Monday, February 28, 2011

Rose of the Month: 'Our Lady of Guadalupe'

In my opinion 'Our Lady of Guadalupe'  is one of the nicest relatively recently bred pink Floribundas out there. I am growing three of them in the front yard since a couple of years. What fascinates me the most about this rose is the silvery shine of the cool pink colored flowers. Somehow the flowers have a very elegant overall appearance that I don't find in such a distinguished way in any other pink Floribunda that I know of.

(you can click on the photos to enlarge)

 

General Information:

'Our Lady of Guadalupe' was bred by Keith Zary, United States, in 2000. It is classified as a pink blend Floribunda. The pointed, ovoid buds start out a darker pink at first and then open into light pink colored flowers that have a size of 3". The back of the petals is a darker pink whereas the inner side is a light pink. The flowers come in clusters of 3 - 10 blooms. The fragrance is described as mild and sweet. This rose blooms in flushes throughout the growing season.


The rose is vigorous, but does not get too large, in average 3 feet high. Usually the plant grows into a nicely formed round bush. The leaves have a dark green glossy color, which contrasts nicely with the light pink flowers. The rose is described as disease resistant, but occasionally it can have problems with black spot.



 
Personal experience:
 
My 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' roses grew very well from the moment I planted them in the ground. In general this rose has been proven itself to be healthy in my organic/no-spray San Diego garden, but it had some problems with powdery mildew at times, when there was a lot of pressure from this disease. I have not had any problems with black spot, but this fungal disease is not very prominent in Southern California anyway. It is not one of the first roses to bloom in spring, but when it gets started it is hard to stop.

The repeat is very good and quick. It appears to me that it is a heavy feeder and appreciates to be fertilized on a regular base, but this is no surprise considering how fast it produces a new cycle of blooms. I think of 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' as a very charming and elegant little rose, that fits well in the front of a border or general in a smaller garden. The latter is a huge advantage in my opinion, because most of the roses become so overly large in the Southern California growing conditions, that they are hard to tame. It very often creates an impression of abundance, which is important to me especially in the front yard, since it is particular small and any rose that I plant there really needs to have an impact.

 

The flowers of 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' are good for cutting and last an average time in the vase and on the bush. One year I had it combined with pink dianthus, which looked nice, but after a while I got first of all bored by all the pink and secondly I felt it looked a little bit too pink, too barbie-like (all Barbie-fans, please forgive me). Most of the dianthus succumbed to a fungal disease and needed to be removed, which I was not too sad about because it forced me to change the bed. So this year I planted some salvias 'Black & Blue' and hope the contrast between the black and blue flowers of the salvia will tone down the sweetness and cuteness of the pink roses a little bit and balance it hopefully out nicely. One color combination that worked out well was to accompany 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' with 'Burgundy Iceberg' (see photo below).


One drawback that I recognized in my yard is, that the rose is not producing many basal canes, which of course is something that a Rosarian is always looking for. My 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' roses are grafted and I assume, that they are budded on Dr. Huey rootstock. All of my roses are planted with the bud union below the ground. That should encourage them to grow on their own roots and therefore to produce even more basal canes. But it is simply not happening with 'Our Lady of Guadalup'. Since quite a while now I have the suspicion that roses grafted on Dr. Huey do not produce basal canes well in my yard. I have no explanation for this and for sure I have to observe it a little longer, but this is my impression so far.



Two of my 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' roses are growing very close to a Pigmy Date Palm. So they have to fight a very strong root competition with the palm roots and therefore competition for nutrients and water as well. They are also shaded quite a bid from the Pigmy Date Palm fronds, although the photo above indicates otherwise. It was taken in the morning sun and after the palm was severely pruned.  As you can see on the photo the bed is also very narrow with a big footage underground from the wall on the left side, which are really not ideal conditions for a rose to grow, but 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' manages just fine. There is really not more that I can ask from a rose!
 


Close-up of a single bloom with buds. I would rate the fragrance a little bit more intense than just mild. To my nose it is moderate and it suits a light pink rose very well.  



Typical spray of blooms of 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' in various stages of opening. Isn't she a hard to resist beauty?


See you in the garden!

