Geesh Mustb, Hot in October? We usually have 4 or so days in the low 90's with a heat index of 85 -87, but most of our days are in the 80's with a lower heat index. One of my favorite times of year in terms of temperature is October. Everyone is out doing everything in October temperatures, and the roses love it too. My Munstead Wood that receives morning sun only stopped blooming here at the peak of summer. The ones in full sun have not, but, they are blooms that I turn a blind eye to ( not very attractive). I received Pretty Jessica bands earlier this year, half of them have "little pink" flowers right now. PAoK is really heat tolerant and has been blooming through the heat. Both of these roses are in full sun. Eyes for You is taking the heat well here too. My Marie Pavie bushes are becoming old enough to make an assessment. I have been impressed with MP too, Noseometer. Another white rose that is bullet proof, but more ideal for front of the border or edging is the polyantha, Little White Pet/White Pet. Little White Pet I had a grafted (D.H.) MAC and Sombrueil many years ago. Back then, I really had not grown climbers, other than Altissimo, and Don Juan. I guess I thought the estimate for their size was a typo.... do not really know what I was thinking, but in less than two years, they both grew into something I was not equipped to handle... I was quite shocked too. Sombreuil was beautiful and poorly placed. I am growing Sombreuil now. All I remember about MAC is that it had long 15'+ thin canes but not a lot of flowers. We are in a perpetual drought and water restrictions have been in force since I moved here 16 years ago. Front lawns became illegal for homes built when the law went into force about 13 years ago, and the restriction continues moving forward. With so many people living here now... about 2 million in the county, adaptations for the climate continues to drive or impact so much of what is done.

YOUR "dry conditions", Melissa, are -- ummm -- outside most gardeners experience. When most of us talk about roses -- once established -- surviving periods of drought -- we're talking about places that do get winter rains, and some moderation of temperatures. Myself, I wouldn't try to grow roses in your conditions -- and if I did, I would have to learn all over again. (But then, if I moved to Wisconsin, or Louisiana, I'd also have to learn all over.) I have learned not to give advice to those whose conditions sound radically different from my own. I plan to stick with that. Let me just say that I have seen old rose plants survive for decades with no care, and no summer water -- living through dry summers in a state of dormancy, and reviving with the onset of winter rain. They may not bloom much, but they have survived. This did not happen in deep desert. It happened in Northern California, in some parts of Southern California, and in the Sierra Foothills. Below, see what such a Tea typically looked like, after a hot dry summer, and before the onset of winter rain. In more recent years, many of those old survivors are disappearing, (I'm fairly sure the one shown below is) as our winter rainy season has diminished. And that's a sad thing.

Hi, everyone. Melissa, I don't know whar our annual rainfall is, nor exactly what kind of rock it is I have mostly. I think it might be the raw material for terracotta though. It is predominantly this very soft rock that in many places literally makes up the only "soil" that is there. It is a total b###h to dig and work this type of earth; as of now I have all the paths covered in mounds of this rock which I've removed in the course of making the beds. Once exposed to the elements, it starts very quickly crumbling into smaller pieces,which in time very gradually will continue to break down until it becomes clay. So I think it's very poor and alkaline. I gave in and watered some of the new implants the other day. Probably not necessary (none were wilting) but I felt so bad for all of the roses. Many have leaves that are turning yellow,so that means they are going dormant. There are a few, very poor quality flowers. I agree, sort of pointless when it's so hot and unpleasent outdoors,you don't want to encourage roses to bloom in July here in Italy at least. IMHO, they just exhaust themselves. Paul Zimmerman said he treats summer as a dormant time for roses, and I think he's right.Contrary to what tourist publicity wants us to think, in reality summer is the beginning of the year's decline. A few years ago, I tried soaker hoses, but gave it up:I'm still changing too much in my garden,it's on such a steep slope that I'm not confident that the water is being distributed evenly, and above all I just don't have enough stored-up water to really SOAK the roses. When I dug up some roses that I had watered artificially to move them, they really did, quite literally, have roots growing UPWARD to the soil surface!So, I stopped . Maybe one day I'll have my act together enough to lay down the hoses under a thick mulch, and use them to distribute water, not with the idea of watering the roses, but only in the spring, with the idea of maintaining the soil moisture as far into the season as possible.This past year, we had good rain during autumn and winter,but the "drought" (I put that in quote after reading about greybird's situation)in April messed things up. regards, bart

I'm a millennial and I blame those cheap orchids you can find about everywhere haha. Most young people today do not have the stability of their own home and backyard to plant roses, many jump from job to job that is just the reality of today. With orchids they can bring them anywhere with them as long as they've got a single rented bedroom with a windowsill. Marketing ploys like "Just add Ice" Orchids really add to their attraction also. Most millennial gardeners I know are really into orchids and they view roses as old school, finicky, and unsightly when not in bloom. Some people I've tried to give cuttings to told me that the thing about roses is that they look awful most of the year and their thorns are ugly. Personally I think orchids are much more difficult getting them to rebloom and such, I kill them all the time somehow. I admit, rose bushes do look unsightly sometimes, but there's nothing like seeing them change with the seasons. The recent drought restrictions in CA also factors in. I've seen many yards just in my neighborhood here remove their roses for rocks and cactus because it seems like all you hear is people shaming others for "wasting" water. Neighbors are encouraged to report each other if they see people not abiding by the restrictions. It sucks when you have a tiny yard to begin with and are being told to water on certain days and during certain hours only because I can't always be home during those times. Landscapers are always knocking on my door offering their "drought tolerant" landscaping services now and meaning people are using their services. I find roses are pretty drought tolerant once they get established so I'm not going to worry about it. Here's the water restrictions for my city. Watering - Exterior Irrigation No watering - between 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. or within 48 hours of measurable rainfall Even numbered addresses - Tuesday and Fridays only Odd numbered addresses - Mondays and Thursdays only Locations without addresses - Monday and Thursdays only Water leaks - must be corrected within 24 hours of discovery/notifications Wasteful running of water/washing with water - unlawful, without reasonable purpose