Burling says she is sold out of 'GC' now, but plans to have plants available in the fall.

@comtessedelacouche (10b S.Australia: hotdryMedclimate) The pink blooms are an un-named hybrid I made many years ago - a cross of 'Joycie' and 'Fortune's Double Yellow':

"Pink Phoenix"

That's great news - thanks, Paul! I didn't see it on Burling's rose availability list, so I didn't think to ask her. I should know better: Burling is amazing.

Ooh, thanks John, I'll take a look at those pics soon.

Paul - my apologies - I was referring to what LOOKED to me last night like pink buds all over the GC - not to those pink blooms on the right... I realise now I must have been looking at your photos in the evening, when I have my pinkish anti-blue light filter on! Now of course, in daylight, I see the buds aren't pink at all but more like a healthy free-range egg-yolk yellow/orange! (Note to self: do not look at roses through a pink filter and expect to see their true colours...) :-)

Goodness me, John - those pictures are even more stunning than I expected! I love the informal old fashioned bloom forms and variable colours. And now I'm back to seeing pink buds, and pink streaks in the early stages of the blooms unfolding, with washes of pink remaining on the outer guard petals, particularly in some of the first group of pics.

Your garden looks amazing - I love the close together planting making everything look so lush and wild and beautiful - no doubt belying the enormous amount of time and effort it must take to maintain that air of casual gorgeousness... :-)

--OFF TOPIC HOUZZ WEIRDNESS--

Sorry to interrupt! Totally off topic here, but am I showing up with Jeri's photo on any of your computers? Yesterday I was Ingrid on Sheila's TEA thread.

When I simultaneously open this post in another window, too, things get even weirder. I see Comtesse as Sheila and Sheila as Seil! What the ??!??!

Carol (not Ingrid or Jeri)

Carol, I started a thread yesterday about that very issue.

The LATEST Houzz weirdness: wrong profile pix on threads

Thanks, John! I missed it somehow. Darn! I just dropped another post into the forum about the same topic. Hmmm. Let's see. How the heck do delete my post in this crazy mixed up world of HOUZZ? This is too surreal! Carol

Back on topic, that rose is spectacular! Shame I don't have the room for it anywhere in my house, or else I'd ask for cuttings! ;)

I grew Golden Century 30 years ago in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, zone 8. It was a wonderful rose in that climate, very healthy, though many others got Black Spot, It grew to 6 or 7 feet and the bloom was lush, much like Pauld describes. Don't know where you can get it now. There was a miniature rose nursery in Chilliwack, BC that had it, but they don't list it any more. I would grow it again if I could find it.

Rick

I have young starts of 'Golden Century' available in the spring.

Any guess as to hardiness?

USDA zone 6b is the likely coldest it will tolerate.

Dang it.

Side note, I bought a Marianne yesterday! Excited for it.

Let's hope you get the correct rose. Many, sadly, have not in recent times.

Magpie, You could try Jeanne Lajoie, which is hardy to zone 4B. It's quite impressive as a miniature climber. Check HMF. Diane

Diane, I consider it every year but it's the complete lack of fragrance that deters me every time.

Here in the PNW, 'Jeanne LaJoie' is tragically blackspot prone. It was usually leafless by the time the first flush was at its peak.

Paul, you might have to put my name on one Golden Century. That rose is spectacular!

Sheila, Golden Century IS spectacular. Sunshine Sally is just AS spectacular, only in yellow. Not a great photo as it's a scan of an old slide I took at Sequoia in 2006 to show the entire plant. Both would be marvelous slip covers for a chain link fence. https://helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.193790

Paul, you have mail, lol.

@magpie Jeanne Lajoie isn't the strongest fragrance but it's definitely there.

J

Joey, That's good to hear! Maybe one day I'll catch it in bloom at the HCR greenhouse and see for myself.

Paul, I would love to get one of your Golden Century plants next spring. It would look great draping over my wall, I think. How do I go about ordering one from you?

Judi I bet that would fit so perfectly into your garden!

Thank you, Magpie! I think too that it would look right at home in my garden. I really love those cascading, lax roses left to mound and drape as they choose.