Christina



23 comments:

  1. Interesting post and nice to see some roses when I've just pruned mine and they are looking very stark. I'm a Christina too, hi!

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  2. What a beautiful rose, in shape and color and since it has a nice scent too, that makes it all the more beautiful to me.

    Thank you for sharing this lovely rose with us.

    FlowerLady

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  3. Your pics of this rose look really beautiful, with its darker back and lighter fronts. And I'm loving that it stays small. I've learned something new today. Enjoyed the post.

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  4. Christina, she really is a beauty. I've never seen so many photos of her and had no idea she is this pretty. Thanks for her story.

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  5. Christina, thanks for leaving your nice comment regarding this blog post. It is funny that we not only share the same name, but also the same spelling. I clicked on your link and saw that you are having a beautiful garden and are writing a very lovely garden blog! I will visit your blog again, when I have more time!

    Flowerlady, thanks for stopping by again! I am glad, that you liked my post about 'Our Lady of Guadalupe'.

    HolleyGarden, thank you, it makes me happy that you like my photos of 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' and the post.

    Sherry, you are always writing so kind comments! Thank you very much!

    Christina

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  6. meemsnyc, I am glad that you like 'Our Lady of Guadalupe', too!

    Darla, yes, she is for sure a pretty rose!

    Christina

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  7. It is a pretty rose, although I just can't get excited about something that is not really fragrant. You described it very well.

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  8. Christina, what a lovely spread on Our Lady. I have never grown her myself, but she looks like a perfect Lady..

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  9. Not only did I love learning about this beautiful rose (I love learning about some smaller sized roses) but I learned something new. I have roses, and love to grow them but really haven't taken the time to learn much about them. I had no idea about planting the bud union below the ground and that would encourage them to grow on their own roots.

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  10. Masha, I understand that you want fragrance in roses, "big time" :-). For me 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' is beautiful enough to forgive her that she is not very fragrant, but just acceptable fragrant ;-).

    Stephanie, thanks for stopping by again and leaving a comment. I am pleased, that you liked my post.

    Catherine, I am glad that there is some new information about roses for you in my post. You might want to try to plant roses with the bud union below the ground. I feel, that long-term they do better this way and have more vigor. Personally I also like the overall impression of the rose bush better, when the bud union is buried. To me it just looks more natural, but of course that is very much a matter of personal taste.
    Christina

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  11. I had an Our Lady of Guadalupe rose that I lost custody of in a divorce! still looking for another one for my new home, but would like one that is grown in my local Zone to be sure it is ready to withstand our Michigan winters! They are a nice rose because they have beautiful foliage, very few thorns, and resistant to disease so that even when they are not in bloom, they are a beautiful plant. I may have to sneek over to my Ex's and dig it up! lol

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  12. Unknown, unfortunately I have no idea, if 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' can survive a Michigan winter, but in my opinion this rose is certainly worth a try! Good luck!

    Christina

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  13. Hi Christina!

    This rose is absolutely divine!!! Thank you for sharing such lovely photos of your garden! This year, I used non organic fertilizer - and when I did, I only used a fraction of the amount because I was afraid it would burn them. But I think that my roses might have needed an extra dose since it responded well when I fertilized it again!

    With that said, I am going to start fertilizing/feeding my blooms with organic products, such as the ones you suggested in your iceberg post. My question is, what is considered "fertilizing regularly?" Do you mean once per season, or once every 8 weeks, etc.? Also, do you fertilize them full strength (based on the instructions on the box) or less? Thanks again for your help! Sorry if I am asking way too many questions. I just adore your garden and would love to have something half as lovely one day! :)


