Thanks for the responses. I can rule out cold weather now as the cause of the die back. To Florence I can say with some confidence that this rose will bloom in light shade as the second location for mine was in partial shade. I am going to continue to try and grow it because of its healthy foliage(except for wanting to die!) excellent garden form and beautiful fragrant blooms. I'm inclined to think that my problem is related to drought and I had better make sure that this rose in particular gets plenty of water during dry hot periods. We often get a month or so sometime between June and October with very little to no rain. I plan to order Stanwell Perpetual from Heritage for next Spring, as it appears from their catalog description and photo that this will be a very similar rose. Judging from the the few responses I had, I must be one of the few Garden Web folks trying to grow K. v. Denmark in the deep South.

Question: is it the COLD wet that makes them ball? They seem to handle HOT wet quite well. Of course, a downpour will mess them up pretty bad and cause them to hang their heads from the weight (not unusual, I guess, for any flower). And there seems to be a point in the bud development when, if we have rain, the bud will not open - doesn't happen often. Sammy, 9 SdlM's is definitely something to strive for in my garden. Mine would have to be in groupings - no room to spread them out. Wow, just imagine a bank of them blooming all summer. Hmmm, something to keep in mind in case of future failure(s). I have 3 plants, and 2 will soon be neighbors. I have MB & CDdG next to each other, hopefully in enough sun for their liking, but if they have to be moved that might be a good thing, right? Suzy, I wish I could "send" you some heat or "attach" it to my photos. To show how amazing this rose is here, even my Louis Philippe, aka The Florida Rose, took a break from blooming in August. I noticed this morning it suddenly has flower buds & lots of new leaves from all the rain we've had this week, but SdlM has kept pumping out her voluptuous fragrant flowers that even now are darker pink in the center, fading to pale pink at the edges - just lovely. (I wish I'd taken a picture.) Location, location, location! Your "bland and vague rose with messy petal formations, tendency to age nastily and, on top of everything, is a disease magnet" is not the rose I grow. Come ahead to Florida (Ocala) anytime. You'll at least have no hotel bill and no "little britain". But I imagine with a grandbaby coming that won't be soon! Michael, I've seen a very mature SdlM with hugely thick canes (maybe the climber) that was as tall as I am. I certainly hope 4x4 is a comfortable size for them here. Sherry

Have had mint, monarda, obedient plant with little to no problems. Campanula punctata reseeds but cute so I remove most of it in spring and leave few clumps. Macleya cordata reseeds, easy to pull. Bishop weed was planted because of my own stupidity- still trying to get rid of it but the bed full of bulbs and perennials so it is pretty hard to remove it completely. Chameleon plant died on me- I wanted it to grow. Petasites japonicus was speading last year with alarming speed- well, got killed this year during recent cold snap- barely found couple survivors and potted them up. Got some running bamboo last year- it is marginally hardy for me...

If the animals are after a succulent meal, and lack water, I think your tender new well watered plants are the ones most at risk. How about a strategy of providing some containers of water well away from your fine new plantings? Some container that the type of critters who ate your hosta can access freely. I have a small diameter kiddy wading pool. That is what I use to set pots in to soak, but it is also a good way to provide water to thirsty critters like rabbits or maybe deer, well away from your plantings if possible. If it is water they are after not food, then they'll smell it. Make it easy for the small turtles to reach the water by making one side of the pool a "ramp" or pile some dirt up where they can easily drink. A couple of my plants, in containers, got down to NO leaves, and now they have lush growth.