Rose verdict for 2008

Here is a quick review on how the new roses did for 2008:
(In order they were planted, all are first year in the ground)

Teasing Georgia:
I must have got the climbing version, because this was everywhere. I have a feeling I will be trying to move it, because it grew away from the wall, and towards the sidewalk. It's growth was lanky, but it is the greenest of the roses now, in January. Between this and the other rose I got at Costco, this one did a lot better. It didn't bloom as much as I hoped, and the blooms where small and sporadic, but maybe next year.

Pat Austen:
This is the second Costco rose. It did the worst. There was very little in the way of growth, and a pitiful show of flowers. The first flush, looked pretty irregular as far as form went. There wasn't much of what I would call a second flush, just a miserly flower here and there. It just never seemed to thrive. I am leaving it in, but I don't have high hopes on it surviving through the years at this rate.

Lunar Mist:
I loved this one. It was very eager to grow, even though my watering habits where a bit sporadic for this rose. It flowered quite profusely, and tripled in height. The flowers were a bit small, but I am use to Hybrid Teas. There wasn't a lot of scent, but the flowers were very pretty. I was away from my plants for about three months in the late summer-fall, and had a non-gardener watching them. When I got back this rose was completely leafless. I was so sad because I thought it was dead due to lack of watering, but the Red Baron peach tree which was located near it had leaf curl and lost it's leaves during the same time. So I wonder if that was the cause. At any rate, it is putting out a flush of leaves now, and they all seem healthy. Overall I love this plant.

Tamora:
This one was a complete joy! It was never without flowers for most of the summer. Today I spotted another bud on it. I loved bringing them in in bud vases,and the flowers were the largest of any of the varieties I planted this year. Its color was reliable, and consitent throughout the season. There was a slight scent, pleasant and light. Both bushes of Tomora did excellent. I am completely smitten by this rose, and plan on increasing the number that I own.

About the placement of my rosees in the garden:
Roses were grown in USDA zone 9, with hot, arid summers.
I had a Teasing Georgia, Tamora, Pat Austen, and another Tomora along an angled northish facing wall in the garden in that order. No underplantings, except for uninvited burmuda, that we tried to keep unhappy. They were watered regularly and received no fertilizer.
The Lunar Mist was by a East facing wall, again angled so not a true East. It was underplanted with a wild flower mix with bachelar buttons, cosmos, love-in-a-mist and the like, along with a few volunteer pumpkins. It was watered by hand, and not always as often as it should have been. It had never been fertilized.