Wow! What a beauty. I have always been fond of the Kordes roses, but this little princess is something special. She was a band that I ordered from Heirloom and was in perfect condition when she arrived. She even showed up at my home with a lovely little bud. I have only had this rose for a little over a week and am really impressed. As the new kid on the block, (only 18 inches tall) she has held her head up and lived through a couple of mid 90s days in Antioch, , , hot and blistery sun. Her bloom is still in perfect shape 7 days later. The color is a beautiful shade of salmon and the petals are as pretty as a picture. The blossom flattens out slightly making her a very unique shape. And her petals are (as my god daughter said) ruffled. She is a little similar in shape to my beautiful camellias. This is a very young plant and I am looking forward to her maturing. Already she has a lovely fragrance. What else can I say. I AM IMPRESSED!!
Thank you for giving me hope for this rose The plant of 'Savannah' I received from Chamblees has so far showed no interest in growing at all. Meanwhile 'Zaide', from the same order, is growing and blooming. Both are planted near each other, in locations which have 6-8 hrs. of sun daily.
How is your Savannah doing? Mine in the shade are growing in Z8, which was 100 degrees yesterday in mid-September. The ones in the sun have been in the ground for a couple months longer without a bloom so far.
I really think it needs warmth and a long growing season.
It remains a mollycoddled, pampered spoilt baby, about 18" tall, which has not happened to feel up to blooming this year, 1916. In contrast, little "Benny Lopez", also at about 18", has produced three separate and spectacular flushes, despite being overshadowed by that thug, Duchess de Rohan.
Oh no, sorry to hear that! And I thought it was my direct sun that she didn't like. I prefer purple tones but bought Savannah for her reported heat tolerance. My shaded ones are growing but have only had one flower on each bush so far. It was a very bright coral pink, not dusky at all for me. Thanks for your thoughts!
Savannah has now produced one bloom which is distinguished by a nice green vegetative center. I do hope this not going to become a habit.
Reply
#6 posted
today by
Unregistered Guest
I've had the same green center with several blooms, seems to happen more in cooler weather. But here in Fremont, CA, it does great, shoots up to 6-7' so it does need support. I actually love that normally the blooms finish with that unique green center when fully open.Only downside is that in our alkaline clay soil (used to be ocean bed), there is minimal scent. But that is par for the course. I've had to replace/re-home over 30 roses to find a few with decent scent. All my favorites in the east coast acid soil (MA & MD) either have no scent or smell terribly of anise.
I've had the same green center with several blooms, seems to happen more in cooler weather. But here in Fremont, CA, it does great, shoots up to 6-7' so it does need support. I actually love that normally the blooms finish with that unique green center when fully open. Only downside is that in our alkaline clay soil (used to be ocean bed), there is minimal scent. But that is par for the course. I've had to replace/re-home over 30 roses to find a few with decent scent. All my favorites in the east coast acid soil (MA & MD) either have no scent or smell terribly of anise.(reposting as wasn't signed in before)
My observations mirror those expressed by others. In this warm climate this bush will get very big with very long canes.
The flowers are huge and well filled with a warm soft pink. They are so big, in fact, that the canes tend to bend over if not restrained in some way - especially in the rain. Fragrance is very good - on a good day the fragrance will reach out and grab you in the garden. Foliage is pleasing. New growth is red maturing to a mid-dark green and generally in scale with the size of the flowers - though a little more size in the leaf might be desired for athetics.
The soil and water are definitely on the alkaline side - but it does not seem to bother this rose. Nor has it been seriouisly bothered by pests or fungus.
When bent over, the plant tends to break well along the cane. In areas where it gets so tall, it might be a good candidate to grow and train on a fence. The canes are probably not lax enough for pegging, but I'm thinking if you can get the canes trained down enough to have a good horizontal run it would be an impressive display.
This has only been the first year for this plant. It is a budded on multiflora - which often is not a good fit in my garden - but it has worked well for this plant. With so many petals, not sure I will have any pollen to work with, and it may not set hips either. I certainly hope there will be something to work with as there are so many good qualities you would want to work into a breeding program. Gardening in central Texas, USA.
Another year down the road, and this is still a very robust grower. It's decided affinity for putting out long canes (well over my 6 foot frame) makes it a little lanky underneath. As mine is planted in a high bed, it is a definte case of great plant wrong place. The flowers would be best appreciated from the roof of my house!. I should also mention that this one can be seriously affected by chili thrips. If it stays cool enought to get the horticultural oils out it keeps them under control (just), but something to keep an eye on if they are a problem in your area.
I live in a hotter climate - Gujarat state of India and have similar observation. This rose gets the thrips very much. Grafted on multiflora. Probably the most thrips affected plant in the garden.
In zone 5, 'Savanna' has been a disappointment. Small, puny bush and scant blooms. I think she will be coming out this spring. I suspect she prefers warmer temps and possibly a looser soil.
Zone 4a, Wyoming. Sticky clay soil with a west facing garden. I got Savannah two years ago from the Walmart clearance rack looking pretty much on death's door. It came back from the brink with a few blooms in a lovely color, but smothered in powdery mildew (it was the only rose in my garden with mildew even though it has a prime location and is less crowded than most roses in my garden). I wasn't thrilled. It died back to the ground over the winter and I was sure it hadn't made it. But a while after the rest of the garden woke up, Savannah started to grow, and has reached a beautiful five feet tall with a steady supply of blooms all summer, not a ton at a time but never without blooms. The mildew hasn't made an appearance and the bush is a nice tidy shape, full, not gangly. So Savannah gets to stay in my garden and I don't really care if it dies back that much if it can recover the way it does. The blooms also last a long time in the vase, making Savannah a good option for gift bouquets.
