Other than FDH, Delicata is one of my favorites. The shape of the bush is more pleasing. I was thinking I would move our FDH to a sunnier location as mine is only 3.5' X 5' wide. Well, the wrabbits pruned it to 1" but that is another story. Hansa would overwhelm that area and it is very ugly and coarse, but it blooms a lot and has very nasty thorns. It also suckers. I would give FDH another year and pour the water and liquid fish guts to it. Better yet check with some local crazy people. You are in a much warmer Zone than I am and you have a much wider selection of prickles, such as some of the lovely Hybrid Bracteatas Zone 7-9, to choose from. Good luck! Foghorn Here is a link that might be useful: Delicata

Well, my Bubblebath turned out to be mislabelled (I think it's actually Cornelia) so that's not a good data point. I've planted all my bands directly into the ground. I like to order/put them in around September when we start to get decent rain. They go dormant and grown roots all winter, then really take off in the spring. I've planted well over 100 roses this way, and only lost a few (and those looked like the roots were really too tiny for them to have been sold.) It probably all depends on where you live and what your soil & weather conditions are. I put some in later this spring due to some various sales, and they haven't done nearly as well as the fall planted bands. Of course, we've been having ridiculously dry weather--only about 1/3" total rain for the last 3 months, and NOTHING is like rain for watering the plants.

There were a few statements made in here that I would like to explore a bit. One is the idea of fertilizer for Rugosas--is there a special fertilizer for them? It had always been my understanding that Rugosas resented fertilizer; and, in fact, one I planted for my mother in Massachusetts languished for years after my brother, who knew no better, put fertilizer around it. The Rugosa strain is basically a beach rose, that can live in sand dunes by the ocean, so in any but exceptional years, watering would not seem to be a central issue. I realize that many are actually hybrids, though, and that they would vary with the variety. Just as an aside, I have tried Yellow Topaz twice, and was unsuccessful both times. It was simply not vigorous enough to compete with nearby vegetation; it seems to need special handling, such as a whiskey barrel placement to raise it above other plants (although I have never tried that with it), since it is a shorter variety in any case. My main point, though, has to do with Japanese beetles. To my amazement, last summer they left my newly-planted Rugosa, a Hansa (planted to replace one that had been shaded out in another location) alone. Right next to the Hansa, I had positioned a tall three-sided garden arch, probably about ten feet in height, and had trained some rogue grapevines to climb it. This task was necessary, because the trees my grapevines had been climbing in the "wild corner" of my garden had been cut down by the electric company when they were maintaining their right-of-way through the neighborhood. In any case, the Japanese beetles had decimated the grape leaves, but passed right over the rose bush. Those of you that are dedicated rose gardeners and have the space, might want to consider planting a few grape vines on a high trellis as a trap crop. If you have the heart to do it, you could hang a beetle lure inside the trellis. (And if you have ducks, as I once did, and empty the trap into a tub of water, the ducks will happily eat the Japanese beetles! I highly recommend Khaki Campbell ducks, which can lay about 250 eggs per year under optimum conditions, and handily survive in a 6-duck clutch in a straw-carpeted, 4 ft.X 4 ft. enclosed shed in wintertime, without the additional heating arrangements required for chickens). :o)

Make sure they test for Coccidia...sometimes they don't check for that and just look for worms... Yes we will indeed have his stools checked for Coccidia, thanks :o) You know usually stress isn't the cause the diarrhea, it is usually something that was already there and the stress has lowered the immune system just enough to set it loose.... Does that make sense?? yes, totally, the same thing happens with hamsters but mostly Syrians. Syrians get wet tail because something shocks their immune systems when they are moved long distances. The bacteria are there but it doesn't strike them hard until they are stressed. Are his eyes clear and sparkly (no gunk)? his eyes get gooky when he goes out in the bitter cold but otherwise they are clear and no sign of infection, scleras are white throughout Is his nose runny at all...dripping?? No,no drips at all, dry most of the time and cold and damp when he comes in from the cold but dries up again What color are his gums? Should be a nice pink, not too pale.. very nice pink and well hydrated...been checking for that Does he feel extra warm? (normal is around 101º) no, normal How many rounds of shots has he gotten? one round of shots on December 19th In consideration of his breed mix, I would make sure to time his last distemper/parvo vaccination to be given after his 16th week of age (at the same time as his rabies vac). ok...what is the rationalle for that, just curious Did he get a vaccination immediately before you took him home? no, almost a month ago How old did you say he was?? 9 weeks Do keep me posted...I certainly get anxious when I hear the words "sick puppy"...aak! well, I really don't think he's sick with a fever or anything but he could still have something in his stools, so we'll have that checked. He's playing like a kitten, pouncing on sticks and leaves and chasing after toys and generally either getting into trouble or looking for attention...typical puppy stuff. He is napping much better now. He'll nap for a full hour now whereas he was only taking 10 minute cat naps before and crying a lot. Today there was no crying at all and he is back on his food eating about 50/50 steamed rice and dry chow. One thing I thought of was that darn oil tablet the lady gave him at the rescue. I don't know how long she'd been giving it to him but those things are big and I'm sure it was like giving him cod liver oil twice a day. I've discontinued that entirely and today he is having better formed poos and not feeling the urgency to get outside. Ugh! It's a horrid day today... freezing rain so the deck where I was letting him out is thick with ice and the poor thing is terrified. I am too...afraid of falling that is so now I have to trapse him through the garage and out the back garage door onto MORE ice but at least if he falls he will fall only the ground and not off the edge of the deck. I'll pop back in with at "Pupdate" later and let you know what a second slide of his stools shows. Thanks so much, Barb & "Lake" When I foster puppies, I always have my vet tech/or vet if necessary on speed dial!! LOL!! I have the whole routine down...