Roxana: Here in zone 5a, folks use Rugosa as hedge-rose & they are round & dense & bushy & drought-tolerant. I saw many Rugosa cheap as body-bags-bare root at Menards today. These have 7 to 9 tiny-leaflet pattern & lighter green leaves, and NOT 5 large leaflets like modern roses. From the web: "Rugosa is from the Latin word “rugose,” meaning wrinkled. Rugosa leaves are textured with a fine quilting that gives the foliage depth and richness." Rugosa are the 1st to leaf out early spring, next are Austin roses. But Austin roses don't have the dense & nice round shrubs like Rugosa. However, in zone 5, Rugosas tend to be wider than tall, and occupy lots of space. The best TALL hedge I have seen at Chicago Botanical garden are John Cabot roses, more stunning in blooms than Rugosa, or any Austin roses: http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.1931&tab=1 Arching, armed with thorns / prickles. Light green foliage. Height of 5' to 8' (150 to 245 cm). Width of up to 10' (up to 305 cm). USDA zone 2b. Very hardy. Anne M Northwestern Ontario, Canada, USDA Zone 2, I have had John Cabot for over 6 years, and due to health problems, the last 4 in total neglect (no water, no weeding). Still growing, this past summer bloomed wonderfully. Completely disease free, and even the Japanese Beetles didn't bother it. In my area, I have cold (long)winters, and July/part Aug the temps can get up into the high nineties(F) with high humidity. That's the beauty of the Explorer roses - not only can they withstand cold, they also do well in heat & humidity. My roses don't get winter protection of any sort, and I use no chemicals whatsoever. I would personally recommend this rose to anyone, no matter what zone."Anne M

About Summer Wine. I bought it from Heirloom about 7 years ago. It is one wonderful rose! The bush is healthy and grows fast. The blossoms are among my earliest and then the blooming time goes on for a long time. Their fragrance is mild but pleasant. It has the most gorgeous big orange hips on it all winter until a hard freeze. Mine was badly damaged last year when the winds of 80 mph blew the copper tellis with it over. I had to cut away most of the rose to get the trellis back up. Well, it bounced back like a rubber ball and was covered with roses this year, and is even now sprawling out and over the other shrubs. I may cut it way back once the hips blacken, because that does not seem to phase the plant at all! And oh yes, there is one late rose blooming on the tip of a vine that is hanging in the exact center of my office window. Over the past few days I have watched it unfurl and bloom in a brilliant raspberry orange. Summer's light and heat turn it to a lovely soft pink with buttery yellow, but I like the early and late flowers best with their more intense colors. This is one of the most disease free roses I have. It is also one of the first I would plant again if I ever had to move. Do give it a strong trellis though. There is nothing wimpy about it!

You're welcome, Sophia. The placement looks about right, unless you can sink the umbrella a few inches lower so the crown of the plant is about even or slightly above the top so it rests on it instead of having to grow up in to it. You probably also want to invest in a couple of heavy metal pipes, driven well into the ground around the trunk of the umbrella then tied securely to it. Once the roses begin growing into weepers, they create an amazingly effective "sail" and will catch any breeze that passes them. Strengthening the upright stability as much as possible now will prevent you from having to stand them up and fight with them in the wind. Our SoCal winds are legendary and weepers are severe issues here. I learned this the hard way, and with an umbrella just like the ones you have. I thought one strong metal pipe, not a "stake", but a rigid metal water pipe, would suffice, but it finally required three, driven two feet into the ground, as close to the central trunk of the umbrella then all wired tightly together, to keep the structure upright in the winds. Yours may not be as severe, but you know you are going to eventually experience something similar. Securing them well now will prevent hours of totally wicked fighting and potential plant (and YOU) damage later. Plus, you have three of them to worry about. You need rigid, unbendable, rust resistant material such as galvanized water pipes, probably 8' long, driven in as far as you can to anchor the umbrellas. This is definitely a job you want to do ONCE. Good luck!

Thanks Pat, I don't know that you remember but you convinced me to plant Over the Moon and that was such a good suggestion, OTM is doing great except for the rust and powdery mildew. This area by the beach has lots of fog, salt spray and these days shade as the sun moves further south, so they are bound to get these diseases. But the HTs around here in the same conditions that were planted over 30 years ago seem to have adapted to all these conditions and are putting out blooms, so I hope mine adapt too. I love the color of Chris Evert, perfect for me since she has a orange-yellow hue. I don't like the red on VaVoom as much but I do see it in nurseries here, leading me to think it is a good performer in this area. Pat, since you have so many roses, can you tell me which have been the most disease free of your roses, including floribundas? I won't be planting any Austin or OGRs, but I will be planting more floribundas that have some gold, orange hues. Thanks and gorgeous photos. I've seen some photos of VaVoom where is was a clear orange and many people love it. Is it just now in Fall that it takes on so much red?