mad_gallica -- 'Rose de Rescht' is available clean, but not due to our heat therapy. We got it from Heirloom, who apparently imported a clean one from Europe. We indexed it here and found it clean. true-blue -- I've heard people make claims for resistance to fungal diseases and other "miracle cures," but I have no reason to believe any of them. Removing the viruses that cause mosaic will alleviate any symptoms those viruses may cause, which may include fewer, smaller flowers, shorter stems, less longevity, less cold-hardiness, etc. And in at least some varieties that are said to have "declined," it seems to help reverse that. But no, I'm not aware of (nor would I expect) other major benefits. I'm sure by "indexing," you mean the heat therapy process. Actually, indexing follows therapy -- it is the series of tests done to demonstrate freedom from the viruses, after we've removed them.

Mad_gallica and Diane, thanks for the info. about multiflora. It sounds good to me, since I don't have time for suckers on Dr. Huey. I appreciate the conversation between Kim and Michaelg, I learn from you both. Kim, that idea about a brick walkway next to the house is GREAT! I never thought about that before, since I'm stuck in the norm of having plants next to the house. No one here do a brick walkway next to the house, but it's a smart iddea - no more mud splattering up to the white sidings, and less watering into the basement. Laura: My neighbor is wary of utility lines too, and he plants his trees in the weirdest place to avoid them. One time I was too impatient for ComEd Electric guy, I went ahead and dug a hole for the white pine. He came with flags and marked the line right across my hole. He assured me that it's OK to use a shovel to dig, and it's OK to put a tree on top. It helps if the utilities lines were put down before the builder put the top-soil on the lot. Then you have 10" of top soil, then 2 feet of gravel before you hit the lines. I prefer my trees to be on top of utility lines, since the gravel beneath helps drainage. Comcast and cable are different. They bury their lines very shallow into the grass. With them I have to use a hand scoop, or a spoon! LOL!

There's a great book I found somewhere used, paperback, years ago, called "For Love of a Rose," about the Meilland family and the development of the Peace Rose. It's such an improbable true story its quite interesting. Peace was one of the first 3 roses I ever tried to grow, as a kid in the fifth grade. I ordered them from a Sunday newspaper insert: Peace, Mr. Lincoln, and Queen Elizabeth. They all grew and bloomed despite my terrible job of preparing (or rather, failing to prepare) the planting holes. A couple years later I was in awe at seeing a gorgeous majectic specimen of a Peace rose bush growing alone prominently in the front of a yard along my school bus route. I was so impressed. It looked as if the plant had 20-25 huge blooms on it all at once. I will always have a fond impression of this rose; chalk it up to nastalgia, but it is also true that the coloring is ever variable, subtle, yet rich and beautiful, the blooms look great at every stage from bud to fully open, the blooms are quite large and last well, the stems are always thick and well-formed, and the blooms nearly always one to a stem. Every once in a while, I even catch a whiff of fragrance, though that is not its claim to fame. Mike

I ordered Love & Peace months ago and should be receiving it from S&W in two weeks, along with Veterans Honor. So many people talking about varying experiences with both Peace and Love & Peace got me thinking. It's not only climate and soil conditions that determine the performance of a rose; I do think rootstock variety, or lack of any rootstock, makes a difference, especially in some varieties, and Peace is one of those. In my experience it does much better on Dr. Huey than on its own roots. I had one on Dr. Huey that I know for a fact had Rose Mosaic Disease, and it still was robust and a very good bloomer; a blackspot magnet, yes, but still a good performer once I found a good fungal treatment. The Chicago Peace I have had for about 3 years now is a cheap Walmart body-bag rose that came on a stunted, half-rotted looking rootstock. I bought it on a whim. Almost pitched it after the first year but decided to give it the full 3-year probation period. This past year it looked more respectible, not thick-caned and vigorous like I remember Peace but still as vigorous as some lesser roses I've grown. Fair amount of bloomes, though, and they're fat and gorgeous, so it has won a reprieve. S&W has always sent me vigorous, quality bareroot plants in the past, so I am anticipating a quality Love & Peace coming. Guess I'll find out. Someday I will get Peace again. It's a scentimental and historic rose, even if it does require careful protection from blackspot. The mention of Pink Peace got me thinking about its striped sport; what was that called? "Candy-"something? I've never been able to find it from any mailorder nurseries anywhere; wonder if anyone knows of it being on the market from anywhere? It's a shame so many nurseries have gone out of business; we've probably lost a lot of rose varieties as a result.