About shade tolerance, cold climate gardeners rightfully look for Hybrid Musks that are shade tolerant, but if your garden is in a U.S.D.A. zone that is 6B or warmer you can grow roses that re-bloom more often than Hybrid Musks. A group of roses bred from Old Garden Tea roses, crossbred with Noisette roses, bred the group which vintagegardens calls Tea-Noisette. Tea-Noisette are climbing roses that produce lovely, large Tea like roses that blossom from early spring through summer, and on through the autumn. In our organic garden, a few miles east of San Francisco, these 4 Tea-Noisettes, all re-bloom well with only half a days full sunlight, grown on the eastern or western side of a tall building, or tall wooden fence. I cannot speak for disease resistance where you live, but would suggest you look at photos of these roses at helpmefind.com/roses pick a couple you like best, and then post a query on gardenweb, for information on the disease reistance of that rose where you live. Four shade tolerant Tea-Noisettes: 1. 'Crepescule" (6b or warmer) translates as Twilight. A blend of cream, gold, and apricot. I was surprised after we planted this sublime rose against an 8 foot tall wooden fence, that 'Crepescule' quickly proved itself to be every bit as shade tolerant as the Hybrid Musk, 'Cornelia' that we planted beside it on the fence. 2. 'Reve d'Or' ... a golden dream indeed. (6B or warmer) Blossoms are quite round, and have scalloped edges, which gives it a feminine appearance. 3. "Mme Alfred Carriere' 7B or warmer) White with a heart that changes from rose-pink to peach, that seems to light it from within. I'd like my M.A.C. to have a few more petals, but it is a very graceful rose. Not as resistant to powdery mildew, here, as the following rose. 4. California form of 'Lamarque' (7B or warmer) blooms with larger roses than the regular form. Quite disesase resistant to p.m.. but that says nothing of how healthy it would be where you live, where blackspot is the primary problem. In many ways I prefer this rose to M.A.C.., the foliage is darker and has more substance, and it is one of the few roses that reliably blooms after Thanksgiving, here. Nearly all of the small flowered bush types of Noisette bloom well with 6 and 1/2 to 7 hours of sunlight, where Hybrid Teas require 8 hours of full sun. Among these are 'Champneys pink cluster' 'Catos Cluster' pink 'Nastarana' white with pink buds. 'Caroline Marniesse' lovely cherry bud like rosebuds contrast very well with the blossoms. 'Secret Garden Noisette' intensely fragrant. Best wishes for beautiful and healthy roses, Luxrosa Good luck with your roses, Luxrosa

P is an interesting disease. I read a long thing on Google from Oregon State about it. Enough to prove that you are unlikely to get any helpful responses. Proving a plant is infected by P is a lengthy process. And the cure is complex involving water management, chemicals, etc. And proof is complicated by the fact that other things can cause the same symptoms. Roses however are not among the more susceptible plants so there is hope there. I have no ideas what roses I have might be resistant. But Rugosa Alba is an extremely tough rose growing under a variety of adverse condions. I would think that most wild roses would be the same.

I always check the recommended roses list from the local rose society -- a good place to start. I recently read an article that said newer roses are bred for higher disease resistance and longer bloom. Much as I love my Joseph's Coat climber, I think there probably are better multi-color new hybrids out there. I also love Intrigue but it gets leggy for me. The winner for us is Margaret Merrill. It has bloomed almost continually since I put it in the ground in Nov 2004. And I do mean continually -- it has never been out of bloom for more than two weeks at a time, and in total is in bloom almost eleven months out of a calendar year, barely slowing down in winter. And the fragrance is divine, true sweet rose perfume. I have been very disappointed in Gingersnap - great coral color but fades almost immediately to a boring cream; no scent. Since we get fog here and it's been a cold summer, there's no excuse for such poor color from it. Black Cherry has a very faint scent, but striking dark red color with ruffled petals more like a rugosa than a floribunda. I'm surprised more people don't grow shrub roses -- they will bloom even in partial shade, and are great underplanted with rose standards, giving you double bang for the buck. Ladies in Waiting has a medium sweet fragrance, although it makes a poor cut flower. Electric Blanket has won me over because it is simply the toughest, most floriferous little bedding rose ever, and even makes lovely mini-bouquets. The most stunning rose I have ever seen was given to me by a friend who has to jealously guard her roses from ravenous deer. It is Tabu -- a really classic florist's long-stemmed, strongly fragrant, velvety dark red hybrid tea. Tabu and Double Delight are the only hybrid teas I would consider as "must-haves" in the garden!

Sharon: Thanks to your rose list, I remember how impressive that Easy Elegance which I bought at HomeDepot ... there was more blooms than leaves. The pot had large chunk composted pine-bark mixed with soil, well-drained. It also had Osmocote-like blue round tiny pellets mixed in. I suspect those blue-round-pellets have acid (sulfur) to neutralize alkaline tap. I once did a research on trace elements in chemical fertilizers, and Osmocote was the only one THAT DID NOT RESULT IN ANY NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY whatsoever. I didn't recommend Osmocote, since those brown granules didn't work on my herbs in pots. However, that type was discontinued, and there's improved formula in the Osmocote for flowers, NPK 14-14-14, it has a perfect rating on Amazon, can't find a negative review. I tested many chemicals vs. organics in pots. Organics work best for the ground, given microorganism and earthworms to break it down. Chemicals isn't best for clay soil, which retains salt well. Chemicals is instant-food, and work immediately in pots, or well-drained loamy soil. The danger of chemicals is salt-accumulation in pots, esp. with soluble fertilizer. After seeing those blue-round slow-released granules, and tons of blooms on Easy Elegance "Grandma's Blesisng" in a pot ... I'm sold on such, if I can find it. I'm going to test the perfect-rating Oscomote and compare that with organics for pots. I still remember how Sonia Rykiel gave me 15 blooms in a pot, fertilized with MG soluble, plus organics (alfalfa mixed in potting soil). The question is: Are oscomote pH-dependent? Does it require neutral tap, or acidic rain water to break down? The old brown Oscomote that was discontinued, it could not even dissolve in rain water !! I gave MG-soluble to Frederic Mistral in the ground, and he was still stingy. But when I brought the pH of my tap water down with sulfate of potash, plus trace elements in molasses, I got 40+ buds/blooms. My tap water is so alkaline, that MG soluble crystallized at the bottom ... It worked only when I put used lemon to help it dissolve. Below is Liv Tyler in my pH 7.7 clay, mulched with cocoa mulch at pH 5.4, plus horse manure (pH 8), and with rain water (pH 6):