never ever ever guess this. A mounder, but can throw off 12 foot canes. E profuse.
Charlotte Anne...come and gone. was a 5-petalled lav rose of exceptional beauty and brief existence here. Grew it for several years before winter took it down. Beyond planting some roses in more sheltered locations than others, as this one, I don't coddle the little devils.
Diamond Springs...an Alice cemetery rose. clearly a forever rose, a once-blooming rambler whose demure style endears you rather than reaching out and grabbing you by the troat
Peaches 'n' Cream...what a story this one. may still be alive. Got totally swallowed by raspberries, 15 foot wildies, tall grass, short grass, probably weedeated, hoed, shoveled, then rediscovered a couple years back--blooming-- when I dared thin out the dead raspberries andthe 6 foot cane grass. Still tiny, but no smaller than it ever was. Blooming. At that time it probably got an oath sworn to it, that this would never happen again, etc., but the truth is, it's a tough world we live in. Seems to me it already knows the strong survive.
Raphaela...didn't survive first winter, fall planting.
Muriel...muriel got wasted with one of the the first spring freezes, that was all there was for Muriel.
alba semi-plena...a mighty rose. tall. wide. a forever rose. beautiful beyond description. white. gets rio grande irrigation, as do most of the forever roses. the sey12 gave me this one.
5 Roses Rose...grew it a whole season, then came winter, sayonara. If someone were to tell me it's a tough rose and this didn't happen to them, then I'd believe them.
gruss an achen...I'm thinking first floribunda, something I'm supposed to be impressed by, or like that. dead and gone, lived for a number of years -in the greenhouse rose garden.
marina...another of those budded roses by The Donald. 3 he gave me are unbeatable by any rose but not this one, el wimpo here in the freezing desert.
movie star...god I loved this rose. named my computer at work after it, in fact. Very few people understand the concept of machine Moviestar. now what color was it? bi.
pink meidiland...another The Donald Rose, almost forgot. Killer. Killer. Killer. Absolutely one of the finest roses. Rebloom almost compares to the first. Corally Pink 5-petalled Unit.
a big yeller thing, now in the ever beyond. was bought as Persian Yellow. Was a big yellow modern looking rose which bloomed once. Never got more than two canes, grew in an unassumingly harsh place for 10 years or more. Passed last year.
aurelia weddle...I remember that one, honestly. Just did not grow, although I do believe I saw it bloom. Once again, The Donald.
cl rainbows end...Awesome, Spectacular, Want one huge blast of color, here it is forever.
five of hearts...Good God, this thing is still alive--Petrose 98, I believe. Grows literally in the shadow of Rainbows End, they were planted sametime. As you might imagine, it's red and has 5 petals. When I saw the red this year ('05), it shocked me actually.
chica kordana...The best argument for growng throwaway roses. Habit, bloom, nothing this rose doesn't have in spades.
southern delight...had a brief love affair with this rose.
signature...a sorry ass rose for the freezing desert, and not a good rose for the occasion it's for. You wanna commemorate someone, name the rose after them. duuuuuuh!! those idiots.
anytime...another one as good as they get. Sam McGredy's finest, say some. Want to become a rose breeder? Use this rose on any other rose.
x-rated...this rose was almost tough, lasted a few years. distinctly did not like it here though. you can tell--they wanna do good but cannot.
pompeii...goodness gracious land sakes alive, what a beauty. Still available in a cheap catalog, forget which one. bicolor.
madras...cute name. forgettable, that's honest. some of these I'll remember more about later. or not.
violacea...oooh. sometimes I need to see the name. An Alice Rose, grows between The Rio G and Yolande. Not an enviable place for any rose. But it doesn't care--these old roses just do what they have to do to survive just like the wild rampant pair I just mentioned.
yolande d'aragon...totally at home here, another forever rose. Sky canes which sometimes look like pink poodles.
new beginning...a smart mini, one which quickly grew as tall as the grass around it, then taller. Here to stay always. Yellow/orange bicolor, wonderful.
henri martin...a Susan Ford rose. Sheeeeez, if I showed you this rose and told you its story, you would just die. It's just not possible to be what it is year after year. You might see this rose underneath the word survivor in some dictionaries.
hot tamale...yessiree bob, great rose. Some minis you grow for a few years, then they just croak.
