Your Comice de Tarn-et -garonne is gorgeous, Micheal! Thank you for posting these pictures. I like seeing what Comice can do. I received a mature Comice from someone this past January, and we had to cut it WAY back to dig it up and transport it home. It’s finally starting to recover from the move. My Comice is sending up new growth and a random bloom here and there. I can’t wait for my Comice to bloom as much as yours! Isn’t the fragrance wonderful? Here’s a picture of one of Comice’s blooms, 4 days ago. I hope to see as many blooms as you have! Lisa

I should show photos that depict its lack of vigor too. Great for dry heat, no crisping... but maybe not good for other areas. No new little canes yet. I really should be pinching off buds as instructed, I just got too busy. One got some black spot and defoliated, which isn't a problem ever here so if you're in a black spot area it's probably not so good. The others all have a little black spot too. This one gets the most sun and heat... it's the happiest. All my broccoli and celery, lettuce and radishes bolted in that bed too. It's hot.

Thanks Noseometer and Rick for the extra info on mystery #1. The tips for October Moon are very sound and consistent with my own experience in zone 5. My most recent October Moon was stepped on (by whom, I refuse to admit), but the one before that didn't survive the winter in an average zone 5 spot. I have now put this October Moon in my most protected spot near the teas that I also overwinter. I totally agree that it would be better kept warm over the winter, but I absolutely cannot keep pots alive even in the summer, and trying to overwinter it even inside a garage much less house is simply asking for a gruesome rose death. To pamper my "fussy pants" rose, I stack filled leaf bags vertically like sentinels around the edge of the bed and within the bed wherever there isn't a rose, to provide a down coat effect. The teas sometimes have surviving cane, but mostly not. It's surprising that some teas can handle this - for instance, Maman Cochet is maybe 7 or 8 years old and lost all her canes to the ground this winter, yet bloomed along with the rest of the spring flush. Not a large plant by any means, but a survivor. It's good to know that teas are in the breeding history of some of Paul's roses, since that explains their dislike of the cold. There aren't enough people incorporating OGRs particularly teas into their breeding so that's still a welcome feature. I've found among Paul's roses that Oshun is normally hardy in my zone 6 pocket and Jeri Jennings finally survived on the 4th try in a protected spot. I'll have to try Treasure Trail there next year as it didn't like a full sun regular zone 5 spot. Joyce Barden and Dragon's Blood haven't survived even in my best spots, and Pam's Choice only gave me a couple of years in the tea bed (but oh, what blooms...). Won Fang Yon actually survived winter a year ago and the jury is still out for this past winter (I knew he was a long shot). Thank heavens Paul is also incorporating Gallicas into his breeding so cold zoners can benefit from his creations. Cynthia

RVR is one of my favorite nurseries from which I order roses. i visited a few years ago. Janet was most hospitable and let us wander freely to observe the gardens and greenhouses. (Even though it was Monday, their shipping day.) It really is a very small ’mom and pop’ type of business. The packing is extremely protective of the rose bands. I’ve had great success with the bands received. And intend to order more, if I find more room. (Why do I say if…) RVR has so many roses that are no longer available elsewhere. This is where I found the Barden roses I had been looking for: Beautiful Anne and Dakota Redwing, They are doing well.