CMK, I remember reading you have drainage issues. We had a little bit of that ‘wet without draining’ in early spring, a couple of times when it rained and the ground was still frozen. I thought I was going to have trouble and I don’t know why I didn’t. I normally have good drainage though, so that must make the difference. I’m sorry you don’t. :-( That must be a particularly aggravating problem. I wonder if you’ve ever considered raised beds? I had plants very slow to show up this spring, so I was considering that I might have lost them, and at the time, I was thinking maybe I should add more conifers, until I visited the Conifer forum in the spring and they were posting long lists of plants they lost! So, if you are thinking about it, I’d read some of their posts on which ones they lost. :-) Mnwsgal, sorry to hear of your losses too. I have never had much luck wintering over in the garage. And the snowplow frequently digs into some edge of the front yard. We have a bed that borders the street, but it has a rock edge to it, which I suppose must help. Of course, they don't actually see the rocks under the snow, and once they did plow into those. Wow, what a noise that made! And 12ft of rock edge had to be reset, but I didn't lose any plants. [g] I wish we had sidewalks.

Oh wow! I just checked in as I customarily do and what a bonanza of information. Thank you so much for the info! Michael, your info about BS overwintering in the canes sets off a lightbulb over my head. I made the observation last year that my very very hale and hearty new shoots (I had 5 basal breaks last year between my 3 older roses) that were growing long thick and round (branches, that is) were so much more resistant to BS than the other older ones which were also spindlier older growths from the past. This year, much to my surprise, the leaves on these still nice new thick branches were showing no less BS than those on the old skinnier stems. That had surprised and dismayed me. But now I understand. I've had my eye on Teasing Georgia, & Generous Gardener for ages but they scared me just a touch, truth be told, by their size. Not the size exactly, but just how much I fancy sun they would want to support that size :-). I don't know that my suburban Boston garden is allowed that much sun! But they are compelling options and I will look into getting them. Dublinbay, QoS is a great recommendation. I've had my eye on her and her very manageable size made her very very tempting. But she looks so delicate that I just wasn't sure about her hardiness to disease etc. So I'm delighted to read you recommend her so well. Really happy about that. That said, Abe Darby and WP are such utterly gorgeous looking and smelling roses that it is hard to give up on them. Still, for a new garden spot, these are heartening recommendations. To your mind, do the organic fungicides work? The fungonils and copper sprays or others? Or is a chemical spray a given? kidhorn, I've been sufficiently annoyed by the sight of all the BS that even though my roses aren't by a gate, I might just whack them morning and evening and see if the whacking does the spores in. Thank you all ever so very much. This still newbie gardener very much appreciates it.

Beautiful! I am so envious because here in Tampa Bay, we cannot grow them - way too hot and humid. Of course, I have 8 foot angel wings and rhizomatous in the landscape 5 feet around ....but those tuberous are ribbon-worthy! Greg in New Port Richey zone 9b/10a

I had Kelvin Floodlight from 2 different sources and the one I had purchased from a local nursery really looked nothing like the tuber I had received in a trade. The flower never looked as full and the petals would often turn brown. I tossed that one. My Candlelight from Swan Island rarely looks as pretty as it does in the catalog. Mostly it looks like dirty yellow but once it awile it throws a nice orange/yellow blend. I don't really love it but I keep planting it every year, probably because it is the first one to bloom every summer and it seems to store very well since I have had that one for years. As for the late bloomers, I plan on starting the biggest AA's in the house in late March. I did that with Show N Tell last year and it was blooming profusely by July. I made a list of the ones I'm going to start early. I don't have room to start them all or I would. As for your Citron Du Cap, I would love to trade you something for that one. I have been eyeing that one for a few years and would like to try it. I have quite a few dahlias in storage and hopefully will have a lot of varities to trade in the spring. If you're interested, you can email me on my member page. Linda