stainless steel...Sky King. Another adapter. Grows between the High Rolls Rose and a Brownell, et al. I see Steel at 12' every year. Skyscrapers.
rioGee...Nat Pargas gave me this rose. Was gathered along the irrigation ditch network, romantically called sechias in this parta the country, of the Rio Grande. Somebody brought it there. Wasn't me.
oranges 'n lemons...still the 2 canes it always was. It's mid-January and its leaves are leathery green, I mean living things, not crispy. I don't know how it does it. Unfailingly blooms and reblooms in a color nothing else touches, nothing. Unique.
r. xanthina spontanea...ah yeah, Alice! An Alice rose. Translucent Red curved thorns. The sun gets behind them, look out! Is in a mighty battle for domination with the High Rolls Rose, which is almost certainly R. Arkansana.
thunder cloud...God how I loved this rose. As the catalog long ago stated, the name perfectly describes it. Ralph Moore. I will oneday grow this rose again, maybe in Heaven. Maybe not
mme caroline testout...I know perfectly well why this rose grows everywhere in CA. Canes made of Iron. I have as much respect for this plant as any I have ever grown. Blooms every single year. Sometimes they don't ball. Even. Sometimes ugly, sometimes tremendous and awesome. Some might disagree with this characterization but when it is good, it's such an event!
eyepaint...A rose on its second life here, don't think it will ever need to move again, another forever rose, I certainly hope. As good as roses get. Red white bicolor, handpainted.
cherry hi...another Ralph Moore Rose. Cherry Hi was a tremendous luminous red. Tiny thing. Tiny.
velvia...deep, dark red. Velllllllvia always grew next to Eyepaint. hmmmm. It had a problem. Would always start the blackspot, it seemed. don't seem to have the spot so much now that it's gone, but it could be that I'm not paying enough attention?

orange sunblaze...the best of the Sunblaze roses. The Finest Color imaginable.
remembrance...Imagine the description of Orange Sunblaze and take it up a notch. This one has Sam McGredy's pelargonin oozing out of it
love potion...many thought it to be Angel Face, grew it for years. now past. If you are a rookie, you may wonder at the scads of roses which are in the dead category on this page. Grow them for 20 years and you will understand.
winter magic...It pleases me to tell you this one's still everything it should be. To my mind an unlikely forever rose but there you are!! The lightest shade of lilac. It's sport Cafe Ole' is a brown rose besides being a lav rose. Does both, really.
fairhope...tremendous light yellow mini, but unfortunately not one for the duration. Was enjoyable for a few years.
fashion...a 50's Floribunda which gives no points to any rose. Corally pink, which it has contributed to countless roses which followed. Still alive and well, and I mean that, in a most challenging location. The little mounder, has always made me smile.
bluebird...another The Donald Rose, I so wanted this one to grow, alas! Was small, and was such a cold winter that year.
floradora...the legend. No perfect growth habit. No disease resistance to speak of. Flowers not particularly shapely. The word is Color. Color. Color. So many came from this rose that it's totally inestimable its contribution. Another thing it has: Longevity.
charlotte brownell...How does it do it? Grows under an Arizona Ash, always has. Looks like Peace.
worthwhile...apparently not. where do people get these names?
raf braeckman...one of my All-Time Best Memories Roses. Red-orange, the best, none better, no points to anybody
doctor brownell...The Good Doctor. Huge enormous thing, peachy orange/yellow, every shade in between. Mark the center of your hole and go bout 10 feet in every direction, that's what it does.
lavender crystal...The best lavender miniature rose, you've heard that here for years. Tell me otherwise, it's just noise.
sweet chariot...One of Ralph's finest. A modern polyantha.
red brownell...it does have a name, just always forget it. Jung's sent me 4 Brownells years ago--somebody else's roses--and I planted them and they're all bout as big as you'd imagine a Hybrid Tea rose could get. Well, not the white one, it caroaked immediately.
jeanne lajoie...big rose, not like Cheryl's though. Planted on the north face of my MOrgan building, took years for the canes to find the sun to any appreciable degree. Its white sport Vigilance grows bout 15' away in the full sun. They're so different. Both forever roses.
vista...another lav, if mem serves. it might not. serve.
pink brownel, story's the same see red brownell above.
moonlight...ah yeah, moonlight. a hybrid moschata. always thought it'd done better in Washington.
