I've hunted for years for some roses. I've succeeded in finding most of them, but there are a couple that are still the highest on my list and still the most elusive.
The best mauve rose I ever had was Spellcaster. I bought it about 30 years ago and had it for 10 years before the gophers killed it. I've been looking for a replacement for 20 years without any luck. I don't have any pictures of it of my own because I never had a camera until 2005, and it was long gone by then, but here's a picture from the Just Our Pictures site:
The second rose, Kordes' Jubilee, was the subject of much discussion and admiration in our rose forum when it was the background image on the home page of the Kordes website in 2012. This image was also on the cover of the Kordes catalog that year.
Another picture of the same rose was on the cover of the book celebrating Kordes' 125th anniversary that year.
We all naturally assumed that the rose chosen to commemorate this important jubilee would be marketed widely, but I've never seen it offered at any nursery on this continent. Maybe Star will make it available here now that it has become Kordes' distributor in the United States.
What are the elusive roses you're seeking?
