You could have more variety of colors if you got some of the other Knock Outs also. They come in more colors than the cherry red in your photos. There is also a double PINK Knock Out. Then there is a yellow one (that fades whitish) that my neighbor swears is quite lovely, but it may be a single. And there is the Rainbow Knock Out which may also be a single--I'm not sure, having never seen one in real life, but I have heard some KO owners praise it also. It probably wouldn't help much, but Home Run, a bright red single that is distantly related to Knock Out, is very disease resistant, but its bright red would probably clash with the cherry red of your current Knock Outs. However, if you have an area where there are no Knock Outs, you might try Home Run. It's true red is a bit easier on the eyes than the cherry red of the usual KO. How do rugosa hybrids do in your area? They are highly BS resistant for me and come in whites and pinks--and I love those crinkled rugosa leaves. Kate

If I'm reading this right, you have a very short, cool growing season, and fairly cold winters. That's not going to be an easy situation to try and establish small roses into. How do the locals do it? Are they buying almost exclusively potted, grafted roses from local nurseries? That's probably the most conservative route. If that's what they are doing, and you want to expand your choices, what we have recommended for people in similar situations is to order the roses for delivery at roughly the same time we would get them in the east. Then pot them, up and be prepared to move them in and out of shelter depending on the weather. Then it can be planted in the ground when it's safe. BTW, the recommended drop-dead date for here, by which a rose the size most of the own-root nurseries ship, should be in the ground is July 4th. A very hardy 1 gal. rose can be fall planted here. Smaller, less hardy roses don't have good survival rates that first winter.

If the veins are or were greener, and it starts on (or is worse on) the newer growth, it is iron deficiency. This is caused by high pH (soil too alkaline). You can apply a cup of garden sulfur to the soil, which acidifies very gradually (a year or two) and apply an iron product from the garden center. If it starts on or is worse on the older leaves, it is a different problem.

The first 3 criteria are equal; -Disease resistance. Two gardens ago, we grew 180+ rosebushes, and it was a sublime garden, with shady corners where Hybrid Musks bloomed, all edged with white Lady Banks, in the center where the hot sun flowed down, were the H.P.s, H.T.s and Bourbons. After a few years of spraying with organic sprays I decided that since so many roses were available that never needed to be sprayed in our area, to only grow those cultivars. -Old Roses for their beauty, fragrance and, history, some of it quite romantic. I came late to the Austin club, forgoing modern roses altogether (a strong prejudice against the ball on a stick H.T. form) but finally bought a yellow Austin after waiting 3 years for a yellow own-root Noisette to climb and it refusing to grow more than 2 feet tall. I wish Mr. Austin used more Tea-Noisettes in his rose breeding program,and/ or sold in the u.s. 'Marachal Niel' on Dr. Huey, because that would be a dream come true to me. 3. beauty of bush, bloom and fragrance. One of the 3 won't do it for me. When I was a young girl I decided that I loved best a rosebush that had pretty foliage (Mlle. Cecillel Brunner')and small flowers over a large flowered H.T. with a few leaflets to barely cover its thorny canes, because I reasoned I had to look at the bush for 12 months out of the year, during 8 of those the plant would have leaves, and I wanted to enjoy seeing the bushiest plants available. I love a lush rose garden, filled with roses, of course, but also leafy foliage in great and green abundance. For most of my rose growing years I have loved and sought out to grow Old Garden Tea roses for that reason; the bush is beautiful to look at even when it is taking a break from blooming. Many Noisette roses are fantastic foliage plants as well. -fragrance, fragrance and more fragrance. I'm lucky I can smell Tea roses because some folks can't. a few of my favorite roses this month are; Mrs. B.R. Cant' from afar, I love it as a huge background plant covered with roses. I never appreciated this rose until I noticed how well it appears when seen at a distance. R. moschata gorgeous foliage in 3 seasons+, a sexy musky scent that wafts on the air, very pretty stamens and pollen, white roses are my favorite. white ' Rose of York' has my favorite rose foliage of all, "luxurious" blue-green leaves, wide white petals, that golden boss, and a wonderful history being the first white garden rose documented as being grown in England; 1400's a.d..and associated with the York family. Pax' always blooming, very fragrant. cl. Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria' The large shapely creamy white roses have an excellent petal substance which makes them last a long time in a vase and moderately strong fragrance. I would place it among Mme. Jules Bouche and Mrs. Herbert Stevens for best classic white Hybrid Tea for beauty of bloom. Marie Van Houtte and Mrs. Dudley Cross, great combinations of yellow and pink. R. californica I pick the canes all during the green seasons for its leaves, to use in bouquets. This is one of the few wild roses that re-blooms well on new growth, so I cut it back by one third at the end of June so it re-blooms in late August. I've documented the re-bloom several years in a row, but not the percentage, at a glance it appears to be more than 60% of the June bloom cycle. The scattered bloom that has been noticed on R. californica that appears after its' spring flush is due, I believe, to naturally occurring new growth. Next year I'll try and remember to count all of its blooms during its first and second bloom cycle to see if R. californica is fully remontant when pruned back. -interesting things about roses aside from the bloom: hips, leaves, prickles, oddly colored foliage and leaf shape, 15 leaflets gets my pulse surging. Bloom: Must appear natural. No florist roses for me. as my neighbor said "They look like they're made of plastic' Luxrosa