r. arkansana, grows like 12' raspberries. Found mine in High Rolls, NM. The High Rolls Rose.
general macarthur, an Alice Rose. Still very much everything it ever was. Red. An ancient Red Climb er.
crimson glory...is it or isn't it? supposed to be. perfectly vital. a lucky rose growing on the raspberry perimeter, it's kinda like a geographic perimeter, like saying vietnam or something
forgotten dreams. maybe a Cathy Beyer Rose. the rose that grows where I think this one should be...well I've just kinda lost track. forgotten dreams, you might say
strawberry ice...a Rare Bird. a The Donald Rose. As fine as roses get, this one. forever and ever.
lynne anderson...grew like a tree rose, this origiinal hackroot. One cane for at least a dozen years.
olive...the most unlikely name for a brilliant REd Rose. this puppy's here for the duration.
great scott, took years for this The Donald Rose to get est'd. I'd be proud to show hima this one any day. It's actually His Rose. Donald Ballin.
voyager...fantastic name for a rose, not a hearty devil, died within a couple years. yel low bicolor as I remember
berry grape...berry dead. A Petrose.
international herald tribune...Certainly one of the finest roses in existence, color varies with the season. Early on very much purple, and on the flip side more pink, as you see on the cover of Socorro Roses this 8th of January, 2006.
baby ballerina...a Bugman rose. Lived for a number of years.
new penny...new pennies, they comes and they goes.
sengodea...another The Donald. Pinks and light pink bi, colors just do not get any better in Roses. Great Survivor for having such a name. A full-sun LuckyLuckydog, no wimp here.
michelle meilland...early offspring of Peace, light pink. Needless to say, still around.
st. patrick...all the rage when it was intro'd. Allegedly green, but in fact a great yellow. Not entirely hardy, but entirely dead here.
regensberg...one of Sam McGredy's best, I grew this one for years, until the pecans robbed all the sun. I moved it, but twas never the same.
sparrieshoop...a New Mexico standard. canes arching to TX. big pink single (semi-double?) flaures. a real blackspot hog.
mikado...one of only a handful of luminous roses. unsurpassed color, that's a high compliment. like a skyscraper
summer sunshine...most beautiful yellow HT, also the hardiest. period. you don't thinkso, shut up.
trier...the most vigorous rose on the plantation. small white flowers by the tens of thousand. gigantic.
felicite parmentier...hard to get to. at last count, among the living. a floribunda-size powder puff pink. an Alba Rose.
magnifica...two OGRs with this name. I grow the other one.
julie andrews...another one hard to get to, still distinctly among the living. Big rose, can sky with the best of em, rather small orange/pink units. You'd never in a million years imageine this to be Julie Andrews, it's hard to explain. How'd she get this one???
r. xanthina canary bird...oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. rivals R. Primula for first rose honors. You gotta be quick to see it bloom, it does its thing in a matter of days, then it's done fo longtime. Flowers last like oneday. It's definitely yeller.
fruhlingsmorgen...this rose will hurtya. a thicket of forbidding canes, inviting pink spring flowers. come into my lair.
louise estes...lah dee dah, louise didn't cut it round here.
kaleidoscope...yeah right. It died oscope, didn't leave much of a wake.
betty boop...cute name, was released on the coattails of scentimental, doubt if many people still growing this one.
camara...a Seqoia Nurseries Rose, which upon seeing did one Petrose utter was not Camara. Red/Orange, more orange.
marvelle...a Sam McGredy HT, a Striper Unit, a novelty I didn't get to enjoy for very long
butterscotch...guess what color? another heirloom novelty dead and gone.
remember me...always in the shadow of Trier. tsk tsk, wouldn't wish that on any rose. May infact be still among the living,was last year
hello...goodbye came quickly to this Cathy Beyer Rose.
gene boerner...the lately unsung 60's floribunda, I remember I liked this one, had respect for it. Do not exactly remember its demise.
playfair...cute name, no? roses with names like this just do not live very long, you can gotothebank on that.
paqarette...the first polyantha, no?, a Petrose Rose, this Rose of Diminution is still cranking em
ilona...am pretty sure this is a true Petrose Rose and was named after his mother. Several he gave me survive to this day, some didn't live through the first winter, this one's in the latter category. Is a polyantha.
