1. Do you still dormant spray your potted roses that never get disease? I use only horticultural oil not lime sulphur, so is it necessary? Dormant spray is to (hopefully) prevent or control disease. If these don't get sprayed and are generally healthy enough without the spray, why spray them? If it makes you feel better to spray them, go for it, otherwise, you should be able to skip it. 2. If there is a light layer of pine mulch bark left over from last year in potted roses and the soil is low, what do you think if I simply cover the old mulch with a layer of soil + compost then cover that with another layer of fresh bark? I'd dump the old mulch in a flower bed to continue composting and becoming part of the soil. I like to add soil underneath the potted plants to raise the crown where it was originally, then add to the sides and any necessary on top, then replace the mulch. My goal is to have the plant positioned in the pot as it was originally. 3. When planting roses near trees or other shrubs how do you keep the tree or shrub roots from taking over the new soil meant for the roses and stunt the roses? That depends upon what kind of tree you're referring to. For massive root systems such as White Birch (gawd-awful weeds to plant around!), there is little you CAN do as those roots can find their way through block walls. For those with less massive root sytems, I haven't found it to be that much of an issue as long as the rose in question is a rampant grower. 4. How much does composted horse manure smell and for how long? Does it attract flies? Composted horse manure has little smell other than "earthy" to me. Fresh horse manure smells like a sweaty horse for about three days, then most of the scent dissipates. I have NEVER had horse manure of any kind attract flies, and I've used a couple of tons of the stuff over the past thirty years. 5. Besides looking for rain tolerant roses is there any way to tell if a rose's blooms will survive lawn sprinklers, still open, not ball and turn mushy? Anyone have particular cultivars they recommend if roses will get sprayed lawn sprinklers? Your greatest probability of success with this is to select roses with "heavy petal substance". Those with very stiff, waxy petals. The "substance" is a waxy cuticle, skin, over the petals which is what makes the specific varieties which possess it excellent for exhibition and florist work. It's also one characteristic which prevents scent in blooms. The heavier, stiffer and waxier (more "substance") the petal, the longer it lasts in a vase, the less scent it has, the more abuse/handling/refrigeration it can withstand with less damage, and the lower the potential for water to spoil it. Not that water WON'T spoil it, just not as easily. 6. Last summer when I deadheaded the roses I just pinched and twisted the blooms off instead of cutting the cane down to an outward facing 5 leaflet side bud. The roses grew new foliage on canes too thin to be productive. Is this something only done with Tea roses or other antiques roses? There seems to me to be something else at work here than just snapping off the spent flowers. I have traditionally snapped off the spent flowers in my garden at the point of abscission for many years with no real ill effects. Anything which is too thin to support the expected flowers gets taken care of at the usual pruning time. What kinds of roses have you experienced this issue with? Were they situated where they received sufficient sun? 7. I've discovered that some of the pots (24" wide x 18" high) I'm using only have a capacity of 17 gallons. Is this enough for a rose that grows 4-5 feet tall? Perhaps...but only with excellent drainage and religious watering, and insulation from extreme sun/heat exposure directly to the pot walls. If those pots are protected from extreme sun directly on them, and/or if you're in a milder, more coastal environment rather than an inland valley heat type, your chances are better. If not, no, extreme heat/sun will probably yield problems due to cooked roots and quickly dried out root balls. With roses, usually, if you have five feet of top growth, you have about that much root under it. For that much root to be squeezed into that size soil mass, there is probably not a lot of water holding capacity left. I'd also expect the pot sides to be lined with a fairly thick mass of root tissue, right where extremes in temperatures can more quickly and easily affect them adversely. Something the size you suggest is probably going to perform a lot better in the ground, presuming decent drainage and other acceptable cultural practices. Kim

Geraniums (actually pelargoniums, see the FAQs if you want the expalanation of the difference) need to be brought in before hard freeze. They can take light freeze if they are covered at night with an old blanket, or a couple of bedsheets. They can be grown indoors as houseplants, and will reward you with beautiful blooms to enjoy all winter, as they would in their native Africa. I grow mine in a lightly heated sunroom all winter, because it's got nice light. They'd like a bit more warmth to put out more blooms, but they survive winter nicely in there. If you are blessed with bright southern windows in your house, they'll really do well.

Marie, I'm super glad you liked everything. Tried to pick a few things off your list that you really wanted. I fell in love with those earrings! Some of that candy IS FOR YOUR DAUGHTER...PUT AWAY THE 2ND BOX OF MALTED MILK EGGS AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT! LOL I hope the Ramapo does well for you.

So the use of extracts in CP soap is basically out. I figured that. However, in M&P it seems to be okay. I have also used cinnamon oil and clove oil in M&P soap, along with vanilla. The fragrance seems to last a long time, or at least as long as most fragrance oils do. It does require more extract to achieve a good fragrance than it does fragrance oil. The mint is especially hard to achieve a good fragrance with, I think, but the cinnamon oil and also ground cinnamon seem to produce a strong fragrance. Susan