LOL! what we're talking about is roses, not extremes now. The original intent of my post was to encourage newbies who are just starting out to consider organics as a possiblity. Newbies and those of us who have just 15-25 roses, organics is perfect for us because we have time and energy for the upkeep that organics require. It is a more thoughtful process of research, thinking things through. And even better is when one is able to bring in ladybugs and praying mantis (for those who have larger, open spaces where they can thrive). O.k. now I'm going to start on some interesting articles about the organics as "food for thought". The 2nd link is super interesting! it's a pow-wow of new info for me... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2000/05/03/green.DTL http://www.pesticide.org/factsheets.html#alternatives http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1614 http://www.organicrosecare.org/articles.php I just hope newbies will give organics a chance, that's all. GreenCure and my hot pepper spray are not toxic to me. My hybrid teas are flourishing, they're healthy, and the blooms are still pretty. They're not the tour gardens that DollsandRoses has spent so much time, years of loving care for. She's got a huge beautiful garden and I'm sure the BS is driving her mad with the constant rain. So I would never ever lift a judgmental finger on her for any final decision she makes... For simple me, with a teensy garden, all I want is a garden full of bumblebees, a healthy happy dog who can play frisbee in the grass without fear of cancer, and my roses just the way they are! I would be so happy as long as they continue to grow as well as they have. Last year my dog was not healthy for an entire month, diarrhea and runny stools from grubkiller that already had been rained on 2 days before I let her out to play frisbee in the grass for only 5 minutes. So I do think that synthetic pesticides are just plain out bad news for living creatures. Even Wikipedia warns about Sevin, a very! popular pesticide for roses... Here is the direct link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sevin and here is what it says: Carbaryl is a cholinesterase inhibitor and is toxic to humans. It is classified as a likely human carcinogen by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.)[1] It kills various beneficial insect and crustacean species along with intended pest victims, so care must be taken when spraying where beneficial nontarget species are present. Carbaryl is acutely toxic to honeybees, destroying colonies of bees foraging in an area where the chemical has been applied. Michael, thank you for introducing the more accurate term synthetic chemicals... As Michael refers, the premise is that our organic fungicides and organic repellents (planting of herbs, care of the soil) is earth-friendly... The ingredients are easily broken down and are re-absorbed into the natural cycle and into the soil.

I looked last night but I cannot find any documentation on the variety of crabapple it was. I bought it from Forest Farm nursery and had it sitting in a pot for a year. I planted it out of sympathy not expecting it to take off the way it has. I do remember from making the decision to buy it that is was supposed to get between 8-12 ft., kinda shrubby and had little yellow fruits. I bought it for the fragrance, not the apples. I don't think it was Golden Raindrops. It is now easily 12 feet. It bloomed the first time this spring but very sparsely, and I don't see any fruit set probably due to the plant's struggles with the rust. I've posted a picture so you can see that it is really a specimen plant in the middle of an urban island. You can see the jupipers next to it on the left. The apple is the little thing staked to the pencil thin stake. The trunk is the size of my wrist now, two years later, and the tree towers over everything in that bed. Also, everything in the bed is now 2-3 times larger. They all looked so cute as babies, lol! The apple is intended for sort of an espalier application. I don't want to shade out my neighbors garden on the other side. The rose on the right I had to tear out as it grew into a behemouth bramble sending out suckers to my yard and the neighors, meanwhile not blooming in a very showy way. I've examined my junipers rather closely, I still don't see any galls or anything on them at all. They are not torulosa as I previously stated, I did find documentation on them, they are "Robusta" junpers. They are living up to their name and I would like to keep them that way.

This is a really old post but I’m going to chime in for future readers. Be careful what cultivar you choose - I suggest researching not only disease resistance (they are rated in four categories; fire blight, apple scab, powdery mildew and cedar apple rust), but also their appeal in terms of food for birds. Birds don‘t like the berries of every cultivar out there. I am planting a McIntosh appletree here in zone 5 wisconsin (the tree is sterile) and I need a pollinator tree nearby (McIntosh has white flowers so I will also want a white flowering crabapple as a pollinator tree). My neighbor can’t figure out why his appletree produces no fruit. Now that I’ve planted crabapple he will probably see some apples on his tree! Not all crabapples will be pollinators for my apple tree, but Firebird is one that will be a pollinator. Unfortunately, the birds leave the fruit of the Firebird alone - I did not know this at the time of purchase so I was disappointed after doing more research, however, it was an impulse clearance purchase so I’m ok with it. It‘s a very pretty ornamental tree that the Robins love to nest in as the foliage gives them lots of cover. 2 years in a row now they’ve successfully brooded there. So for disease resistance, Adirondack crabapple rates highly in all 4 categories. But I don’t think it’s a pollinator for my apple tree. ? I wanted it more for its tidy growth habit for a narrow space alongside my house. But the birds will feast on the fruit after it turns mushy after a freeze and thaw, I think. Your local reputable nurseries will will most likely sell the cultivars that are successful in your zone. My favorite nursery in Milwaukee is Minors Garden Center. I’ve been going there for years. Sargent crabapple also has excellent disease resistance and will also act as a pollinator for my apple tree, AND the Birds enjoy its fruit. If I had room I would plant a Golden Raindrops cultivar (susceptible to fireblight however). Birds love the berries. This is not a dwarf variety. Another dwarf variety I will be planting for ornamental purposes, with two flanking my front porch is Cinderella aka Cinzam cultivar. White flowering, and birds love the berries! Adams, Donald Wyman and Red Jewel are three cultivars I’ve read that birds do not eat the fruit, in addition to Firebird as mentioned earlier. Cultivars that fruit and flower only on alternate years are “Bob White," "Evelyn" and "David”. “Spring Snow" and "Prairie Rose“ flower but produce no fruit. Whitnall Park near Franklin / Hales Corners has an abundance of Crabapple varieties and the park has so many wonderful nooks and crannies to explore between the botanical gardens and the Wehr Nature Center (I grew up nearby and explored every part of that park as a kid and fell in love with it).... it’s great for hiking on prairie trails, woodland trails, marshlands, etc., and is spectacular for bird watching with stations in various areas of the marshland trails ... there are streams and waterfalls and I know where to find wild Concord grapes ...it’s just a lovely park overall. If you wanted to see some mature crabapples to get an idea of their overall form and size and growth habit, I would suggest planning a weekend visit there. You wont be disappointed.

Did you read the product label? It is primarily sesame oil, so yes, quite safe to eat - many Asian cuisines use sesame oil extensively. Also has some fish oil included and that might flavor the taste of the skin on developing fruit but should wash off. You do wash your fruit before eating.......??? It is important to understand the disease and its progression to know when and how to treat. Read up on the gymnosporangium rusts - there are several different ones and they affect only certain plants in the rose family but not roses themselves. Horticultural oils - and plant or animal derived oils are included in this grouping - are only moderately effective against these sorts of fungal organisms. You would do better using a registered fungicide at the appropriate time, usually from bud break until the spring weather warms sufficiently. And these are only protective or preventative measures. Once the disease has manifested in the tree, it is too late to do much about it this season. It won't kill the tree but may cause some leaf drop and possible. The fruit itself should be unaffected except for perhaps some skin spotting. The best control is to select and plant disease resistant varieties and to remove any nearby host plants - junipers (often commonly called cedars).