Also, Angelsmama, different sorts of "antiques and OGRs" do best with different approaches, and different timing. Austins, for instance, are modern roses, with mostly modern genes. Those would be treated differently than old European once-bloomers which in turn demand a completely different approach than do the Noisettes, Teas and Chinas. And on and on . . . You might want to talk to others who are growing the same roses you are, in the same area you are, to find out what works best for them. Jeri

Welcome Candice and son!! here are some sites to check out www.butterfliesandmoths.org for what butterflies are in your area and what they eat: www.whatsthatbug.com for what the "cats"(caterpillars) look like: www.monarchwatch.org www.butterfliesetc.com These are chocked full of general information!! Check out local nurseries, ask if you can take their "cats" (buy a couple of what their on!!) buy tomatoe plants-doesn't matter what kind-the cheaper the better- they attract hornworms, I know their not pretty butterflies but my son thinks their the coolest and that's what counts:-) also fennel, dill, and parsley will attract swallowtails, you can buy them at the supermarket already potted (sometimes) If you like I can send some milkweed seed just email me! Brandy

First, do some research on the available chemical fungicides. If environmental concerns are your top priority, then understand that many chemical fungicides are less damaging to the environment than are many organic ones. Most chemical fungicides are also much less potentially damaging to the person spraying than are even the mildest of insecticides. If you wear proper personal protection at both during mixing and applying, then your risk of contacting enough of the chemical to cause yourself harm is rendered exceedingly minute, and this is for chemicals who have a lower toxicity profile to begin with. I've found that BannerMaxx combined with mancozeb will give you 95-99% control of BS, and this is in a climate much hotter and humid for longer than most, except for Florida. If, after fully informing yourself of the choices available and the consequences of each one of those, you choose organic methods to control disease, be aware that the first principal of organic gardening is to get rid of the disease magnets. That may mean elmininating most of your hybrid teas, as they are not really suited to growing organically in most of the East. Concentrate your energies on the roses that have at least some resistance to disease and your results will be far more pleasing. You must be willing to accept some damage to your roses as a total gardening philosophy. Growing roses organically doesn't mean you just substitute products and achieve the identical spotless results. Also be aware that roses with poorly controlled disease are far weaker going into winter and have a much greater chance of not surviving even mild winters. That again makes your cultivar choices of primary importance. The most effective organic fungicide that I've personally trialed for preventative spraying is horticultural sulpher. It must be applied at least weekly, and during times of rapid growth like in early spring, sometimes twice weekly in order to coat the most rapidly growing foliage. It had an effectiveness rate of 40% in my trial, meaning that Angel Face, a rose that will defoliate 100% with no spraying, will retain 40% of it's foliage if sprayed regularly with sulpher. On a more resistant cultivar, of course the retained foliage % would be higher, but I find ANgel Face a good "lab mouse" with which to judge a spray's effectivity. Sulpher has a tendancy to burn at temps above 86°, which is highly problematic in my location as we regularly have many many summer days with temps above that. None of the baking soda and horticultural oil formulations that you may hear regularly touted had any effectivity approaching even 10%. Neem oil, while a decent enough insecticide, burnt leaves badly and also wasn't terribly effective. Copper is is good, but it burns worse than sulpher and can build up to toxic levels in the soil and is far more dangerous to the human than is sulpher. The more folkloric remedies of milk and cornmeal aren't even worth the bytes...

Raistlyn: One suggestion if you want to get your husband into gardening. Get him into super hot peppers such as Bhut Jolokia or Butch T Scorpions or habs. That's what got me interested, and I know many other guys find the super hots peppers very interesting even when you don't like to eat them. They are enough of a challenge, something to brag about and have fun with, and sometimes toys (which guys also like) such as heat mats and controllers, lighting systems, hydroponic etc also piques their interest as well as building things like raised beds and stairs for pots to sit on. It happened to me, and now I look after all the vegetables, indoor and out, fruit trees, berries etc. and I love it. My wife looks after the ornamentals. I keep adding more vegetable beds and containers, and we are self sufficient for fruit and vegetables for much of the year, including freezing many of them. I also got into cooking doing things like salsa and hot sauces as well as other things that can be made out of the fruits of our labor. Every guy has the farmer gene in him. Looking after a couple of tomato plants in a window or on deck is not quite what we need to turn that gene on.