I'm in a totally different part of the country. Daybreak is one of my best (healthiest) hybrid musks. It has gotten established in my garden, survived several attacks from beavers, and is doing what it should do...except it doesn't bloom much in the heat of the summer...but most of my roses don't bloom in this heat. I put Thisbe in this year. It was a band and still looks like one. I'm looking forward to Thisbe doing as well as Daybreak, especially after hearing Catrose's comments. Robert

I only have space for 10 roses, and Day Breaker has been my favorite rose by far since I planted it about 5 years ago. The flower form and color are exquisite and it is the most prolific bloomer of all my roses, with 20-40 blossoms continuously from mid-May to late October. The bush is compact and I like its tall growth habit. The climate here in Portland, OR is perfect for Day Breaker and mine has never had powdery mildew or black spot even though I don't spray. About my only minor quibbles with it are that it attracts aphids more than my other roses, and it isn't strongly scented. But in all other ways it is just about the perfect rose.

Wood Ducks are so pretty, glad you got to see them. Wow that river is thick! Thanks for sharing. Donna

Chris209: it seems as if Embothrium did not look at the excellent photos in your slide show.The photo of the whole tree pretty much rules out bacterial blight and any other sort of infection that effects a tree from the top down. Embothrium's concern with honey fungus seems very unlikely to me as well, but can't be entirely ruled out. If you gently pry away some of the bark down close to the soil line, look for a white fan shaped growth on the wood itself. If one is present, it would indicate a honey fungus infection. If you want to be extra cautious, have the soil and even the wood chip mulch checked by your cooperative extension.service. Cornell has one of the best plant pathogen labs in the world, so that's another possibility. I am very convinced that the crack originating in the understock and proceeding upward is the cause of the tree's problems and can only wish I had some explanation for it. Is it on the sunniest side of the tree? I'm assuming it was not visible when you first planted the tree, but I think it's very likely that whatever it is, it was present within the understock at that time.