Let me start by saying I am a relative newbie to hybrid tea roses, and I don't claim to be an expert in any way. But I live in a very rural area with a lot of "old timers" who live by the Farmer's Almanac are happy to share their tips and tricks. And more often than not, they seem to work. I'm in the Ohio River Valley, and black spot can be a real problem here. It made my HTs almost unbearable to look at. They kept growing and even flowering, but lost many if not most of their leaves...and it spread from one bush to another almost like a plague. I was ready to give up. But a very old man at our local feed store gave me these instructions, and it helped immensly. He told me to throw corn meal around all the bushes as far as the leaves can drop, and then spray them heavily with a milk and baking soda mixture....about half water, half milk and 1/3 of a box of soda in a gallon jug. I did the cornmeal, sprayed every other day or so with the milk/baking soda...especially after rain, and picked off and discarded any fallen or infected leaves. Might sound crazy, but it made a big difference. It didn't totally eliminate the problem, but it definately made a very noticable improvement fairly quickly. Can't say that it would have made a lasting improvement though because a hellacious ice storm pretty much devastaed the whole garden this past winter. Either way, it's cheap, it's easy and organic, and it seemed to work really well during the growing season. So just take it for what it's worth and good luck with it all. I plan to do the same thing this year when I replant what Old Man Winter destroyed. :)

Hello, I have Siberian Iris, they are med. blue with yellow lined signals. I thought they were "Blue Oriental Siberian" but they get 30" tall. I would love to trade for some Town Council, Gladiator's gift and Vermillion Treasure La Iris. I will give you double amounts of my Siberians for yours. Will trade 24 of mine for 4 of each of these three. Let me know. Jean recipesaver2

Thanks, Renee! I really enjoyed that--the clump shot of Moonlight and Wine is awesome! I have grown Shore Patrol, and it did very well here in north coastal SC, Zone 8. I'm always confused that people think irises don't do well in the south. They do spectacularly well here in my town IF they have the right care and the right amount of sunlight :) Mike

Your question about percentage of takes prompts a response. My own experience is that in less than perfect weather (warm, dry) during bloom the percentage of takes goes down drastically. I've had years where 70 or 80 pollenizations resulted in 4 to 7 pods surviving until ripening. Many balloon pods--normal looking but lacking any seeds--formed. Usually the problem begins with caked or non-viable pollen. The suggested procedure in this case is to bring an un-opened bud indoors, bloom it in a small glass or cup of water, then use the dry pollen on freshly opened blooms outdoors. I've had poor success rates with stored pollen that isn't refrigerated or frozen. Sealed envelopes cut in half make good pollen collection packets, but are only good for a day or two or three. I've never had "takes" from pollen sent by mail, probably because the envelope in which it was sent got too hot in the mail or in my mailbox. Neil Mogensen US AIS Reg 4