Jim, I worry that we have a limited window of opportunity to save the old ones that are proven survivors here. I think last summer's drought really may have been an impetus for the mites to move to additional (better watered roses). Barbara, About five years ago there was RRD on a rose in Chesterfield, which (I think) is to your east. That one probably had the vector mites move in on a coal car bound for the shipyards in Norfolk. Often, I've seen RRD along raillines coming out of states with established RRD and also along interstates. The airpressure of big moving vehicles can (I think) carry the mites along into new territory. Jim, Pruning a rose to be a tight mass of canes is a habit I'm trying really hard to break. With James Galway...it was magnficent. Big vase shaped. I couldn't see through it. I Freakin' well knew better, but I thought that it had a chance. NOPE. IT was too dense and it slowed air currents too well and it got RRD on two canes, and one of those rubbed against another and that one was showing symptoms by the time I noticed it. My current working rule: if I can't see through a rose, I need to remove more canes. And in my garden there is one mite vector time in late April through early June and another in fall, when temps drop below 85 days. Melissa, Palustris' photo is self selling. Turner's Crimson is that wonderful, and it gets that way easily. The one summer we had good rainfall through summer, mine also had fall rebloom. The leaves have that "I'm so healthy that all HTs should envy me" look. My garden seldom has PM; the late easter freeze two years ago TCR had it bad, but so did everything else. I've seen it get PM on the buds when grown in the shade of a hemlock tree (the tree was winning the fight), but it should love your hill side. Sammy, Round up damage looks the same all over the bush. ALL the leaves are stunted. RRD doesn't infect the bush instantaneously and older sick parts are even uglier than newly infected areas. The vector mites can infect and move on. They don't over winter in soil, but in bracts in the leaf axils. The disease is in the hollows of the phloem and xylem of the rose, as well as in cells. But unless that disease is spread into phloem cells of another stem, the disease won't spread. Somewhere in the e-book is a detail about the length of the stylet, the feeding apparatus of the vector mite, and how it must bite undifferentiated meristem (meristem is where the rose actively grows) to get the disease into the phloem. I have watched the disease spread down a cane. awesomely wierd. It definitely fits the phloem transport as its first method of spread in the plant. When we remove canes, I sterilize the blade parts of our secateurs and leave them exposed to air overnight. I don't think the handles are going to spread this (I would be more careful of spread if I were dealing with crown gall or some of the bacterial diseases that are easily spread.) I don't destroy neighbor roses...I so far have caught the disease early in my garden and have gotten it before it spreads. The wiltpruf may work as a way to confuse the mites. They land on leaves- don't recognize the leaves as being roses, and move on.

Patricia, I think you are correct. :-) Heavens, Ann, if that wasn't a tornado, it was at least a micro burst. We have a lot of micro bursts here. Knocks down trees, rips off roofs, all sorts of damage. Michael, they forecast and report our weather from the Greenville/Spartanburg airport which is at least 30 miles from us and their reports of rain fall, high temps, low temps, any of it, rarely reflects what is actually going on in our area. The east side of Spartanburg has had several inches of rain and some sections of the west side have had rain but it has been very scattered. It seems like the same areas get rain over and over and the same areas stay dry. So not fair. We really have had bad luck in the rain department this year. About 3 years ago it was the opposite. It seemed like a rain cloud hung over our house for months. It rained every day and would be dry half a mile from us. Jean, maybe you could sacrifice manbearpig?? We got our water bill....yikes!! Carol

How many more nurseries will we lose?? In this economy more than likely a few more before it's done. I felt when I was closing Ashdown everyone was doing what they could to support us. But when someone loses their job, is worried about losing it or has their retirement income slashed they simply cannot buy roses. And during this recession that was a lot of people. I got quite a few emails from long time customers saying they would love to place an order but couldn't because someone in the household lost their job etc. I never felt bitter or whatever simply because people werent ordering from us. I knew for many they simply couldnt and that was that. So sadly during the recession when people simply cannot afford luxuries like roses we will lose more nurseries just like we will lost more independent book stores, small restaurants etc. So whats the solution regarding roses? To me Mendocino hinted on it when she talked about cataloging collections via groups likes HRF. These days with the Internet a collection can be a virtual collection as much as be a physical one in one place. A database of what roses are in what gardens is IMO just as valuable a collection as a physical garden. How you can you help? Keep records of where your roses come from and when the database comes into existence make sure you register your collection no matter what size it is. I also think it future we may see hybrids of non-profit rose garden/nurseries emerge. As with any business the more you can diversify your income streams the better. A garden is in a position to do so. End of the day some nurseries will pull through this and some wont. And when the economy recovers some new ones will start up again to replace the ones like mine that had to close. In the meantime if you can purchase roses from the ones that remain do so. If you cannot thats okay too. We are all rose lovers regardless. Roses were here long before any of us put foot on this earth and they will be here long after us. They have an incredible ability to constantly reinvent themselves. Paul

Hi Jeff, Steve Bost contacted me in the late fall and sent me seeds in December. You have to be patient. This is not his day job. He won't send seeds in the mail while the temps are freezing and you might have missed the window of opportunity for those this year anyway. They need to be cold stratified for a number of months before they break dormancy. Mine have been in the frig since December. They still show no signs of sprouting but given the weather conditions this year, that is okay if they take their time. I do not know if their foundation offers plants in the spring. That might be your best bet now if they do. Margie