Thank you both - ptboise and hoovb - for your advice. Especially about it not getting that 'large'. All the data I've read about this rose show it growing to 12-15ft....it sounds more like...only if you are lucky! It's really a beautiful rose.....and some parts of my yard is extremely sunny and other parts are not. I'm assuming if it's in a sunny//semi-shade spot it just won't get that many blooms? Oh yeah, and we do have Nematodes! ....

I grew a Cl. American Beauty collected from a very old plant in Beulah, Colorado many years ago. It's the one Sequoia sold for a number of years and the one Ashdown sold. It could repeat once established and when spring was long and fairly stable. When it ended abruptly with the high heat beginning over night, it stopped flowering. If yours is happy and the climate is right, it could well be the right rose. Kim

I love my Rosa, America. Love the salmon color and fragrance. Pretty foliage too. It is growing up on my wattle fence at the back of my cottage rose garden. In my zone, it does not die back. I mulch most of my roses heavily for winter with soil and wood chips, then pull it back in spring. Our soil has winter heave - freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw all winter long and in early spring. I mulch deeply to prevent my roses' roots from being exposed due to the heaving. My Rosa. America has not required any spraying. No muss, no fuss. I don't grow roses that can't take my climate and require a lot of work. Experiment and see what YOU think. It may be just the thing for you. (BTW, I bought mine from WalMart for $4...cash and carry) I order from Countryside Roses and the Antique Rose Emporium too, but I never pass up a good rose just because it happens to be from WalMart or any other store's garden center. I bought a yellow Lady Banks rose from Lowe's one year. It was on the "discount rack" dying a very sad and ugly way. It had downy mildew and some other god-awful problem, but I still wanted to try to bring it back to life. According to the tag and professional rose growers, Lady Banks is not supposed to be grown in zone 6b. But, I took it home, washed it with Tide and water and cleaned all the yuck off and it recovered quickly. It grew 6 feet the first year and then shot up to the porch pillars by the following year. It now covers half of my front porch - I have had it for over 10 years. It does not require any spraying, mulching, it does not die back and it doesn't even need watering. Occasionally, I need to prune it back because it's canes invade the porch sitting area. It has survived several years of above normal summer temps and drought, and our severe winter weather deep freezes and ice storms. So if you like Rosa, America, buy it, plant it and see how it does for you in your garden and your climate. sweetannie4u

OMG Campanula, I about peed my pants with "mashed up babies"! No, in fact these have even been a little ignored - not as much manure mulch as the others. Now, the other side of the fence has Cypress trees, so there's lots of Cypress needles in the soil. (?) And there is something about N. California! But, regarding your first question! My Honey Dijon is really just nuts with blooms. It is the bloominist rose on the ranch. I bought Honey Dijon as a "make me feel better" after I lost one of my beloved felines. And I buried him about 2 feet under Honey Dijon. Lots of schmaltzy things going on there with that rose and memories of my cat, but bottom line - I think there is something in your comment! NO - I am not suggesting what it might sound like!!!