baccara...was always anxious to grow this rose, then I did and wonder why. No longevity to speak of.
minnie pearl...a mini? a floribunda? I could answer this question, to be sure, but don't remember offhand. How long did it live? 3 guesses.
show 'n tell...a FABulous miniature rose. Bicolor, vivid red and white. I moved it long ago so it would grow even better than where it seemed happy enough already. Don't know what I was thinking. Don't do that, hear?
love...one of my last-planted roses. originally planted outfront but moved Fall 2005 across the ditch to a full-sun loc. r/w bicolor, well known
heirloom...seldom see this huge bush upclose, you have to risk life and limb to get to it. Perfectly hardy in the high cold desert. Lav Pink.
margaret merril, don't hold a candle to Iceberg but this florrie's worth growing nonetheless. Perfectly respectable, this one's an orderly unit.
geranium...the Hybrid Moyesii. a towering, adaptable rose, will meet any situation unflinchingly.
zitronenfalter...this one and Lichtkonigen Lucia I can never keep straight, both yellow shrubbies growing happily in the south 40 with Persian Yellow, R. Primula, and McGredy's Sunset, to name a few of its friends.
cl. mcgredy's sunset...a forever Rose, all the shades of the Sun. a towering Unit visible from the moon.
maigold...don't know where it would be, though I know where it would have been. Is that crazy or what?
light queen lucia, another yellow Forever rose. 'Slike a clock back there--Primula, Persian Yellow, Light Queen and Zitronenfalter, in that order.
persian yellow...forever and ever amen. Yellow. Profuse. Early. Vigorous. Stoloniferous.
l'aimant...muted pink and white bicolor shades, none too exciting but satisfying nonetheless. a runt rose which has the unlikely, and some might say unenviable, spot next to Persian Yellow
alain blanchard...the renowned Gallica, this year expect to be better than last. That is always the case with this stoloniferous unit. Has gotten some height over the years. Everything it should be.
tricolore de flandres...a Susan Ford Rose, the noteworthy and ancient Gallica, a real runt, stoloniferous, as are most of the class.
sexy rexy...one of Sam McGredy's faves, to be sure. Flanks Persian Yellow, an honored place in the garden.
r. primula...always the first to bloom here in Socorro. Thousands of light yellow singles on an ever-expanding sky-caned and stoloniferous Unit.
nicole...the legendary red/white bicolor floribunda. This forever rose has an enviable spot here in Socorro, along the South Pasture Fence.
moyesii highdownensis...a huge rose I bought as a collection rose. I grow it. It's big enough, yeah. Tall
moyesii fargesii...another I bought as a collection rose, interesting to note the differences, shorter than highdownensis. Tetraploid, which is the desirable trait most breeders drool over for these old Rose Units. Rare.
oeillet flamand...a Gallica which grows nexto Tricolor De Flandres. A Spotted Rose, making it a rare bird.
cl. cecil brunner...has grown into a he uge rose, am carving out holes in the cottonwood canopy for its benefit.
pink peace...if you have one rose in your garden, maybe it's this one?? Everything you'd want in a rose--size, growth, Out of this world Fragrance
pink one...
party time...a busting rose, very hardy, very colorful r/w bicolor, I knock on wood thinking it's a Forever Rose, but 15 years on, you start to think it.
great century...very light pink, enormous flowers, probably the largest HT. Surprisingly hardy given its parents. Took years for ours to croak.
dr. huey...every established garden has to have a couple Hueys, right? How many plants will give you a substitute to grow should the one you planted croak off, eh?
gypsy...the will to survive is probably the strongest in a rose. the fauna can beat down your will, year after year, before you have to face inevitable truths about certain things. like, jeez, that thing gets no sun. But then a cane'd pop out and there'd be a brilliant orange-red. I loved this rose. It's gone now.
iceberg...now and forever, the windmill rose. White. White. White.
rise 'n shine...Ralph Moore's most famous yellow. This one grows basically beneath Iceberg. Always has anyway. Haven't looked lately.
mitsouko...a Peace offspring from Japan. Looks like Peace, all the same climactic color changes, etc., but distinctly different. Kinda like it.
rio samba...the yellow/orange bicolor, wonderful blinding rose.
brandy...beautimous annual.
ena harkness...red. This unit won't grow and won't die, never claimed real estate, has always bloomt a few red blooms. curious habit to be sure.
