Greta, I had a very similar problem. It was my first order from Vintage, and my first attempt at teas. Most of my 100+ (maybe 200? I'm afraid to count!)roses are from bands. I generally get them, give them a couple of days of babying in the pot to get over shipping and acclimate a little bit, and then stick them directly in the ground. They've all survived and almost all have flourished until now (some succumbed to other problems, but I've had a very high success rate this way.) Anyway, the stuff from Vintage got here, and of course we had some really nasty cold weather at the same time, so they didn't get put in the ground immediately. Now Lady Hillingdon is almost dead (and may be gone already), and Duchesse de Brabant and Mme Joseph Schwartz are really struggling. Mme Berard is creeping along, but I think she'll be ok. However, Clementina C and G. Nabonnand are doing really well, as are all the other non-teas I got at the same time. It was the bigger bands that seem to be struggling. In my case, I don't think it was the fact that they didn't get in the ground right away; I think it was the screwy weather. The larger bands that are struggling were completely stripped of leaves for mailing. When I got them in the ground, we had a couple of weeks of overcast, misty weather--virtually no direct sun. They were leafing out just fine, then we had a couple of really bright, warm days and those little red new leaves sizzled away to nothing--I think they sunburned since they'd never seen direct sun before. ARRGGHH! The teas that had leaves when I got them got sunburned a little, but weren't hurt as badly and have done just fine. Some teas that I got later that spent a little while in their pots have also done well--it's just those poor guys who got the big weather changes. I think DdB is going to make it, I have high hopes for MmeJS, but I think Lady Hillingdon is toast. Maybe I can give her another chance this fall when it starts to rain again. So don't give up yet--we can always blame the weather!

Those in my garden were planted in direct all day sun. At the time they were planted they were still rather small, smaller than any I sent you. Plant in the garden but don't bother the roots. Do as the following instructions direct and you'll have no problems with transplanting them now. Part time temporary shade during the hottest part of the day won't hurt either. Something like a lawn chair set between the rose and the sun. Planting a potted rose When planting a potted rose bush, care must be taken so soil doesn't fall from the roots or tiny feeder roots will be lost causing the plant to be stressed. You can overcome this problem by doing the following. First prepare the planting hole. Dig it twice as wide and deep as the pot. In the bottom portion of the hole you can mix horse manure or an organic fertilizer with the soil, but no chemical fertilizers. With a sharp razor knife cut the bottom from the pot. Then cut down the two opposite sides of the pot about two inches. Using masking tape secure the two cuts then continue cutting the sides to a point halfway down. Secure these the same as the top cuts were secured. Continue cutting the sides all the way to the bottom. You’ll have a pot in three pieces, two sides and bottom, held together by tape. Holding the bottom, place the pot into the hole. If the bush is a grafted plant, position it so the bud union (swollen knob/graft point from where the canes grow) will be 4-6 inches below the soil surface in cold winter growing zones. If the bush is on its own roots, position it so it’s no more than an inch deeper than in the pot. Slide the bottom from the pot. Pull soil into the hole until it come to the lower tape. Cut the tape on both sides of the pot and continue filling the hole to just under the top tape. Cut the top tape and fill the hole so just the tops of the two pot sides are above the soil. Pull them straight up and complete filling the hole. Do not tamp the soil. Settle it with a hose set to just a trickle so all the water stays on the soil around the bush. There should be a depression around the bush. Add more soil until most of the depression is filled. Until the bush is growing well, water daily soaking the area well. Planted this way, the bush will not know it’s been transplanted and should show no signs of stress. When watering, make sure you apply enough so it gets to the roots. A light sprinkling only wets the surface. This can cause the feeder roots to grow towards the surface. In dry spells the bush will wilt. Watering deep eliminates this problem and causes the roots to grow deep enabling them to better withstand periods of no or little rainfall. A five gallon bucket with a 16D nail hole in the bottom side and filled with water, then placed next to the bush will supply the needed water with no runoff. All the water will soak into the soil at the base of the bush. In sandy soil do this daily until the bush is growing well. In clay soil, do this when the leaves show signs of slight water distress but at least every other day until it’s growing well. If your rose has weak canes and wants to lay over, plant it 3-5 inches deeper than it was in the pot. The soil will support the canes. As the bush matures and the roots get established, stronger, thicker canes will grow and will support themselves. Many climbers and some ground cover roses have naturally lax canes.

When I read Annie's posting about Coronation Gold, I was attacked by nostalgia. Our daughter's wedding celebration was held in our garden on July 2, 1988. It was the last day that summer that we saw green grass. Our long full sun border was highlighted with Coronation Gold and edged with lamb's ears, and a variety of short artemesias. Ladybells were blooming but daylilies had not yet begun yet. I got my start of CG from my mom and we used to just put the stalks in a jar and let them dry for winter bouquets. That same garden bed is now, 25 years later, quite shady. CG is gone, cerise yarrow still appears in the small area which has part sun. There are 2 clumps of lamb's ears. Ladybells still survive and right today campanula glomerata is going gang busters. In the parking lot garden where I grow yarrows, salvias, and nepata I have yarrow Anthea (pale yellow tall) and Moonglow. I did have two tall orphans I bought for 25 cents each after bloom time at Lowe's. One was a peach and the other a lovely warm pink. They're now among the missing but divisions of them are filling the church perennial garden so I will get them back. I love yarrows, salvias, sedums together. After a lot of computer nonsense I am now able to get back on gardenweb. It's amazing how much good stuff I find in my three forums after a 2-3 week vacation! Thank you all. Chris

Campanula - I am still in an urban environment and I do find I have a lot fewer critters to deal with than those on GW who are more rural. I think trying to resolve critter issues must be very draining. The few times I've had to deal with them in anything more than a minor way, it took away some of the fun of gardening. But then again, dealing with heat and drought is no better. This is the first summer out of the last four, that I didn't have to drag the hose over every square inch of my small property on a regular basis. I appreciated it very much. I find I've expanded my interests to include more than gardening alone. I was so intensely invested in gardening for so many years, that I found I was burned out to some degree. I believe I will never have any pursuit that will replace the number one position that gardening holds for me, but my expectations have changed quite a bit from when I first began. You have to take the "should" out of it. And having other interests, keeps gardening in balance for me. My expectations are not nearly as dependent on outcome now. It's a process and you may as well get the most out of where ever you are in the process and enjoy it. I think we are saying the same thing. It's lifelong. As for the long season of bloom. I have only that front bed that I have that expectation of. The rest of the property has to be about what is the best fit for the conditions. I have a lot of fun, tinkering with just that one bed to see how much I can fit in there to keep the interest going. And it's not too large, that a change from year to year is a monumental load of work to accomplish. And it started out with a loose plan of how to accomplish that but since then it's become the most spontaneous decisions I make in the garden. I love annuals when I can start them from seed, otherwise, it's too expensive to use them in numbers that make much difference. Cool fall weather will get the same enthusiasm from me that spring does. I love to get out there when it's comfortable and try to get a jump on spring. This year though, indoor projects are competing for my attention. So maybe a mad dash next spring instead. I am planning to get some bulbs in though. If I ever get an order made.