Velkommen, Jens Munk!

I bought 3 Explorer series shrub roses the first summer we were here. They were all supposed to be Jens Munk - vigorous, pink, VERY fragrant. Two of the shrubs thrived, they have bloomed repeatedly every year, one is lighter pink, one is white - I guess someone was having fun with the tags. I don't mind, they're very pretty.

One little shrub, though, just never seemed to take hold. I'd prune off the dead parts every spring, I'd feed it, I'd coddle. Nothing worked. I resigned myself to thinking this little baby wasn't going to make it. Last year, I pruned severely - down to just 2 stems, about 6" tall. Magic! It grew, a little. It got a few new shoots, it looked pathetic, but less so than it had ever looked before. Today, 6 years later, my sweet little Rosa 'Jens Munk' (Explorer series 1974) bloomed. Ahhh...