I spray with Honor Guard, which is a cheaper version of Banner Maxx. It is a version of what is in Bayer Disease Control,only lasts longer - up to three weeks. I get it from Rosemania.com. It is pricey, but lasts a long time, as you only use a little of it at a time. I also use Response with it, which is a solution of seaweed, and I also use Indicate 5 - a spreader sticker. Oh, and I use Messenger, too, but spray it separately. I strongly recommend getting a chemical mask - not too expensive at one of the box stores, along with goggles. This will prevent inhaling chemicals, plus protect against what dallasguy got - a faceful! I use the mask with anything I don't want to inhale - including the organic fertilizers which have powdery ingredients like alfalfa. It is just being smart - if you smell it, you are inhaling it. I always wonder why pest control men go around spraying without masks and say that to them. Of course, they just shrug their shoulders. Also, wear long sleeves, a hat, long pants and chemical resistant gloves. I use the disposables - also at the box stores. After you spray, wash these clothes separately from the others, and, of course, take a shower. With a small garden, you can use Bayer All-in-One poured in the ground, and I know a lot of people who do it successfully. But - even when mixing that up, I would use my mask. Again - it's just common sense to me. I have a lot of hybrid teas in addition to floribundas, shrubs, minis and climbers. In the summer, their bloom size decreases, but revive in the fall with huge blooms - often into December. The floribundas bloom more in the summer and size of blooms seems the same. Anyway, growing roses in blackspot prone areas is a challenge, but the spectacular blooms and long season makes it worth it to me.

No blackspot or powdery mildew here. Gruss an Teplitz, grows here, a little short rose. It had to be heavily pruned this spring, but bounced back much better than many others. It's on its own roots. I got it from Greenmantle nursery 3 years ago. It takes 4 years of patience to get a big rose going here. I wasn't all that fired up about the hot red color, but enjoyed the repeat blooming. So far, no bloom yet this year. I'd say this rose will make a nice short shrub around here, eventually. It is about two feet now from being cut to the ground and should hit 3.5 feet by fall. I see no problems with the lack of grafting.

Bellegallica, I'm not really good at describing perfume but I would have to say that, to my nose, GaA has a 'delicious' scent. The bloom(s) in the vase photo lasted well for 48 hours - but two of the three were already well open when I cut the spray - it was about to rain and they would have been completely ruined by the rain. However, they lasted well in the vase for 48 hours. I imagine if I had picked them when the buds were just opening they would have lasted another 24 hours. As for it not being good in the heat, I would have to disagree (at least in my conditions). We had a very hot (and unusually humid) summer this year and GaA kept on flowering all through summer. I can only imagine (and hope) that when she becomes established she will be even better. At the moment she does have some black spot but we've had quite a lot of rain and warm days lately so there really are very few roses in my garden that don't have black spot now. Tricia

Very happy to find "Ace Hardware pine bark mulch", which are well-composted this Oct, and have plenty of pine-fines inside. I make my rooting-area in advance for next spring .. by that time the pine-mulch/pine-fines will be more decomposed & less acidic. The rooting powder that Bluegirl mentioned helped TREMENDOUSLY. Things take roots much faster. Do you make a slit at the side of the lower cane like Connie of Hartwood? Or do you slice a piece of outer-layer off like Kitty of California? I'm too lazy, so I do it California way, scrape a vertical piece off from the end, with my paring knife. For indoor & winter: I still don't like covering the plant with a plastic dome, it goes against my logic: cover anything up, and it will surely rot & get moldy !! My kid sprouted some mung-bean in a plastic cup, she covered it, and within a few days white mold grew on it, so gross !! This winter I plan NOT to cover with plastic, and simply squirt the soil lightly with a hand-mister. My neighbor kept a geranium through the entire winter. In freezing March I visited her: she kept the geranium on the window-sill (morning sun), and squirt it twice a day. And it was blooming tons !! I kept house-plants indoor in the winter and was foolish to water it, that was messy: water dripped on carpet, then whiteflies, then rotted stem (too wet). Hand-mist lightly is so much better, since leaves do take up water & nutrients .. same with stem I also put hydrogen peroxide inside my hand-mister to prevent rot. Bluegirl shared how Josh in TX put a paper towel on top of the rooting area to hold in moisture, great idea !! I'm convinced that hard-wood and thick cuttings NEEDS MUCH LESS MOISTURE. Versus the "greener & thinner" stems which dry out faster, thus need more moisture. The "alfalfa sprouts" type of root need constant moisture ... folks do keep alfalfa sprouts in a plastic pouch at grocery store. But the woody & chunky Dr.Huey-rootstock rots easily in poor-drainage clay. As own-root matures from "alfalfa sprouts" to hard and woody roots, they become more sensitive to standing-water and acidity.