summer gardens...a sey12 mini, lived for longer than she ever thought.
sunsprite...the best yellow Floribunda, absolute no doubt about that, none. shut up over there.
perfume delight...Very hardy, grows tall, grows wide, huge pink flaures, extremely fragrant. BWAH!! What's in your garden?
lovers only...the Sean McCann rose. Very hardy, one of the oldest minis I grow. bi bi bicolor, r/w
hurdy gurdy...could never tell the diff between hurdy gurdy and roller coaster and one of em caroaked so the remaining one I know as roller hurdy
roller coaster...see hurdy gurdy
rockin robin, r/w bicolor, call it a florrie, call it a shrub, it don matta ta me. a Forever rose I guess, does its space well. 5 x 5 x 5, something like that.
frau dagmar hartopp...the legendary Rugosa, distinctly Forever. Would smothered pink be the right phrase? Almost. Huge Round Unit.
ferdinand pichard...now where o where did I put this one?
liebeszauber...deep dark HT, a Kordes unit, kinduv orderly growing, perfectly hardy in the cold desert, another Susan K. Ford Rose
bewitched...likes something less than full sun here in NM, too bad, grows 6' tall and wide here, a Forever unit whose flaures get a little toasty most of the time
scentimental...the r/w unit that was all the rage around 95 or so, many came after. none too eager to bloom or rebloom, always sparse, though rather pretty sometimes. a real runt, that's a fact.
pink radiance...one of the twin towers, a real sky rose. forgot which was which a long time ago, has never mattered. one of em died to the ground a few years back but surprise, surprise, came back in 2004. Is rebuilding, allegedly.
uk pink...yep. one of the twin towers (see Pink Radiance above), virtual twins.
r. foetida...long the cornerstone rose in this garden, one I lived by. A busting rose, huge in every respect, just huge: fragrance, bloom, stature. Then one year, POOF!, all died. The legendary Yellow Single popped up the next year about 8' away with a single cane, that's all that's left. Did I say the huey beneath survived?
harison's yellow...a double descendant of R. Foetida, came west, young man, followed the pioneers. Same color as R. Foetida, although not as vigorous as R. Foetida has always been. Harison's grows next to where R. Foetida once owned real estate, so I'm not left completely yellowless in that general area.
lullaby...don't remember it.
happy...happy not. was a Cathy Beyer rose I don't rmemba eva blooming.
sharon's delight...sometimes called the miniature Sally Holmes, but this says nothing about the Elegance of this Sweet White Single Rose. Simply mah valous. Ralph Moore changed the classification from miniature to shrub shortly after its release.
touch of class...Without any doubt the Sexiest HT. Coral Pink, all kindsa shades all around that color. Throws 10' canes regularly, puts the most awesome flaures on top of em.
miss flippens...got this one the year of intro, I can tell you it's a tough unit not bothered by winter or the most invasive tall grass. A redred mini, large flowers.
galaxy...grows near Miss Flippens, a more modern mini, gives no points to Miss Flip or any other red rose. Squat, round bush perfectly at home in the cold desert with lotsa tall grass trying to eat it all the time. Love those red blooms.
sparks...liked/grew this little climber for a season. red. didn't like me, didn't like something.
Katherine Zeimet...the white Polyantha, bout the size of Galaxy, its red neighbor. Winter nor heat nor anything else bothers this Rio Grande flooded rose.
audrey hepburn...what a beauty, p/w bicolor, unfortunately not tolerant of harsh winters, which is what breaks most breakable roses around here.
freedom's ring...the cheap catalogs have sold this r/w bicolor for years. Mine didn't survive.
paul mccartney...the dude got a good rose. Bushy vigorous bush, huge extreeeemely fragrant Pink Units. delovely.
garden party...this bi/tricolor descendant of Peace and Granada, I think, is just the most beautiful rose, but the coldest winter will reduce it to twigs, that's wha happent.
reichsprasident von hindenberg...looks like a Peony. looked like a Peony. a Pink Peony. The canopy kilt it, died a slow det over many years.
blue skies...another I grew for years, a Griffith Buck rose. One of its parents was Peace, was a great rose I'd though impervious to winter. Alas.
tropicana...yep, have grown this one on the front fence for 20 years. and you want to know what about it?
miss all american beauty...aka some hoity toity name, but the results are the same: huge deep pink flowers on a 12' impenetrable skycaning bush, the cold desert has never made it flinch although the 20 year canopy is taking its toll in a big way.
honor...Miss All American Beauty's nextdoor neighba, the white HT standard. If you can find a better white, bully for you indeed, I never found it.

