hmm..you know Michele, I'm still trying to dry those dahlias. They do grow between 3-4 ft, they're a pinky lavendar, the bloom is 8 inches across but they only have a slight scent...just wondering..."scuffing foot"

whoopdedeaux, I found your post from last April asking for help and receiving it from so many of our TX and former TX friends (and others!), and even though I was not one of the ones who gave you the excellent, helpful advise, I hated to see you waiting for replies, but I can offer you a very special "you're welcome!". I'm so glad your garden is doing well and you've found so many tough roses to begin your garden. You've got some magnificent roses that will only get better as they mature, and with the rain you've had this spring your garden should be in wonderful shape. I share your excitement at your imminent spring show. Post photos!!! Sherry

Souvenir de la Malmaison is a great rose. It smells delicious and has good repeat. It is low growing, so plant it in the front of a border or in a very large pot...mine was planted in a huge pot and it seemed very happy. It liked full sun but the blooms had more color when it got afternoon shade. I no longer have it due to severe blackspot problems, but your growing conditions are very different from mine. My Therese Bugnet stayed small and had few blooms its first few years until I relocated it to a full sun spot. It now blooms early, virtually covered in blooms and has good repeat the older it gets. Mine gets little to no disease and is very easy care. It is about 5x3 and I haven't pruned it except to remove spent blooms or dead wood. Mme. Isaac Pereire's blooms knock my socks for the scent but mine is struggling...maybe it just gets too cold here in the winters, which have been severe as of late. I believe that if it were in a more protected location and got more regular watering it might be doing much better. Its first few years here it did amazingly...got huge and was covered in blooms. But the last few springs...it has had so many dead branches that had to be cut away that it is now a much smaller rose. Okay, I think I have talked myself into relocating it. Thank you :) Rose de Rescht does wonderfully in my garden...with hardly any care. It blooms reliably each spring and doesn't seem to need anything special. It has almost no disease. It is in a partial shade location. It has stayed small for me (3x3) and I haven't really pruned it except to get out dead wood. Enjoy your new roses! Shelley

My husband and I both hate to travel to L.A. but this sounds like a most informative and helpful talk. Will you be going Jeri? Since I gather you've heard the talk before, does he mention certain varieties as being superior in the heat? That would be a very useful thing to know. Interestingly, in his garden site on HMFR his pictures seem to lean heavily toward the German roses. Ingrid