Aggie, tree roses are usually made by grafting a rose variety to a trunk (called the "standard", which is grafted to a rootstock. They're grown like other roses, but they need to be staked to protect the trunk and grafts from bending and breaking. They also need extra winter protection.

Sherry, I'm not sure what my pleased rate really will be until maybe next year or later...! Though I must miserly-ly admit that I have my eye on one that's bloomed once and looked a bit toasty the rest of the year while ALL the others have attempted to bloom more and are lovely and green. (*cough* Mortimer Sackler *cough*) Masha, but you can see all those roses, so that is an excuse because it -must- tempt you to add them to your garden! The ones that I really really want are not at Descanso or Huntington (which are kinda-sorta near me). I saw a very sad almost-dead stick of Archduke Charles. It was almost comical because the one I wanted at the top of my list, they denied me seeing in action! "and one must support the nurseries, etc. etc......." Ingrid, hehe. :) I know what you're saying about finding more suitable varieties, though. I feel like I don't really know yet which ones will be winners. This summer (except for this past week) has been unseasonably NOT HOT, so... my roses are doing really well, mostly, but I feel like it's not really a good test. Next summer I bet will have a whole month or two of 100+ temps. rosefolly- I'd love to see more pictures of "whole gardens" with roses of members. :) Renee- you can almost always find a spot for an iris, though, right? and maybe one of them will rot. ;) OK THEN... I appreciate all the thoughtful advice, you guys. I'll get my Bermuda's Kathleen and I'll keep my up and growing pot ghetto with a feeling of slightly less guilt. ;) I actually think my pots look kinda cute. I have alyssum growing around the base of the pots like crazy. They love the little bit of extra water that seeps out of the rose pots.

There are a jillion rose books already out there. (And I have a lot of them!) Personally, I can do without another book on how to plant a bareroot rose and how to prune in the winter. If I could create a rose book just for me, it would be an annual that had pictures and profiles of all the newly released roses. Such pictures and profiles would be taken and written independently from Jackson & Perkins, Weeks, Meilland, Austin, etc. I would also like to see each of those roses put through standardized tests regarding various features. You could have a blackspot benchmark, a powdery mildew benchmark, a last-in-a-vase benchmark, a fragrance benchmark, height reports from various parts of the country, etc. It would be like a Consumer Reports evaluation for roses. With a book like this, you could actually make a more educated decision prior to purchasing. It is my understanding that roses that are chosen for commerce still have to be grown for several more years in the fields in order to have enough to distribute. Somebody in the know should get a hold of them for long term evaluations. - HershiGrl

We were in that part of the country late October several years ago. The state cemetery in Frankfurt (the Capital) still had roses blooming including Old Blush. North of the Ohio River, in the town of Madisonville Indiana, a historic home called Lanier House is down on the river and has a historic rose garden and a really lovely setting. In Lexington KY, if you want to see thousands of different roses, the Arboreteum across the street from the football stadium has a huge collection of all the classes of roses that will grow there. There collection of species roses is neat and the big roses are worth visiting. This could be a neat circle drive from Louisville up to Frankfurt, to Madisonville, to Lexington and then fast drive back to Louisville.