Tess wants to live

Tess of the D'Urbervilles was on her last legs. Too long in spent compost and too much sun.
I cut her down to sticks, repotted her and put her into A&E about three weeks ago.
She's fully recovered!
It's always worth giving an ailing rose a chance before you dump them

 

Go girl Tess! Hang on to her because she's been discontinued.

 

Cancel culture!
She's awful particular. Maybe that's why.

 

I must admit I gave my Tess a final warning last year. She’s never really thrived and doesn’t seem to like being trained, I find her branches quite stiff and easily snapped as soon as they are long enough to tie in.

Anyway, after a stern talking too and a large dollop of homemade compost last Autumn, I promptly forgot about her so she’s been left to do her own thing. Of course, she now has more flowers than she’s ever had previously, although her foliage is still ropey to say the least.

A stay of execution, especially as I now feel slightly sentimental as she’s now discontinued

 

It does seem like it’s all the proper reds which are disappearing, as glorious Munstead Wood is also no more

 

Dublin Bay and deep secret are also deep red, beautifully scented PITAs

 

I read somewhere that deep, dark red roses are prone to fungal diseases. This was my experience with one, a beautiful deep, dark red rose whose flowers were rotting from when the buds began to open. I tried everything and it never produced a healthy rose in years, though the rest of the bush looked healthy. I was looking at some roses in a nursery and noticed that the deep dark red rose that caught my eye didn't have a healthy looking rose on it, they were all rotting. A beautiful colour, but I wonder if there is something in their ancestors that makes them prone to fungus and rot?

 

The fact there are none in the current DA catalogue suggests you may be right @groundbeetle
They have got some reds, but they are either very bright orangey red or, at least to me, a purple-red

I have an unidentified deep red hybrid tea rose, very healthy foliage and flowers with the most fabulous scent. So some must have robust genes, maybe just not the more fashionable bush roses or climbers

 

@BB3 , I have an unknown deep red hybrid tea which I suspect might be Deep Secret. Fabulously healthy and fabulous scent but I must admit, I’m not keen on the habit of hybrid tea roses

My MIL has Dublin Bay and it is a PITA, no scent either

 

@Butterfly6 our DB has a wonderful scent - if you have a ladder..
Deep Secret is a beautiful rose with an amazing scent. I planted it out a couple of years ago. It wasn't happy in a container. Several large blooms so far this year. I think we've reached a compromise.
Why do I anthropomise roses? I don't think I do it with any other plant - apart from Bob the Boston Fern - but he is pushing 40 so that's allowed.

 

MIL’s rose definitely hasn’t got a scent so maybe it isn’t DB? It dies insist on reaching for the stars though.

I’m always anthroprimising plants and have quite clear ideas of which are boys or girls when the name doesn’t dictate. Always makes my OH laugh but it seems quite obvious to me.