One of the recommended roses from the Central Florida Rose Society, this 'Cecil Brunner' took a long time to come to bloom, but even in the heat of late July, its blooms are winning. The descriptions of this rose (apparently a climbing sport of a cross between a Tea and a Polyantha) are so varied and contradictory as to make one suspect that there are many different roses sold under the same name.My bush, in any case, has quickly hit eight feet from a cutting I planted in December from Seminole Springs, and finally put out its first small flush of blooms, each absolutely perfect and double, though not deeply. It starts out a nice blush-pink, more intense in the center. Very quickly it picks up a yellow tint, and by the time its completely blown, is distinctly yellow. No one notes this shift in color, which likely means that its just Florida weather affecting the blooms. Many flowers here react to the intensity of the sun and heat unlike they do elsewhere. The scent is, well, a bit odd -- not at all rosey, more spicey, almost a curry. But not unpleasant.
An update: It happens. Sometimes tags get switched at the nursery. I'm convinced, after a bit of research and reflection, that the rose that I bought labeled 'Cecile Brunner' is, in fact, 'Céline Forestier': The blooms are too large (this time of the year) for Cecile (which are nearly miniature), they're too yellow, and they're clearly quartered and deeply cupped. Plus, there's the spicy tea-rose fragrance.
It simply cannot by Cecile, and looking on Seminole Springs' website, the only rose that fits the profile is Celine. I'm not unhappy with the error, as today, in the doldrums, I have a dozen roses in bud, waving madly in the afternoon breezes.
3 comments:
Beautiful! & I am curious about the color change. How much sun does it get and what's the soil pH? In my Florida yard, the blooms changed from pale pink to white. That was in partial shade and neutral soil. I've sinced moved the Cecile Brunner in a landscape re-do, but it languished in its new spot. Just yesterday I cut it back and moved it again. It's now about a foot high, and may decide to bloom again sometime this century after forgiving my horticultural transgressions.
I've never had my soil tested, since things seem to grow well enough in it. Cecil is planted in lots of decayed pine bark mulch, with generous fresh nuggets added every few months. So, given pine bark's acidity, I'd say that it's growing in something like 6 or 5.5.
It's in the back of a bed, along a fence -- I've trained it to grow through some gaps, so it's on both sides of the fence. I'll probably regret that, as the gate is right next to the bush.
Roses are surprisingly forgiving here in Florida, what with our loose sandy soil. I've ripped a number of them unceremoniously from their homes and transplanted them. In one case, a 'Blush Noisette', this rough treatment turned a tepid, pouty rose into a monster of vigor and blooms... So give your Cecil some time. Lots of water, lots of mulch, light liquid fertilizer for the first month or two, then treat it like any other rose...
I planted 3 cecile brunners early this spring on 3 8x6' trellises, now half covered with healthy leaves, but not a bloom in sight.
:(. Other roses around them have outdone themselves with blooms here in chicago. What gives?
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