Hello Jan, Are you back home? I live in Central Alabama, between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. I agree with Belinda's Dream for sure, but haven't yet planted any of the others he recommended.. the Old Garden Roses are wonderful for the fragrance as well as the beauty. I also like Louis Phillipe, a red china. It is a great bloom machine. Not huge roses, but it blooms all summer and smells great. (right front) Iceberg is a wonderful white rose. It is a shrub that blooms from spring through summer and fall. William Shakespear 2000 is not quite 2 years old. I got it from Chamblee's as a one gallon plant. Tht pink behind is Belinda's Dream. If you want a huge climber, I second the suggestion for New Dawn ...big thorns though, so be careful where you plant it (Not near a path) Doesn't get blackspot: This one is about 5 years old. Started as a band. My big baby: Close up of blooms...and it is fragrant, as are all of these. William Shakespear 2000 is still patented, but the others aren't, so if you wanted to try rooting cuttings.... kay

Hi, Faye, my surname is Fay. :-) It really depends upon the seeds. Most do well sown in fall or winter. The elements help to break down the husk/casing surrounding the seed. If your area has late frosts, that could kill off seedlings which may have germinated during a warm spell. Some folks wait until danger of frost is not an issue. You can help to break down thick husks on seeds by putting the seeds in a small jar along with some stones and shaking them until bits of husk begin to appear in the bottom of the jar. Lorna

Just measuring humidity to 1% or 2% accuracy requires a precision instrument. There is no way outside of a laboratory that you can control humidity within a 3 percent range. I think you should re-examine the original information.

Blooming in flushes sounds nice! I don't spray either. I don't mind a little black spot and my garden is really very casual and spread out and no one can see if from the street lol, so I'm not really that picky. Of course, if it was so bad that it affected the health of the plant so it couldn't bloom then I might reconsider. I've got a back acre on one side of the property that has absolutely nothing (garden wise) on it except some trees around the perimeters. It is kinda hideous right now with tangled brush, wild little trees that sprouted up, and stuff I need to clear out. I want to make some nice garden rooms with roses back there and I need some that can get large. There is a fence on only one side of it between us and the neighbor and the barn and well on the other side. The back, backs up to woods that belong to the city and they don't keep it up at all so its like some huge thicket. I am planting Mermaid along the back to keep out trespassers lol, but not sure what else. Do you have your Purple Skyliner in full sun?