    Best,
    Jessie

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  14. Jessie, I am glad that you like 'Our Lady of Guadalupe'. It certainly is a lovely modern floribunda, which repeats incredible quick.
    With artificial fertilizer you can easily overdo it, so you strictly should stick to the suggested amount on the package. When I was still using artificial fertilizers I found that the suggested amounts of the companies that produce them can even be too high. Since I am fertilizing completely organically my roses are much healthier. In general they seem to be able to defend powdery mildew much better. I am happy that you consider to switch to organic fertilizers, too. They are so much more healthy for the environment and in my opinion the roses do better on them as well.
    Regular fertilizing means for me to start with the first application after the winter pruning as soon as the temperatures warm up, the second after the spring flush, the third after the summer flush and depending on the rose variety even a fourth time after the third flush. That would happen in an ideal world in our climate :-)! In my garden I always make sure that I do the first fertilizing after pruning and I try hard to fertilize again after the spring flush. Often I don't get to the third and fourth round with all my roses. Many of them bloom anyway, but not as prolific as when they get regularly fertilized. Please keep in mind that this regimen works if you use exclusively organic fertilizers.They don't last as long and are not as strong as the artificial ones, so you need to apply them more frequently. Hope this helps! I am sure you will have a lovely rose garden in no time. Usually they are easy to grow in our climate.

    Christina

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  15. Hi Christina!

    I admire your devotion, garden and 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' all together!
    Your story came out while I was looking for information about this particular rose. I did this reseach on behalf of a very pational and professional rose gardener from Latvia (easten EU) - Jānis Uzulnieks.
    Hi wishes to create a garden in honor of all Mothers and believes that 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' should stay there.
    I am originally from Latvia, now live in Canada and I would like to help him, but I've learnt that Jackson & Perkins do not ship their plants outside of U.S.A. anymore and 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' is not available from the sellers who ship internationally.
    Sorry to bother You, just three branches of the rose, mailed to Latvia, might help him make his dream true.

    Best regards,
    Marina

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  16. Hi Marina, I like the idea of creating a rose garden in honor of all mothers and would like to help, but unfortunately I am afraid I can't for the following reasons. Firstly I am pretty sure that Jackson & Perkins is holding the patent for 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' so it is illegal to take cuttings from this rose. I don't know about Latvia, but you can't just import roses to the US. To prevent bringing pests and diseases from other countries in, all plants have to go through a quarantine, which is an expensive and time consuming process, which to my knowledge is only done by professional growers that want to import roses.
    You said that Jackson & Perkins is not shipping roses anymore outside of the US, but that sounds like they have done it before. Maybe there are other rose retailers in Europe that have and sell this rose there. My best advice would be to contact either the national rose society in Latvia if they have one or other European rose societies with the question of how to obtain this rose. Wishing your friend good luck!

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    1. Christina, thanks a lot for your answer!
      I bought some lilas, here in Montreal, at the garden center back in 2005. But, sadly, Jackson & Perkins went through bankruptcy, changing owners and moving to another state. Sanitary certificate costs $30 and is available from certified sellers, only Jackson & Perkins is not there anymore, at least it looks so from some negative feedback at Dave's Garden net.
      'Our Lady of Guadalupe' is not available elsewhere, I've called them about retailers...
      'National rose society in Latvia' - sounds more like a dream, though there are some roses of Latvian selection and I had one - 'Lidia Freimane' long ago (beautiful and fragrant but completely covered by thorns). Roses in Latvia survive grace to enthusiasts like J. Uzulnieks, who keeps by himself a collection of some 1500 species
      Thanks a lot for care and good luck with puppies!

      Sincerely,
      Marina

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  17. I just ordered this rose on line. I only like to grow roses with fragrance, and reviews say this rose has a good level of fragrance. Looking forward to seeing how she does.

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    1. Mary, as I wrote this rose has a certain level of fragrance to my nose, but I wouldn't rate it as strong. Hope 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' does well for you and you are happy with it!

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  18. Any idea where to find this rose? I have one older budded Our Lady that after being moved is kind of wearing out. I also have two that are own root but they grow very small and are slow. I ordered two of these two years ago from Jackson and Perkins. They came in very bad shape and died soon after. I never lose roses so I am hesitant to ordPr from them again. Any suggestions of where to get these? Jackson and Perkins is not the same as it used to be. I'm in Zone 9 California where these do wonderfully.

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  19. Just called Jackson Perkins and I was interested in purchasing this rose, however the lady on the phone suggested I not purchase since I am zone 10(91789) because it is not heat tolerant. I plan on planting in a container since I am renting. Any thoughts? I also wanted a Pope John Paul rose.... she suggested I don’t. I’m a first timer :-)

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