Congratulations, Anne, you lucky thing :) Thank you, Melissa. That is definitely my tree. What a pretty word -- liquidambar -- and what a mess those prickly balls are. Harbor Rose, how I LOVED Ramona Quimby. Jeezus, Beezus! Thanks for reminding me of that prickly crown!! Kim, thanks again for your input. I've always been a solitary gardener and am just now finding out how helpful different perspectives can be. Lastly, I throw this out there... for what's it worth... just in case... someone is interested. In Garden Open Today by Beverly Nichols there is a section about his copper beech and how he wants to plant rhododendrons beneath it. He digs a trench all the way around it (six feet out) and lines it with concrete blocks. Then he replenishes the "outer" soil with peat and plants the shrubs. Yes, he acknowledges, the roots will creep underneath eventually but that is easily solved: cut them off. He finishes by inviting the reader to come out and see for himself how both the copper beech and the rhododendrons are flourishing. I am not familiar with the varying details of root systems of different trees. Maybe there is something about the copper beech that makes this workable for it but not for all trees. (He does later say he helped other people use this practice in other gardens on other trees.) But it might be something to consider. It doesn't seem too awful of a chore to take a sharp shovel around the outside of the constructed barrier and sever the young roots a couple times a season. That may be a hopelessly naive statement. And Beverly Nichols was, I think, known to exaggerate. Like I said, for what it's worth, for those who don't want to take no for an answer :) This post was edited by Sidos-House on Mon, Feb 11, 13 at 11:23

Lilyfinch- Your roses are going to be beautiful! I have a Lavender Lassie, an Excellenz von Shubert (need a good nickname for her, because she looks like a girl LOL) a small Clothide Soupert (Chloe) and a Gartendirektor Otto Linne (Otto). Not all my roses have nicknames, but these are still so small, their names are bigger than they are! Also have a Celsiana, Bleu Magenta, Trier, Madame Plantier, two Belle de Crecy, two President de Seize, two Therese Bugnet, four Snow Pavement (these are so cute, but kind of wild looking) a Darlow's Enigma, two Veilchenblau, four John Cabot (on sale at Lowe's) a Lyda rose, two Golden Wings, two Indigo, a Baby Tausendschon (baby) and I bought six bare root roses last month! 2 Fairy, 2 Nearly Wild and 2 Robusta. At the time, I thought some of the roses were going into the kitchen garden. So, lots of roses (mostly purchased last year) and that's not even counting the ones I've given to my mom...which are 2 Fantin Latours (which I love, but they're not doing well with our cold wind) 2 Ispahan, 2 Zephrine Drouhin (which did not like my location, but love it up at my mom's) and a William Lobb. I would have kept that one, but my mom fell in love with it (as it was blooming when it arrived) so it's now one of her favorites. She has David Austin roses, which are beautiful, but I'm starting to realize that anything that isn't zone 2, 3 or a very hardy 4 is going to need winter protection, in my garden. Normally, I probably wouldn't be able to list my roses, but since I've been trying to draw a plan as to how to fit them all into my front bed, fairy garden and little bed under the plum trees...I have them all written down, in front of me :) Calamity J- 1/2 an acre? I'm sure you're just getting started! I'm always amazed as to how many roses people have on the rose forums, and in much less space. Kay- Your roses are lovely and I can see why you want more! How wonderful to be in a warm climate and be able to grow so many...and they bloom so early! On greenthumb- It's fun to try new plants and so nice that you have the room. As you get more plants, you may find that you're donating some back, to make room for your new favorites :)

Yes, Brandy is a hybrid tea (HT) and its an absolutely gorgeous rose. Just water, water, water. Resist the urge to fertilize - its having a little transplant shock and that's to be expected in this heat wave.

I've spent the last three years trying to grow roses in a deer and rabbit infested neighborhood and I can vouch for Liquid Fence. I spritz down my rose bushes with Bonida hot pepper wax spray, then sprinkle on powdered Liquid Fence or Bonida Go Away powder. After a couple of applications it sort of sinks into the leaves and doesn't wash off even in rainstorms. It's expensive, however, and I'm only planning to use it until my roses are big and well established enough to survive being munched. I've avoided rugosas because they can be invasive and I don't want to be responsible for a local eco disaster. It does seem to me that the less attractive a rose is to me, the more the animals leave it alone. I couldn't keep them off my Iceberg and Braveheart roses, but they couldn't be bothered with my miniature Popcorn or my Canadian Explorers Alexander Mackenzie and Simon Fraser. I do have one gorgeous climber, a Dublin Bay, that they've never tried to eat, but I don't know whether it's the rose itself or the fact that it's located next to a porch light.