My favorite new HT this year has been Welcome Home. Its buds open as a pale yellow with a hint of apricot inside, then opens into a lovely, large light yellow flower. It doesn't have much scent, and it is thorny (the thorns are small, but there are a gazillion of them. I do spray for blackspot (this is North Carolina - we have roses that get more blackspot and roses that get less blackspot, but NO roses that don't get any blackspot), but it has had very healthy leaves. It's now almost 4.5' tall after being a bareroot start in March. It's planted near my Bella Rosa, and I think the yellows compliment each other well.

All that your soil will need is lots of organic matter. The fungi that develop the mycorrhizal relationships with plants need a soil well endowed with organic matter and without that they will not live very long.

Here's one for you, and it's sleek too! The whole family could use it, but it probably should be washed between uses. Here is a link that might be useful: Healthy gadget

JESS: Thank you for the pics. & neat info. about Badger .. I really enjoy learning about the animals in South Africa. One cup of chicken manure per bush is TOO MUCH. In a British rose forum, a lady burnt her roses by using chicken manure once a month. In my cold zone, I use chicken manure VERY SMALL amount when the temp is cool & rainy. Folks use Rose-Tone (has chicken manure) once a month for roses in pots. But that has only 1/6 chicken manure. I would use only 1/2 cup, 1 cup would be too salty. I killed a rose by mixing 1/2 cup of chicken manure in the planting hole. When chicken manure touches the root, it kills the root, best to dilute ONLY 1/2 cup with soil before spreading around the bush. I started a new thread, "10/30/15: Bad habits, good habits, rose & health tips, recipes." http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3473294/m=3/10-30-15-bad-habits-good-habits-rose-and-health-tips-recipes