'Sterling Silver' rose reviews and comments

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'Sterling Silver' rose Reviews & Comments

Discussion id : 62-665 most recent 25 OCT 12 HIDE POSTS

Initial post 13 MAR 12 by HMF supporting member

goncmg

Why is everyone so HARD on this rose? The color is STILL unequalled, clear light pure lavender. The fragrance is hardcore fresh cut lemons. The variety is almost 60 years old and was the FIRST lavender "modern"......it is absolutely NOT a robust grower, it does get mildew and does get blackspot but actually not much worse than MANY and MOST roses of this color class are far, far weaker. In my opinion it should be classed as a Grandiflora, as it was 1972-74......the blooms are smaller and it just throws up clusters of 3 more than anything..............itr is rated something like 4.3 or 4.9 and I just have to object. I have grown this one in Ohio and No Cal, many plants, many gardens, and it is not an 8.5 but to this DAY there is nothing at all LIKE it, the color is so pure, and the plant is just not as bad as everyone "says"...........yeah, it is sold at Wal-Mart, now, 60 years later! THINK ABOUT THAT! There have been 30 or 70 others of similar color since 1957 which are NOT! It throws basal breaks like crazy, the leaves are deep purple when young, it loves to set hips (for all the amateur hybridizers) and somehow this one has ended up as "the drunk uncle at the wedding" when it truly is a little better than that! It is more available than "Angel Face"! And do not TELL me "Angel Face" does NOT have an ugly bush that grows lop-sided and does NOT blackspot like a fiend!

Reply #1 of 12 posted 14 MAR 12 by HMF supporting member

Nastarana

I have always liked Stirling Silver. Jusr how hardy do you think it is? Ohio could be zone 5 or 6. I yanked out Angel Face for being a mildew magnet in CA. AF is pretty, but there seem to be much better lavender roses around.	REPLY

Reply #2 of 12 posted 15 MAR 12 by HMF supporting member

goncmg

Hi Nastarana! I think Sterling is in the lower 50% of hardiness but being 60 years old and lavender I give it some points. Have grown it for 30 years in Ohio which is 6a and have never lost one in any sort of "normal" winter (83-84 and 84-85 and 89-90 were just brutal with lows -20+)......I love Angel Face but as I wrote, everyone just "hates" (or allegedly hates) Sterling Silver and yet Angel Face gets so much credit when in my experience it blackspots horribly, mildews horribly, is very unique for sure, but on top of disease the plant grows lop-sided and gangly.....what do you think of Lady X?????? I think it was far ahead of its class in disease resistance, probably the first lavender that actually had some true resistance and really stood alone until in my opinion,m, Fragrant Plum in 1990 and then Neptune in 2004 is really good for me............but Lady X does have a wan almost sickly color (con?) but lovely form (pro) in my experience MORE tender than Silver (con)................

Reply #3 of 12 posted 9 JUL 12 by StrawChicago heavy clay zone 5

Thank you, goncmg, for another truthful post. I once grew Angel Face and hated it - mediocre scent. I saws Sterling Silver at Walmart, zone 5a, for $7. If I had known about its great scent, I would had bought it. Upon reading the description of Sterling Silver, someone mentioned that it does well in North Virginia soil - reported to be alkaline clay. The picture of Sterling Silver shows VERY dark-green leaves, which is one indication of doing well in alkalinity. Peace is a parent of Sterling Silver, and Peace was my best performer in alkaline clay soil.

Reply #4 of 12 posted 24 OCT 12 by Ariel7

Reading through the posts here, I wonder if I have Sterling Silver. That is what the tag said it was, when I bought it at Lowe's. But I wonder? Descriptions of SS say it's short, about two feet, thorn-free, lavender/silver in color.

My plant is tall, 4-5 feet, and thorny. It is exceptionally vigorous, even in Texas heat. The blooms have a lovely citrus scent, not exceptionally strong, but definitely there, I would say 6 out of 10. The blooms are a lovely lavender, no trace of pink, but then this plant is in full sun, with 10 or more hours of sunlight a day.

Reply #5 of 12 posted 24 OCT 12 by HMF supporting member

goncmg

Hi Ariel...did you check out the pictures on Helpmefind and try to compare them? Or do you have any pictures to post of your plant? Sterling Silver CAN get tall, this would not be unusual in your climate. Generally SS has a notably strong old rose/citrus scent....SS tends to cluster bloom despite being classed as a HT....SS has dark leaves that are semi-glossy....SS is not thorn free but it is smoother: if your rose is very thorny it might not be SS...........very interesting.....all the discount houses/mega centers are notorious for buying up weak leftovers from the growers and packing them up with labels that surprisingly often have absolutely nothing at all to do what what the plant actually is. If yours isn't SS at least the color seems to be correct! I have a Gold Medal (Home Depot) that was supposed to be Cherish (coral pink and smaller plant)....in the late 80's I bought what I thought was 49-er (red/yellow bicolor) at a Woolworth in Columbus....it turned out to be Sheer Bliss (white or near white) which was the patented, current big award winner that year!

