Kate, I actually know my top ten. They are: Fruhlingsduft Riene des Violettes Dakota Song (new introduction) Excellenz von Schubert Tuscany Superb William Lobb Tamora Rose de Rescht Honeysweet That's because my priotities are richly colored petals, scent, rebloom, hardiness and health, in that order. A few week ago I posted a personal rose evluation tool in the Antique Roses forum. Below is a link to it: Here is a link that might be useful: Link to rose evaluation tool thread

Great preliminary report, Vicky. I only have a few of these and two are new. First I want to say, I'm sorry that you lost your Dad. I know you are greatly comforted in knowing where he is now:) I don't really do red roses, but I have investigated Rouge Royale because my sons seem to like red roses, and those Romantica Roses by Meilland do so well for me. I'll add what I've observed so far in the roses that I have from your list. Earth Angel: Impulse buy at Lowe's. Potted, big healthy looking bush. Fell in love with the pictures someone posted over on the regular Rose forum. It is still in it's purple Kordes pot.(I know, bad rose lady!) The blooms did bleach out too much in full sun, but once I moved the pot to afternoon shade, I got the blooms I bought it for. They are absolutely perfect! The scent is amazing, too. I did get some funny colored leaves, that looked exactly like iron deficiency. I gave it a bit of ironite, and it cleared up. Others told me later that Earth Angel sometimes does this in response to a sudden overwatering, too. I'm not getting many blooms, but right now I've moved EA into even more shade, just because it's so hot. I'm more concerned with keeping my potted roses alive right now, than bloom production. Once it cools off and I settle this rose in, I believe I'm going to be crazy about it. I cut every bloom it gave me, and kept it by my bedside. Fabulous! Cream Veranda: I have two of them. They are in large baskets with a water reservoir, hanging at the front entrance to my home. I've had them about 2ish years, purchased as quart sized, own root, from Wayside Gardens end of season sale. They have stayed a nice size for the baskets, and are fairly healthy. They just get the usual spring powdery mildew, like many other roses do around here. They don't really seem to bloom in big flushes for me, rather 2-6 blooms on each most of the time. That's fine with me, always some color by the front entrance arches that way. Princess Charlene de Monaco: I only purchased this one in January or February this year, potted from a local nursery. I already love it! You are absolutely right about PCdM wanting to grow straight up and bloom up high on top of those long canes. I decided I'd had enough of that, and I wanted more blooms for cutting and arrangements. This IS a florists rose after all, and I want enough blooms to do something with. She's planted in a raised bed, in full hot sun. She had the usual spring bout of powdery mildew, but shook it off on her own. I tied her canes to trellises about 4 weeks ago. I now have something like 15-20 laterals, each with at least one bud. All that happened in just 4 weeks! There is a post with the details and photos on the regular Roses forum titled, "I'm liking my Princess Charlene de Monaco". This is a great rose for cutting. I would suggest training/tying the canes sideways to produce lots of laterals. Then cut the buds early in the morning when they show color. They will last a long time in the vase, and have beautiful color and fragrance. I'm considering purchasing a second one. I don't have two of many roses, actually only two. I have the two Cream Veranda's for the matching baskets, and I have two Violets Pride roses. They only reason I have two Violets Prides, is because the second one came as part of $13 surprise rainbow of roses collection. Me buying a second Princess Charlene de Monaco is saying a lot about how much I like this one. Try some in a vase! The Pilgrim: I can third the stinginess of The Pilgrim, here in So CA. Mine was also purchased bare root from Wayside Gardens. I think it was bought 5 or 6 years ago. Yes, it is in a difficult spot with blazing afternoon sun. I saw its first bloom last year, and I've gotten a handful of them this year. I'm hoping things will improve shortly, as the adjacent park removed a huge eucalyptus tree that was nearby, and I had Queen Palms and a Texas Privet hedge removed this past spring. I am finally seeing more growth in the past 6 months, than I've seen in the past 5 years, so I'm not giving up yet. Kate, how long are you willing to give your Pilgrim? I'm willing to give mine another year, due to the improved conditions, but that's it. If it doesn't wow me next spring or summer/fall, it's out of here. I don't shovel prune anything in haste, but 7 or 8 years is plenty time to show me what he can do. Vicky, count yourself lucky. At least you've seen some of the Pilgrims blooms already. I didn't see a single one until it was almost 5 years old. And then, it really was a single ONE:) I've seen great pictures of The Pilgrim loaded with blooms, so surely it must bloom well somewhere, for someone? Well, those are the ones I have here in S CA. Please keep us updated on how they are doing, Vicky. And please do check out the Princess Charlene de Monaco thread. I think you could get more roses out of her, and they are best appreciated up close in a vase:) Lisa

The link above worked for me. When I find a link that does not work, I often can find the article by putting the title in quotes and putting it into Google. In this case this results in: https://www.google.com/search?num=100&newwindow=1&source=hp&ei=FNPfWq2vI4fusQW-h72QBA&q=%22evaluation-of-rose-germplasm-for-resistance-to-rose-rosette-disease-a%22&oq=%22evaluation-of-rose-germplasm-for-resistance-to-rose-rosette-disease-a%22&gs_l=psy-ab.12...1664.16166.0.18919.4.3.0.0.0.0.127.317.1j2.3.0....0...1.1j2.64.psy-ab..1.1.126.0..35i39k1.0.4DcrZxeltkQ I have a copy of the thesis, but it is copyrighted so I cannot post it. If you have a specific question about it, I can answer the question by putting small sections in quotes. "Table of contents: Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : page 1 - 22 2 SCREENING OF ROSA GERMPLASM FOR RESISTANCE TO ROSE ROSETTE DISEASE UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS : : : page 23 - 45 3 GRAFT AND MECHANICAL TRANSMISSION STUDIES OF ROSE ROSETTE VIRUS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : page 46 - 54 4 BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF PHYLLOCOPTES FRUCTIPHILUS (ACARI: ERIOPHYIDAE) USING PREDATORY MITES FROM THE FAMILY PHYTOSEIIDAE (ACARINA: MESOSTIGMATA) : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : pages 55 - 69 Appendix A WEEKS ROSES LETTER TO CUSTOMERS : : : : : : : : : : : : page 70 B ENDPOINT RT-PCR PROTOCOL TO DETECT ROSE ROSETTE EMARAVIRUS : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : page 71 -72 LIST OF TABLES 2.1 Genotypes in this study that have existing resistance data : : : : : page 26 2.2 Results from resistance screening for rose rosette disease, including the number of plants infected and number planted in the field. : : : page 32 -38 2.3 Ordinary run analysis (Madden et al. 1982) : : : : : : : : : : : : : page 41 B.1 Primers used in two-step endpoint RT-PCR protocol : : : : : : : : page 73"

I have tried cardboard under several inches of mulch, but the problem is that it will usually only last for the season and by next year you will have to do it all over again (cardboard is better than newspapers though). Maybe for a person in arizona or california, it would be more effective, but with the rain in NY it's not so useful. To echo what everyone else has said, never use landscape fabric. It is the absolute worst, doesn't work and you will be finding pieces of it for years.. Now, I just use my weed wacker and this little tool with 3 claws on it to just rip the weeds out. It's uncomplicated and does give me a slight feeling of satisfaction. I've also found that white vinegar can be pretty good for sidewalk and patio weeds:)