@judijunebugarizonazn8 email me please (here on Houzz) and we can discuss. If you're in AZ, I can send it now. I'm not taking reservations for what I have next spring - I don't want any complaints "Freedom Gardens" style about what didn't make it through the winter, should that happen.

Paul Barden, I’m not in any hurry to receive my plant of Golden Century, but I am concerned that perhaps messages are not getting delivered to each other. I received one message from you through Houzz but haven’t heard back since I replied to you. Again, I’m not impatient about finalizing the transaction, but I’m concerned that messages aren’t going through… I’m also not hearing from RosaPrimula about an unrelated transaction which makes me think perhaps there’s a glitch in the system. So Paul, if you have been trying to message me through Houzz and I’ve not responded, it’s because I’m not receiving any messages through Houzz just now. Please let me know if this is the case and I can post my personal email if need be for a short time, and then I’ll delete it as soon as you contact me. Thanks. Then again, if you’ve just been busy and haven’t gotten around to replying to my last message, that’s ok too. No hurry. Just want to be sure all is well.

Judi, I'll try sending you a test message. I've been in contact with Paul (not on Houzz), and he's been exceptionally busy recently. But I'll send a message just to make sure something isn't wrong with Houzz...as if, hah!

Paul, I have been looking for Golden Century for years. I would be thrilled to buy one from you. If you have any available, let me know how to pay/how much and I will get payment right in the mail. Thank you!!!

Judith

Good to see you, Judith! Kim

@alameda Hi Judith.

I still have a couple plants of 'Golden Century' left, but they are tiny plants in 3" pots. Well rooted and ready to go, but tiny by commercial standards. You're welcome to one (or two). please message me directly and I will provide instructions. I do PayPal only (but you don't need to have a PayPal account to pay a PayPal invoice). Thanks.

Paul

I bought Rise 'N' Shine on a whim earlier this year. It was supposed to go in a spare pot, then I realised it would get far too big so it has gone into the ground. I am astounded at the number of blooms. At a few weeks in the ground and 8" high it had 19 buds. It's now on its second flush and has even more. The vendor has another Ralph Moore miniature called Sweet Chariot which I'm hoping to find a place for. What's more (oops!) they are both strongly fragrant.

Sweet chariot is a great rose! You should get it. Smiley face I can't believe it's available there!

@titian1 10b Sydney you SHOULD get Sweet Chariot! And, if you are at all interested, learn to bud/graft and root a whip for a standard and make a tree rose out of it. That puts it up where you can SMELL and enjoy it. Sweet Chariot makes one of the most pleasing standards imaginable! Mr. Moore had hanging baskets of the rose down both sides of the long path between the sales and stock plant green houses at Sequoia Nursery. In small pots, Sweet Chariot "weeps" beautifully. He stated he loved smelling it as he walked that path multiple times daily and one morning, it screamed its name to him..."swing low, Sweet Chariot...". In the open ground, it grows like a small multiflora shrub. Either way, it's gorgeous and smells magnificently! Vineyard Song is along those lines, also, though it's larger and less "violet", but just as "stinky"!

@roseseek I remember those hanging baskets of 'Sweet Chariot' at Sequoia Nursery. They were spectacular. This is one of the best roses Ralph created.

My arm's twisted! Not that it needed much. After what you've said, Kim, I'm thinking of putting it in a pot that sits on a wall. I'll invest in some hanging baskets if I can figure out how to attach them to the old stone wall of an old building. I haven't seen Vineyard Song available here.

Vaporvac, I know! I was surprised to see that Rise 'N' Shine was a Ralph Moore. Sorry for the confusion above. I wrongly referred to it as Sparkle 'N' Shine. Have corrected that now. Rise 'N' Shine was introduced here by Rumsey's Nursery - no longer in existence. I visited it in the early 80's when I first got interested in old roses.

Trish

Just went to investigate the old wall. Was concerned about the stone crumbling, but had forgotten that it has brick pillars at intervals stopping it from leaning any further. So, I have hanging spots for three baskets and another spot on a brick pillar by the front gate. So exciting!

