First flush of the old China antique rose Louis Philippe, shortly after planting at the rancho. A month later, it’s working on getting established, with no new growth or new buds at all. But it’s holding its own, so far, against the bugs and black spot that run riot in late spring. Chinas are the hardiest. This one has been in Texas since the 1830s, collected by Lorenzo de Zavala, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Republic’s first vice president, during his time as Minister to France. He planted it at his home in Lynchburg, near Houston.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 