If a new plant was kinda wimpy and showing some BS, I might spray it lightly to help it along, but by the time it puts out an actual bloom and new leaves, I generally hold off a bit on spraying so that I can determine how disease-resistant it will or won't be in my garden. Of course, I have sometimes had a plant that stayed wimpy the first couple years--they needed help for that time with BS, but by the 3rd year they took off and I held off on spraying. However, most roses will start putting out stronger growth at least in a couple months after being planted in your garden. (NOTE: The plants I'm talking about were called disease-resistant by multiple sources--I don't buy them otherwise.) Two things I've learned about spraying my roses. 1) Most of my roses only need a couple sprays in the springtime and a couple times in the fall. They are, indeed, quite disease-resistant. Only about 8-10 of my roses need more spraying in the springtime and fall--maybe 4 times each. 2) When it gets really hot (July and Aug) I don't usually need to do any spraying. It's too hot for BS to develop in most cases. Your conditions may be different than mine, but my point is, find out which ones need more or less spraying, and then limit your spraying only to those that really need it. Don't spray everything just because a spray was scheduled for that day. Hope you can make sense out of all of that. LOL Kate

Zack -- BS is a serious problem for about half of the roses in my coastal Carolina garden. I succeed in keeping the disease at bay by spraying Honor Guard once every three weeks. Every spring I mark my spray days on the calendar for the entire season and keep rigorously to that 21-day schedule -- adjusting it only if rain is predicted. Honor Guard has the the same formulation and active ingredient (propiconazole) as Banner Maxx, but is less expensive. A very little amount goes a long way (1/3 teaspoon of Honor Guard to a gallon of water). Gardeners in other zones tell me that it's also very effective in controlling PM, anthracnose & rust -- altho rust control apparently requires a slightly stronger solution. ND1964 -- Re your comment, **might spray again this week but don't really see any BS yet**. IMO, if you're going to resort to spraying your roses, it's very important to establish a rigid schedule. Often leaves are hopelessly infected BEFORE you see the evidence. Most spray products are preventatives, not cures, and spraying those products will not stop already-infected foliage from exhibiting the tell-tale spots you're hoping to avoid. Michaelg -- FWIW: I know we've all been told time and time again that 'Gruss an Aachen' is a Floribunda -- in fact, that its arrival on the scene heralded the advent of the Floribunda class. Not so, say Gregg Lowery (Vintage Gardens), Brent C Dickerson, and several European authorities. They insist that GaA is rightly classified as a Hybrid Tea. So, according to them, that rose of yours that totally defoliated is an HT afterall . . . ;-)

i was also thinking of a rain can in the middle of the shower - but not sure if it's worth it. anyone have any brands they recommend?

I enjoy the body sprays in my shower which are temperature controlled by the same thermostatic valve that the showerheads are connected through. You simply need to install a temperature control valve that is large enough to supply all the emitters you're likely to have on at the same time. Either a 3/4" valve or a 1" valve, depending on flow rates of your various emitters. That being said, if you live in a place with high water rates or a high sewer tax that is determined by water usage, you'll want to be conscious of what you have going on in a shower. Shower heads are limited by federal regulation to dispensing no more than 2.5 gallons per minute. Oddly, there's no restriction to the number of shower heads that you're permitted in a shower, so technically, you can blow through as much water as you want. Showering with a single shower head will use a maximum of 2.5 gallons per minute. If you've got a shower head and 3 body sprays going simultaneously, you're now going to be using 10 gallons per minute (2.5 gals per emitter). At that rate, a 10 minute shower is going to send 100 gallons down the drain. It doesn't take long for the costs associated with a luxury shower to really add up. You also need to keep this in mind when sizing your water heater because you'll be using 4 times as much hot water, too. As much as I enjoy my body sprays, I now limit their use to a Sunday morning treat -- for only a portion of my shower. I simply can't justify their use on a daily basis. It just seems wasteful.