chicago peace...all the superlatives of the prev. 4 roses. a huge bush which puts out arguably the prettiest roses on Earth. All the colors of Peace, only more vivid.
betty prior...6' tall, 10' wide, that's what you're looking at if you give this pink floribunda a shance. Today's floribundas do not look like this floribunda, to be sure. If this isn't rightly a shrub rose, I don't know what a shrub rose would be. Often called the bloomingest rose, don't know if that's true, nor do I care--it's true enough for me.
bonica...don't be sucked in by "Super Bonica," go for the original. Pink powderpuffs absolutely smother the 6-7' mounding plant if you give it what it likes. It will rebloom if you deadhead the thousands of blooms, otherwise you will have ten million hips which I must say are very tasty!
oklahoma...the hands-down greatest-selling deep dark red HT, absolutely hardy, as Forever as they get. I have two--one I planted bout 20 years ago, and one my mom planted a decade or two before that.
kordes perfecta...I've seen it written that this one was for exhibitors only, but I grew it for years and never considered it in any way different from any other rose. A few times over the years I saw a bloom that'd maybe fall within the realm of its description, but that was rare rare--if you sneezed on this rose, it would wince and curl, you hear what I'm sayin?
magic carrousel...I've actually heard people say the bush was too big for a mini, but a rose is what is is, and this one's a r/w bicolor that anybody but a fool would want.
granada... Sexy and alluring r/y bicolor with shiny wavy leaves which enable you to identify it without any blooms at all. One of my first and still with us.
golden sunblaze...used to have quite the number of the sunblaze units, this one was nice, its longevity was lacking.
tennessee?...I thought, yeah, I'll grow Tennessee, I like Tennessee, trouble was Tennessee didn't like me. or something. quickly dead and gone.
candy sunblaze...oh candy, candy, one of the finest Sunblaze units. Like roses made of frosting, look totally gobbleable.
snow sunblaze...it was white, yeah. a mini. white.
wedded bliss...the cornerstone lp mini guarding the bridge over the ditch. a climber, really--some 6-7' canes. can't imagine it ever not being here. Very tough, extremely adaptable, tolerable of conditions I'd sometimes call torturous.
schoeners nutkana...the species hybrid, almost luminous quite large 5-petalled units with bright contrasting stamens. Blooms once, year in, year out.
figurine...ice-skaters pink. perfect form, a rather diminutive plant. semi-hardy (meaning it's liable to survive for a few years and surprise you, like it did me).
fimbriata...the storied fimbriated-petalled white to light pink "Hybrid Rugosa," which some think isn't Rugosa at all. What other people thought of the heritage of this 8' foot caned wonder child never mattered much to me. The winter combined with the encroaching canopy one year and kilt it.
ingrid bergman...distinctive bloomed deep dark red HT, form not prissy, keeping it off the radar of most exhibitors. Rather tame, upright, 5-6'. Lotsa stuff.
pristine...showstopping huge killer lp HT roses. Will stometimes throw a 10' cane and pump everything it has into a single bloom on top. canes can double as battle-axes.
sympathie...this was the back-door climber for the first 5 years or so, would throw 15' laterals. under the phrase "deep, dark" and the category "red roses" you will find this unit near the top.
mercedes gallart...the year 2006 and Mercedes is still popping out November canes by my back door. Anything's possible when it comes to roses. Hopelessly canopied spring to frost, every year I wonder if I would kill it if I moved it. Probably would.
guinee...you and I both have read this is the blackest red. I've seen Oklahoma darker than I ever saw this Guinee, which I've grown twice. Says right on the wrapper: "tender." heheh
sally holmes...different character entirely from Iceberg, but these are 1, 2 in the white florrie domain, no doubt about that. The buds on Sally are flesh pink. If I ever lost Sally, part of me would die, to be sure.
harlekin...I'm sure Cathy Beyer would smile if she knew this climber is still with us in the living world. The hose rose, grows underneath the south kitchen window, nexto the spigot. pink white bicolor, awesome new bright red leaves. don't know what the canopy will do to this rose 5 years down the road, or next year even, but then, life is always uncertain.
