I just ordered Silver Queen, took a chance, so about 2014, or so, I can be in a position to comment. I note that Dr. Masaryk is grown in Lower Saxony and in Lithuania. I am also researching like mad, in my entire rose library, inheirited from my father, also an OGR addict, and added to by me, to develope a protocol for black spot. I do love rugosas, but I simply am not willing to do without albas and Portlands, not to mention New Dawn and her descendents. Keep in mind that global warming is for reals, weather we like it or not, so zones will continue to get warmer. This winter had one night of -20 temp. and that night all my yard slumbered under 18" of snow cover. Mind, I am not cangratulating myself yet, but we shall see what is left come spring. Right now I am thinking that the squirrels, skunks and other rose munching critters are more damaging than the cold. Except fpr that one night, the rest of the lows never got below -10F, and rarely below 0F, which puts me, for this season, in the colder part of zone 6. I also would like to hear from anyone who can comment on the hardiness of the Loubert offerings. You might like to check out the offerings at High Country Roses. They have a found alba, Jeremiah pink, a climber, Hattie Burton, which looks lovely for our climate, and another climber, Prairie Dawn, from Horvath, which also looks nice.

Hi Ingrid, I just don't know about Bourbons for hot and dry. Maybe some of the Texas folks are growing it and will comment. It seems like the sale is an opportunity to try without too much expense. It really is a beautiful rose. Reading your posts brings a tear to my eye. I always thought roses loved sun and heat. Windeaux, I've actually found that roses "stretch" in shadier conditions so will be interested to see how Appoline does. The Vintage web description led me to believe it would be more compact but could also be a pillar rose so I may try that. SdeVL is great. A very vigorous rose. Diane

I'm not in your zone, so I don't know how large these roses would grow in your area, or if they would bloom in your summer heat. In my no-spray garden the Hybrid Perpetuals get blackspot and drop their leaves. This does not diminish their hardiness. They are slow to mature, but they produce beautiful blooms and make garden worthy roses. Mrs. John Laing is the best repeater amongst my HPs. They don't repeat as well in summer as the Bourbons, (Bourbons are almost continuous here...), so the Hybrid Perpetuls rest a bit in summer. The HPs have lovely fall blooms, but not as full and sumptuous as in spring. The HPs enjoy organic fertilizer and all day sun here, don't know in a warmer zone what their sun requirements would be. The Damask roses form lovely shrubs here and have reliable repeat bloom on the Perpetual varieties. They too get blackspot, however they thrive on organic fertilizers. As with the HPs, I'm not familiar with how these grow in a warm zone.

In case anyone missed the PBS special The Botany of Desire which premiered Wednesday, October 28, 2009, you can still watch the entire program online. It's incredible. Book turned documentary. BOTANY OF DESIRE is a documentary which tells the utterly original story of everyday plants and the way they have domesticated humankind. An interpretation of the relationship between plants and people. This two-hour documentary explores plant evolution and takes viewers from the potato fields of Peru and Idaho, the apple forests of Kazakhstan, and the tulip markets of Amsterdam. View online in it's entirety: here This is another related program by the same presenter on LINK TV (a cable access channel) which is timely: Deep Agriculture Traditional methods of agriculture in most developed nations have long ignored environmental concerns. Factors such as soil erosion, water shortage and the impact of chemicals on bio-systems have been overlooked in favour of massive crop yields and cheaper food. But what impact does this have on our health and our environment? View online in it's entirety: here __________________________ Sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and witness the evolution of an Organic Kitchen Garden.