I love gallicas and grow currently more then 30 different varieties. I also used to grow them when I lived in KY, which is far away from you, but still closer than I am now. The BS pressure is much stronger here then in KY, so I assume that your BS pressure is not worse then Mid Atlantic one and I am also in zone 6B, so I believe my experience is relevent. Not all gallicas are created equal. Hybrid chinas, for example, are different in my opinion from "true" gallicas. Some gallicas are bullet proof, some will defoliate from BS. In a way, it is similar situation to "true" rugosas and their hybrids. First group is BS mostly resistant, but hybrids usually are not resistant in areas with high BS pressure. I don't know which varieties Jeri saw in Memphis Botanical Garden, but, but here are some that most probably will be healthy for you: Tuscany Superb, Jeny Duval Alice Vena Apthecary Rose Rosa Mundi Duc de Guiche Beau Narcisse Belle Isis And here are examples of some that will most certainly defoliate: Belle Doria Gloire de France Anais Segales Alain Blanchard There are many more healthy ones and many more that are not. If you have any particular variety in mind, just ask about it. Percent of healthy varieties among gallicas and rugosas is much higher then among any other classes of roses in my experience and in my type of climate, that is where all praise is coming from. They make wonderful shrubs, many are fragrant and are really care free. Just get the right one. Olga

Really? I guess if you prune it, any fig can be kept smaller. I would have guessed some other ones first though. Hey, but good to know!!! Jeremy, sadly I only have a two year old Violette de Bordeaux. I have pinched almost all the branches to force my tree to ripen the main crop figs. So no cuttings. (I have a pic on the Figs4fun forum in my profile of my VdB.) I also have got a Mary Lane in March. But for cuttings, Herman on both fig forums sells cuttings on Ebay with free shipping in the spring, I'm not sure about the fall though. (like Hardy Chicago,Marseilles VS,etc..) Or you could order them from UC Davis. It will only cost you the shipping. Here is a link that might be useful: Nat'l Clonal Germplasm Repository for Fruit

newhostalady, if my experience can be a cautionary tale, then, yes, that is a good thing. But they told me that they'd be dropping all the shingles into the dumpster on the driveway and you see what happened in the back. Get things like bird baths, feeders, pots of plants, etc. safely put away because you don't know for sure where things will land, lol. But a solid roof, ....gotta have it, right? Good luck on yours! Phil, I was just thinking that I should get my windows washed because how much worse can it get now with more ladders out there?.....a roofing nail in your shoe, and ilovetogrow finding nails nine months later, those are both good reasons for me to wear better shoes and get a magnet out there. As the plants die back this fall I'll probably be able to find a lot more. Just today I found a piece of shingle and a nail close to one of the bird baths I was filling. For one moment I thought about how bernd said the nail is good for my soil. Then I imagined hitting that nail with my shovel some day and tossed it in the trash. littlebug5, I understand the apprehension that goes with any projects like this. My DH still thinks we need new gutters, ~sigh~. When they built the decks, I got some of that bright caution tape and bamboo stakes. They managed not to ruin some shrubs I had blocked off that way. Maybe that will work for your cherry tree and hydrangea. Good luck to you, too!

kachme7, we have sat down at length with the Sherwin Williams color fan deck and have determined that a very close match to Conestoga's Crystal White is Sherwin Williams SW7002 (Downy White). Ben Moore or other suppliers may have some close matches too, but we have not sat down with their color palette yet. Downy White SW7002 seemed to be almost spot on in most lighting we looked at. Now, it bears mentioning that these are what we (cabinetjoint.com, not Conestoga) determined were close matches. Conestoga will not guarantee their material matches Downy White in any way. I would think it would be very dangerous to put Conestoga finished product on cabinet boxes done with SW's finish as the chemistry (and therefore the aging process) will be very different and you may end up with very different looks after a few months/years as Latex/oil based paints from Sherwin Williams will age and mellow in very different ways than Conestoga's Catalyzed Conversion Varnish. I would suggest perhaps refacing the boxes with Conestoga finished veneers or refacing molding OR buy all your product unfinished and then finish it all yourself to ensure a good match among all the components. Also remember that Conestoga is laying their coatings down with a sprayer whereas you may be considering brush applied materials to use on your boxes? Brush applied finishes will change the sheen and texture vs spray applied and therefore the color can be thrown off, so putting Conestoga finished doors on your home-finished boxes may result in a very different look, even if the colors of the materials are almost spot on. Just some things to be mindful of! Let me know if we can help in any way.