pink rambler...bought as __ Denoyel, mislabelled, has bright pink/red blooms that please me enough. As with Harlekin, Sally Holmes, and Mercedes, its future is uncertain. Still rambling in 2005.
marijke koopman...will continue singing praise to Marijke despite its new residence in Deadville. Unique op rose, orderly 5-6' grower.
pink sunblaze...for a couple years the first blooming rose around here, I remember that. This mini was planted practically up against the south foundation of this 2-story house, as much of an experiment as anything. All things must pass.
leda...when Leda goes, I suspect it'll be about time for me as well. It's as Forever a rose as exists around here. Is now growing with half a score of canes or more in my irrigation ditch--10' south--which virtually assures its continued existence until somebody--not me--comes along and eradicates it. Its 12' ball shape has been canopied into...something different in its original location. It's thinner, in other words. White to light pink blooms by the hundreds.
sunsprite...hands down best and I think, the most beautiful, yellow floribunda. Upright growth to 7-8'. As tough as they come, not a wimp, as can be said of many yellow florries.
girl scout...Gene Boerner floribunda, 1961 or so. My mom's Girl Scout troop gave her this rose, I think in 1964, and the little runt is still as happy as it's ever been in 2006. I like to think that anyway. I moved it from Alamogordo, NM in 1991, has been growin in Socorro since that time. The only Girl Scout Rose known in existence. In the world. There is absolutely NO doubt in my mind there are others, but as the years go by, identifying them becomes more problematic. Isn't that right?
calico...if there was a signature rose for Socorro Roses, it'd have to be this one. More joy has come from its photographic record than any other rose on the plantation. On its last leg, to be sure. what to do, what to do. About it.
shreveport...Calico's o/p grandiflora neighbor for 15 years or more. tot.
the yeoman...a Stephen F. Austin runt, neighbor of Calico and Shreveport since just about Day 1. big flaures, always delovely, has a distinct distaste for pecan trees, which you might say are killing it. I'd definitely say that.
eclipse...ancient 1930s single yellow HT, this one came from my mom's, xplanted here in 1991.
caribia...one of the most striking roses on the planet, yellow and orange striper, upright growth to 7-8', extremely thorny unit. a Spring-Hill rose, been growing here bout 15 years.
scarlet moss...the reddest miniature moss rose, just brilliant, and very shiny leathery foliage. a victim, like so many others planted in the front and side yards, of the encroaching pecan canopy. still with us in 2006. In its heyday a 4 footer.
lynne anderson...self-made tree rose. an original hackroot, quickly lost all but the main cane, with which it has pumped out roses for a dozen years easy, probably more. still that one cane in 2006.
hansa...the grape juice purple Rugosa, never the vigorous fool I've heard described elsewhere, but still uniquely grape juice purple.
caramel creme...from Spring-Hill, another butterscotch shaded HT like no other. Croaked after a long life.
savannah...another from Spring-Hill, orangey and ditto the fate of Caramel Creme.
royal william...named Diana's, Princess of Wales, child, though unofficially, only a fool would think otherwise. Red red, great form, big, hugely fragrant.
climbing talisman...red, gold, yellow, orange bicolor. heheh. one of the best roses in the world, still climbing 2006.
trigintipetala...a Damask Rose, used in the mfg. of rose oil. Scads of small pink flaures, impossible to convey the beauty of this thing here.
soleil d'or...gold and sun, the first yellow HT, close descendant of R. foetida. Does not much resemble a modern HT in any way, but there you are. Grows upright to 8-10', some canes will die back in the winter, but overall, not too bothered by winter in the high cold desert.
variegata di bologna...one of the first r/w stripers, blumen by the tausends, wildly vigorous given a steady sun supply, nearly thornless. A Bourbon or Hybrid Perpetual Rose, I forget which. Not a modern rose, that's the point.
fragrant cloud...a red/orange unit, more orange than red, huge flaures, hugely fragrant. Planted in 87 or so, occasionally disappears from the face of the planet, then magicuhhhlee reappears, grows, puts on a few blum. a real character.
olympiad...Sam McGredy's wondrous red. Tolerates the canopy better than most, still looks surprisingly good, all things considered, in the year 2006. To see a bunch of red over there anymore is really kinduv a good shock to the spirit, we don't get enough of those. Never tire of them, however.
