Ken,

It's a classy rose, and yours is grown to perfection.

Your experience shows that it pays to take a chance on a questionable rose. It can prove the critics of it wrong.

Moses

I love Distant Drums and it's fragrance. It's been a healthy grower in Dallas, Tx and in my Mom's garden in Kansas City, Mo. I especially like its myrrh-like scent.

Ken,

Would you please give some stats on Distant Drums: height, width, flower form, fragrance description and intensity level, bloom holding power, winter hardiness, etc.

Do the flowers come one to a stem in hybrid tea fashion, as they seem to in your photo?

Thanks!

Moses

Lovely Ken, isn't that color amazing? Thanks for spreading the word about this wonderful variety.

I've grown a grafted plant for 5 or 6 years and it does pretty well. Typically it's snow-line hardy, some years I've lost bit more, but it's vigorous enough to re-establish a nice full bush by mid summer. It's gets to about 3 1/2' high, a bit more upright than a flori, but bushier than a HT. Nice dark foliage.

By contrast, my Mom who lives about 60 miles south in Z6, had 2 own root DDs that never grew more than a foot and a half high, spindly, frail. I think one is still alive, she's maybe seen 1 or 2 blooms per year in 5 years.

Moses, I wanted to add that while I don't bring cut roses indoors roses much, this is one of my hubby's favorites to take into work, he keeps a bud vase on his desk and reports that these last several days.

Such a beautiful rose, Ken, love your pictures!

Lovely overall rose shot photo!

Ken your bush is so lovely.

I want mine to stay small but for me, this rose lost the most canes this past winter, but it was its first winter. I hope it toughens up. It was also slow to leaf out this spring compared to others:

Same experience here as totoro's. I had great success with Earth Song, got a little carried away and ordered two distant drums last year on the Dr. One promptly died on me, and the other died back almost to the ground. A little surprising given it is supposed to be hardy.

Not very blackspot resistant either. I will see how it does this year, but so far it is not very hardy, not vigorous and not blackspot resistant. Another Buck's rose that underwhelmed is Carefree Beauty. CB was shovel pruned last week. Fours years is enough a trial period for any rose. Hope DD does better in the next 2 or 3 years

I am issuing death threats to the poor thing now... Hope it scares it into shape, hahaha..

Simply beautiful! I love DD. Yours looks so beautiful. I agree with farmerduck.

Farmerduck,

I thought I was the only one on earth that found Carefree Beauty to be a dud of a rose.

I was dumb enough to plant 4 of them as the tallest bushes at the back of my wide rose bed. Talk about disappointment!

They black spotted right up there with the worst of the touchiest hybrid teas.

Never gaining any height, they cascaded toward the ground, especially under the weight of the blooms held on their weak stems.

The bloom's form, somewhat tossled, I thought at first was OK, but after a while it irritated me.

Their 'bended knee' flowers were obscured by the shorter roses in front of them! It looked like a big gap along the fence.

Winter hardiness was mediocre too...not tip hardy like Quietness, Buck's best rose.

Needless to say, the four Carefree Beautys have been long gone.

Moses

I had DD for several years & always liked the color & bloom shape although the fragrance is not one of my favorites. Unfortunately did not like my z4 winters & died on me after 4 years

Distant Drums has been a winner for me, surviving our (SoCal) drought of the last few years, blooming happily in spite of my neglect. In my garden I'd say the bush is maybe 4' tall, 3' wide. I've never noticed the myrrh fragrance, or much of any fragrance. It's always been very clean and disease-free.

The distinctive thing about DD is something I've never been able to decide whether I like or don't like - the tan color in the center that lasts for a couple days as the flowers are opening. It doesn't really match the various shades of pink in the rest of the flower, but it is unique! I don't have a good shot of the color or I'd post it. You can see it just starting in the center of the flower in Ken's close-up photo.

I enjoy all the color changes DD goes through from bud to spent bloom, and it lasts several days in a vase. Overall I really love this rose.

Wow it's gorgeous!!

Picture perfect!!

So beautiful I love it!!