Rick, I have a similar and yet opposite problem to yours in that I need to choose roses that survive here in my uniquely hot microclimate. I'm in inland San Diego County at about 1800 feet in land that's a sort of semicircle, with another 500 feet of hot, boulder-strewn slope behind us. It traps a lot of heat, and roses like hybrid musks that do well elsewhere have had to be shovel pruned, with the honorable exception of Lavender Dream. Modern purple roses fry to a crisp so they're all gone. I've discarded at least 80 roses, which is a lot since I now have 90 at most. There's a learning curve and others' advice is only partially helpful because my case is somewhat unique. The good news is that you begin to get smarter as you go along (such as your need to know a rose's genetic background as a basis for selection). Armed with the right knowledge you can have a beautiful garden almost anywhere. Abraham Darby failed miserably here too, for obviously different reasons, but I'm having good success with smaller Austins that are own-root. The bigger monsters take up too much space anyway so this works well for me. Climate extremes force you to garden more intelligently, and I think it's a challenge that we can take on and even enjoy. Ingrid

Just to add my 2 cents' worth. I agree with the advice above. I have no experience with Compass, though I here great things. But you may experience some sticker shock with some of the on-line products. I can say in the case of Banner Max, I bought a pint years ago for $70 and still have most of it. It lasts almost forever, because you only use 1/3 teaspoon per gallon of water and use it only bi-weekly for maintenance prevention. Works great for prevention. I agree with Karl about Manzate for curative power. And its fairly cheap. The only down sides are that it washes off in rain and leaves an obvious visible residue on leaves. My recommendation if you're battling existing severe batch of blackspot is to use Bayer Disease Control (tebuconozole is the active ingredient). It can be purchased at Lowe's Garden Centers. I've never seen it at Home Depot or Walmart, though those places sell Bayer All-In-One with the same active ingredient. It's worth it to go to Lowe's and seek out the Disease Control formulation because it will last you much longer for the same money, and because the insecticides and fertilizer in the All-In-One are overkill. I've managed to chemical burn my roses from using that on top of other fertilizer I already had on the roses. Oops. The Immunox and Ortho (Triforine) mentioned are fine products, but they have to be used twice as frequently for the same effect and in the case of Ortho is more toxic. Plus, Bayer has some curative power that the other two don't. It's not only preventive. The only other advice that comes to mind is to watch your sprayers closely as you use it. Make sure the spray stays well-atomized as you spray. I use a cheap simple pump sprayer, and I find the tip often clogs slightly as I use it --probably because I seldom thoroughly rinse it out when I'm don using it. Anyway, Turning the spray adjust knob as I spray keeps it clear and keeps the force and pressure of the spray more or less where I want it. You want to make sure to get good coverage, of course. OK, I'm done stating the obvious. Good luck with that sentimental Tropicana. It certainly is an eye-catching color and strongly fragrant. I had a Peace rose years ago that I initially thought was a hopeless blackspot magnet, but with changes in my spray routine after the first couple years, I never had a significant problem again. Cheers!

Dee, I'm like you...can't get rid of anything blooming or with remote possibility of blooming. I've got pansies in a round shallow container since last year. Lost a couple over winter but most came through and are blooming their little heads off. I'll take the advice to put them out of the way in part shade until Fall. Everybody's got to do what they like in their gardens and containers. I'm still struggling to get Johnny Jump Up seedlings to grow. They're not going to make bloom before heat sets in but they better bloom come Fall. I've just got to remember to keep them cared for until then with all the garden hubbub over next 4-5 months...LOL. Had a Chocolate Eupatorium whose stems kept dying from the bottom up. By the time Fall came around it was trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey but I still couldn't toss it. Moved it to the wasteland at woods edge and it's come back this Spring. Don't know if it'll have same problem or there was something chemical in soil that adversely effected it. As long as it's got a chance I try to find a place for it in the back by the woods. Besides...no critter has eaten it and it's smack in the middle of a "deer, squirrel, rabbit & groundhog" right of way...LOL.

No. Do it now. The flower buds were formed last summer. Root pruning means gowing around the drip line with a shovel and cutting down. This causes the roots inside the drip line to form a denser clump. There aren't many roots that extend out but cutting them off stimulates a better root ball.