Reply #6 of 12 posted 24 OCT 12 by Ariel7

Thank you for your quick response, goncmg!

Yes to all your points: this rose is 4-5 feet tall, soft lilac color, tends to cluster bloom, and has a citrus scent. Yes, I have been reading on several sites, including here, and the blooms look like SS to me, my only wonder is the size and thorns. You are undoubtedly right, this rose might be taller in Texas because of the long season(March-December) and many sunny days. I would not say this is a very thorny rose, but the thorns are large, and I have to be careful when I'm working around it. It has as many thorns as say, HT "Honor."

The blooms are between 4-5 inches, luxurious, and smell delicious.

Reply #7 of 12 posted 24 OCT 12 by HMF supporting member

goncmg

Hi Ariel! The pic you attached was a little small for my eyes, lol, but the name BLUE NILE came to mind the moment I saw the large size of the bloom....SS tends to have smaller to medium sized blooms and the blooms open somewhat cupped. Tough to say it is or isn't but the size of the bloom did bring Blue Nile to mind....check it out on here?	REPLY

Reply #8 of 12 posted 24 OCT 12 by Ariel7

Wow! You could be right! The form of the bloom I have is much more "classic HT" than most pictures of SS. Yes, this could be Blue Nile. Thank you so much!	REPLY

Reply #9 of 12 posted 25 OCT 12 by HMF supporting member

goncmg

My pleasure, Ariel! I actually do think it is Blue Nile---also because I have seen Blue Nile out in some of he home goods stores recently to boot.....only way to figure it out: buy another Sterling Silver!! :-)	REPLY

Reply #11 of 12 posted 25 OCT 12 by Ariel7

LOL, Goncmg! As if I need another reason to plant still MORE roses! :-) I have done more reading since yesterday. I think you are right, this is Blue Nile, not Sterling Silver. The plant is far too large, armed with thorns, and an extremely prolific grower.	REPLY

Reply #10 of 12 posted 25 OCT 12 by Don H

There is one unmistakable test for identifying Sterling Silver - the scent. If you have it you will know it. As for accurately assessing performance you need to grow a virus-indexed copy of Sterling Silver - which are NOT sold at the big-box stores.	REPLY

Reply #12 of 12 posted 25 OCT 12 by Ariel7

Hello Don!

That's interesting--differentiate by scent. Could that work? Here are descriptions of three roses here on HMF:

Sterling Silver-"Lavender. Strong, citrus, fruity, sweet fragrance. Large, double (17-25 petals) bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season.
Glossy foliage.
Height of 2' (60 cm)"

Blue Nile--"Mauve or purple blend. Strong, citrus, fruity, tea fragrance. Average diameter 5". Large, full (26-40 petals), borne mostly solitary, classic hybrid tea, exhibition, high-centered bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season. Ovoid buds.
Tall, spreading, upright. Large, dark green foliage."

Neptune--"Lavender, light purple blending, purple edges. Strong, citrus, rose, sweet fragrance. 34 to 45 petals. Average diameter 5". Large, full (26-40 petals), borne mostly solitary, cluster-flowered, in small clusters bloom form. Blooms in flushes throughout the season.
Medium, armed with thorns / prickles, upright. Large, semi-glossy, medium green foliage.
Height of 4' to 5' (120 to 150 cm)."

All three have similar scent descriptions. Is it possible that SS is stronger than the other two? I think I can rule out Neptune, as my rose's bloom have never had purple edges. There is distinct purple on the outside of the buds, but never when the bloom begins to open.

On the basis of height, my rose fits the Blue Nile description much more closely Also, SS is not supposed to very prickly, but rather smooth. My plant is definitely armed with large thorns. Am I assuming incorrectly that Blue Nile has thorns?

Don, you bring up an interesting point, and YES, I believe that you are correct. I can't possibly judge the natural habit of this plant that has been grafted onto some other rose's roots, but would that effect thorn production? That's interesting. Because of course, you are right, it would effect height, wouldn't it.

Last year I discovered a new source for healthy roses. We were visiting Portland, Oregon, and my husband and I decided to visit Heirloom Gardens, somewhat south of that city. What a grand day that was! It started me on a whole different view of roses. Of course! Own root! They will be so much healthier! So of course we selected 13 roses to ship home, which I planted in August, of all times, but which even in the Texas heat have done spectacularly well. And of course I ordered nine more roses, which I have planted, and which are also doing extremely well, some even blooming although they are still babies. So, 22 roses later, here I am planning my next batch of roses to plant next March...own root from Heirloom, of course.

As I said, I don't need any more reasons to buy more roses. :-)

Don, thank you so much for your response, I will think about what you said. That mystery "SS" is the only rose in my garden I have been uncertain of, as the rest of my earlier plantings came from Jackson and Perkins, and were correctly identified. I really appreciate your input, thanks.