foetida bicolor...Lonnnng appearing on the pages of Socorro Roses, if not the most photogenic rose, then very close. Ours has pleased us with canes of pure yellow reversions, a tendency which has been long celebrated and documented. It's like seeing a Green Flash of the sun, seeing one of these things blow yellow.
nevada...this specimen once Rose of the Month on the pages of the American Rose Society. This mature specimen in full bloom is a sight for which there are no words. Photogenecity approaches R. Foetida Bicolor, nexto which it grows.
carefree wonder...the first of the Quintumvirate to croak off. There were once 5 roses, you see: the previous 2 and the 2 which follow. Carefree Wonder was the first "modern" Shrub Rose to be tagged as an All American Rose Selection. Luminous pink, shades of white.
raspberry ice...much hoopla over this one, Nicole, and Hannah Gordon. Some misguideds think they're the same rose, but they're all different, I've grown all three. Nicole and Raz Ice are perfectly vital 2006, Nicole being the Luckiest Dog in the Current Era.
dortmund...a lady at the Socorro County Fair once asked what the single cluster of Dortmund were, she didn't even recognize them as roses, that's what I'm sayin. There were so many and they were so bright, and all whith white eyes, she didn't have a clue.
voodoo...big red/orange units on a bush which grows to gigantic proportions given half a chance. It's actually past time to move the one, but the other, the northside Voodoo, still dependably blooms, although very much noticeably thinned. More austere. If it keeps doing that, that's all it needs to do.
sunny june...lived 5-10 years, surprised the hell out of me, I suspected much less. 5 petalled single.
lights of broadway...ah yeah, lights. the sparkling hole. planted with the next 3 in the same hole, grew well despite the already growing encroachment of The Canopy. Of the Pecan Trees. Rainbows was the sole survivor 2005, I think that one's toast now. I got plentya Rainbows End, lemmetellyou, on the climber out back.
fireworks...bang, bang, it's dead. brilliant little red/yellow for a coupla seasons.
glowing amber...twice the size, or more, of the two Saville Roses and the Ralph Moore Rose which it was planted with, has competitor-killing hugeness of bloom to go with the bright bright red/yellow. hard for any sane person to ignore.
rainbows end...the surprise to me was that it was indeed a miniature rose. hahahaha. not big. If you've ever seen Cl. Rainbows End, then you know where I'm coming from.
keepsake...if this pink could take the cold desert chill, it'd be top notch, but the fact is, it can't. pretty rose for a year or three.
blanc double de coubert...also legendary white Rugosa, fabulously fragrant, growing at the base of one my best pecan trees for 15 years, and still alive in 2006. Not very happy, but hey. I may soon move it, haven't made up my mind.
paris d'yves st.laurent...flesh pink to pink Yves Rose, very unusual cup shaped blooms, very very nice, still making waves 2005, expect it to do the same the next and the next and the next.
sweet surrender...maybe the most fragrant HT. Easterners complain of its disease pronicity, but that's never been a fac tor here. Pink to light pink, 5-6' tall. Needs more sun than it's now getting, to be sure.
dainty bess...how, why it's alive, I'll never know. A study. On its own. Love this rose. How much can he, you say? Pink 5-petalled HT, that in itself a rarity.
city of belfast...certainly one of the brightest roses on the planet, red/orange. just smokin brilliant, one of my faves of all time. I mourned long the day this Sam McGredy Rose returned to its maker.
smoke signals...you gotta love the name. was bought as a lav/brown rose, for the brown collection. I always got it confused with another lav/brown sold by The Mini Rose Garden. They always had several lav/brown roses, my guess is they still do.
r. eglanteria...the eglantine, yes. the apple-scented rose, scratch the leaf, you got apples. Was wild and rampant with about 40 percent sun, I think I finally went over its limit of tolerance. Grows underneat a redbud tree, which grows underneath a coupla pecan trees. Gets sun in the winter, that's about it.
saturnia...cost me plenty to see this one, but was it worth it?, you bet. A shade of Red and some yellow in it, a big HT, sumptuous. Not hardy enough.
slater's crimson china...just a tremendous rose, unique spicy fragrance, tons of it. Buds are crimson, flaures are pink.

lms

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