@titian1 10b Sydney Roy Rumsey was Ralph Moore's Australian agent for many years. It's how many of the Sequoia creations made it there. Mr. Moore had a thornless multiflora he liked called Rum 10. "Rum" was for Rumsey as he obtained it from him.

If you put Sweet Chariot in pots anywhere, please see about providing automatic watering to prevent water stress. Sweet Chariot is a very good rose and it WILL mildew if subjected to regular water stress. Many roses will, and as many will easily rust, even in conditions which don't support either fungus, when dried out. A friend in San Diego had a Sweet Chariot standard which mildewed terribly in her front patio. Moving it around to the back cleared up the mildew, which had nothing to do with water stress, but did with air circulation and heat levels. Information provided in hopes it may help prevent, or at least alleviate any issues you may encounter. Just be sure to put them where you can easily SMELL them!

Kim, they will be hanging in the courtyard outside my side door. There's plenty of air circulation there, also plenty of sun. No automatic watering but I will use a soil wetter and water them daily thanks to your comment. My children live on my land, so if I'm away, someone will be here to look after them. Trish

John, your Golden Century photos are fantastic! The rose does look so great against Rose de Rescht.

On another note, your Umbra is doing great and I can't wait until Spring!

I had a look at hanging baskets this morning. I'm wondering which type to get - the ones with the coir inserts or a plastic one with a reservoir at the bottom, and of course, no drainage hole. The coir ones dry out very quickly. I could line them with plastic and make some holes so excess water could drain away, but I doubt that the coir would last long either. As for the ones with no drainage hole, I'm concerned the rose could be sitting in water and I wouldn't know. Curiously, there weren't any plastic ones with saucers attached such as I've used in the past. And I've looked online and not been able to find any.

I'd be grateful for guidance! Trish

I'd use the largest you can find and accommodate. Coir holds a lot of water without being water logged. I used wire baskets with the cocoa fiber liners, then lined those with plastic from soil bags and made a drainage hole at the bottom. I filled them with moisture control potting soil containing coir and they're worked very well for Lewisias, fuschias, geraniums, herbs, and such. The only issue with them is the bloody birds pulling out all the cocoa fiber to build their bloody nests. If you're going to be there to water them as needed, I'd stick with the lined ones without the reservoir and no drainage. You don't need the water condensing down and becoming too salty like a soup which has been boiling all day and eventually is too salty to eat.

Thanks for that, Kim. 16" is the biggest I've found.

That's not a bad size. Sequoia's were about 10" but they also had drip tubes and emitters hanging down into them so they were watered automatically. Are you looking locally or on line? Perhaps mail order might provide larger, if desired?

Looking locally and online. Largest I've found are at a local nursery. Relieved to hear that Sequoia's were only 10". 16" with daily watering and plastic on the outside of the coir may be good enough.

The path was also partially covered against full, direct sun by over head tree limbs so the light and heat were mitigated by them. There was also screen or light shade cloth over the pipe fixtures attached to the green house walls to reduce the heat and sun. Visalia can get HOT in summer.

By "coir inserts", do you mean a liner which is then filled with soil and the plant, or a coir mass you plant directly in? If it's just a liner you fill with soil, then line the interior of the liner with plastic with a drain hole in the bottom. It will reduce evaporation from the soil ball through the fiber liner sides and reduce how frequently they must be watered.

The coir insert is then filled with soil. Oh, so the plastic is to go on the inside of the liner? Certainly would look better!

Yes ma'am! I just cut circles out of plastic soil bags and then worked them into lining inside the coir insert, making a hole at the bottom for drainage. The only problem has been birds pulling the insert fibers out to build nests. You can use any potting soil you can find which has coir in it (like the blue bag Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Soil, if you have it there) or even the soil polymer crystals which absorb water. I sincerely doubt you will experience them remaining TOO wet. They're going to be gorgeous! And, remember, Sweet Chariot has a lot of multiflora in it so rooting it is EASY.... hint, hint...

Thank you!

You're welcome!