I bought Scentimental almost 10 years ago and it has survived all the hot summers we have had recently. Oranges and Lemons did not fare so well. I think it (O&L) lasted 1-2 years only. Be advised that if your weather is similar to mine, during July thru part of September, you may notice that the number of blooms will dimish significantly and that the color in the blooms will be almost always "wrong" until the temperatures come down from the 100s. During that stressful time, Scentimental has 1 to 1.5" blooms whose color is either only bright red or a dark shade of pink. I only see one bloom or two tops at a time. Sometimes they have stripes but very few. They may appear to be the wrong rose to people who have not seen this before. If your soil is as bad as you suggest, consider growing them in containers. It may help keep some of those the large shrubs' size in check a little. Take a trip to Antique Rose Emporium (call first to see if they have a good selection of striped roses) if you want to see before buying. I have not tried hybrid perpetuals here but I have seen Reve dâÂÂOr and Souvenir de St. Anne's for sale before in my area and have Souvenir del la Malmaison (shrub) and Zepherine de Drouhin. Those are not striped roses though. Reine des Violettes did not fare well as I did not like the shrub's structure. Here is more info: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/rosesant/msg0217034631488.html?4 Luis

Hi Melissa -- did you ever get that email I sent you about digging a swale to capture rainwater on a hillside? I'm working on a similar project (slowly) and thought of you. Fundamentally I agree with you. It's best to grow plants that want to grow in the conditions you can offer them. I have a couple exceptions. You mentioned blueberries. I just adore blueberries. If you stick to the newer southern highbush varieties such as Misty, Oneal, and Sunshine Blue you may have better luck. Sunshine Blue in particular is said to be a little more tolerant of higher pH. Try a raised bed filled with compost, wood chip, and peat as a growing medium. I'm experimenting with the same mixture, some soil and sulfur added, dug as a trench in the ground. It is too soon to tell, but so far all but one of my blueberries are growing well and not chlorotic. I did lose one, but think that I lost it to hot dry weather when I was away. They do need water. I don't begrudge it to food plants. My other exception is that I planted a couple of avocado trees because Tom loves them so much. I'm not convinced that I'm going to be able to make them happy, but we're giving it a try. After killing about two dozen rhododendrons, I've given up on them. I have two left. One under the redwood trees actually looks reasonably happy. The other, alas, is on its way out. I do so love rhododendrons. At least I have roses! And apples. And plums, and figs, and citrus. Really, so much does well here that it is silly to sigh for the few plants that won't thrive for me. It means that when I go garden visiting and see favorite plants I cannot grow well, I have the special thrill that comes from seeing the less accustomed beauty. Rosefolly

Trees roses take about 3 years to grow. They are first started with an understock on which is budded ,mainly a Rugosa ,which is allowed to only grow one stem . When the cane has reached 3 feet then they bud a floribunda , hybrid tea or modern shrub type rose around the top. This is then allowed to grow for another year. This process does require a sound knowledge of the art of budding roses.

My friend (who's also in the Rose Society) had (she moved) a fabulous rose garden filled with peonies and old garden roses (OGRs) from before 1867. She had the most bees I've ever seen in a garden. Amazing! This will show you the size of the pots I use. I also have a routine for waking them up in the summer and putting them in the garage in the winter. I got my pots from Costco, but they don't sell this type anymore. They're resin pots and very light, but with the soil in (big yellow bag potting soil delivery) they become heavy and my husband uses a dolly to get them to and from the garage. I usually have around 50 roses in pots. Yes, John Davis is capable of climbing...but it's canes aren't long and supple, so it was beyond me (maybe not you) to get it to climb. :) Ann - That sounds wonderful!! And bees love rugosa roses the best!! Carol