"Water is the best fertilizer" -- Sure is! And we are getting less and less of it. We did have some unusual cold this winter, and the few HPs and Damask Perpetuals LOVED that. I think it was even good for the Teas. But when the rain stopped far too early we knew we were in trouble. Ingrid, MY list may or may not be helpful to you -- because though we share sandy soil and drought -- we are still markedly cooler than you, over all. And our air is more humid. We do best with Teas and Chinas -- and when I say that, I mean that those roses do some of their best blooming here during the late Fall, the Winter, and early Spring. When things get hot and dry, they shut down. And I think that's one reason so many of them have survived with no care. 'Mme. Lambard' bloomed almost without a pause through Fall, Winter, and into spring. She had one big hurrah, and went bloomless, and I thought to see nothing more from her, for a while. But, deadheaded, she is now covered with new red growth, buds, and opening blooms. De la Vina Mystery, if you could get it, might work. Mons. Tillier, Rosette Delizy, Mutabilis, Archduke Charles FOR SURE, Grandmother's Hat FOR SURE. Mme. Berkeley, whose bloom schedule matches Mme. Lambard pretty well. Old Town Novato hangs tough. Look for White Surprise, which is amazing. RAGGED ROBIN -- Gotta have Ragged Robin International Herald Tribune. But the problem, of course (as I said above) is that these roses which are so good FOR ME, here in a coastal climate may not work in Ingrid's desert setting. Kim's list would likely be better for you. Jeri

Daisy, I only had rust once in my garden, and that was a year when it rained pretty steadily from mid-May through mid-June. 'Zephirine Drouhin' got the most tremendous case of rust, defoliated, grew new leaves in the now-dry summer, and that was that. We have no rust this year and mildew is at about normal levels. So we've been luckier than you, enjoying the benefits of increase rain without suffering any of the drawbacks. The spring certainly was wretched. We've been in Italy since spring 2000, and this is the first year we've had such a mild and moist summer. Local knowledge is probably correct about 'Felicia', but it doesn't hurt to have one's own opinion. Of all my Hybrid Musks this is the least prosperous, although no plant of it grows down in the shade garden where the Hybrid Musks do so well. So it hasn't really had a fair trial in my garden. It sure does smell good. Perhaps I ought to look into finding a place for a plant of it down there. Laura, I'm glad you enjoyed my post, and were inspired to look up some roses! I got so caught up in my own eloquence that I forgot to add that I wanted other gardeners to write in about roses in their gardens: varieties that aren't terribly well known and that they've fallen in love with or are feeling particularly enthusiastic about. Spread the word about their finds. Melissa

Boy you all are so busy, I want to fertilize, and I did that in the very early early spring with milorganite. I was told that the milorganite needs to be put down early, well before seeing any scapes. So glad I read all this, I was thinking about putting more milorganite down, but now I won't. I did pump water from the lake twice this summer, and it may be my imagination, but the daylilies seem to start new growth after a few days. The lake water must be good for them, probably better than what I get from my well. I also use the fish emulsion, mix it up in a large bucket and then use a watering can!! A lot of work, but it gives me the opportunity to inspect every single daylily!!! And I like to do that. I think I will use the fish emulsion this weekend,( I already have some ) as we also have recently had some much needed rain. I watered from the lake a few weeks ago, and then again one week ago, and I am seeing some rebloom scapes!!! They seem to come out of nowhere. I will try the Neptunes, thanks for the link Rita. cindy

You're looking at this wrong, brand labeling etc isn't a factor. Type used and NPK ratio are. (type used i.e water soluble, granular, etc) Water soluble fertilizers are a waste of money, time and effort and are way less efficient then a slow releasing granular. With that being said, water soluble fertilizers do have their place tho, and can be effective when you just want to apply a little boost during flowering (P and K) or possibly correct a little nitrogen deficiency with N, or encourage a transplant with root growth and provide P. In short there is no best and water soluble fertilizers should be used in addition to a main fertilizer, mainly as a supplement. As far as fertilizers go. most soil tests show that Nitrogen is really the only thing ever lacking. So technically the best would be anything with high nitrogen i.e NPK 30, 0, 0, or 30, 30, 30 because you can't really over dose on P and K. We know this because P and K can be found in soils with excess amounts and it doesn't cause any negative effects.