Savannah, GA 8b

Okay, so I have a soft spot in my heart for this rose because it was my first one that I planted and the first one in my initial shipment of 7 roses bloom. And it bloomed a lot when I first planted it. It’s also really cute and has a really beautiful color. I also like how little this bush is. So for all of these reasons, I wish I could give it 5 stars.

Now, with that said, I find that the photo and description on the website are totally different from the rose I received (except for the size, which is accurate). For starters, not a single bloom even remotely resembled the photo. This is an apricot rose with some yellow hints towards the middle. It doesn’t have even a hint of the true pink in this photo and has far fewer petals. I did find a picture on the Heirloom site that does actually look exactly like the rose I received and that is the second picture on the Apricot Candy listing that shows two roses, one with an exposed yellow button. That’s identical to my blooms, however I know that I didn’t accidentally receive Apricot Candy because of the dramatic size difference. The other thing that is really disappointing about this rose is the amount of black spot it has. I just can’t get rid of the black spot for long, no matter what I try!! I keep the area clean and free of debris, it gets plenty of airflow, since it’s right next to my front path and the nearby roses don’t have any black spot. I’ve tried everything. I’ve used neem, daconil, rose rx, and a few other sprays, and it seems to get better, and then WHAM, the whole thing is out of control again. I got so desperate at one point, that I defoliated the entire bush (it was dropping its leaves anyway and I wanted to be sure I kept the diseased leaves from blowing over to other roses) and sprayed the bare canes and then sprayed it again when the leaves started opening and I thought “A-HA! I’ve fixed it!!” And then 2 weeks later, it was totally covered in black spot again. So frustrating!! So, while this is a really cute rose and I do love it, I really do not recommend it for the hot, humid southern east coast. Luckily, with Covid, I’ve had lots of spare time to dedicate to babying this plant, but under normal circumstances, I feel like it would have died. (Oh, I’ve also been dealing with die back on the canes. I’m honestly surprised it’s made it this far.) Maybe I should dig it up and stick it in a pot with sterile soil on my pool deck. I’ll do that in a couple weeks when it gets a bit warmer at night. Wish me luck.

I purchased two of these wonderful roses this past April. I planted both in large pots and placed them on my deck. Six months later both were 2 1/2-3 feet tall and full of blooms. The color is spectacular and the fragrance is sweet. In one short season, Caribbean Breeze has become one of my absolute favorite roses (I currently have over 250 roses).

I received two plants this spring and planted them in two large containers on my deck. Six months later both are about 2 1/2 feet tall and constantly in bloom. The blooms are big and beautiful. Nice fragrance too. I have many, many rose of all different classes and Caribbean Breeze is now one of my very favorites.

I received my one gallon rose less than a week ago-followed planting instructions to the letter. CB has greened up, got new foliage. I wasn't sure the little bud the plant arrived with would survive, but it has BLOOMED!