Straw, I've never used MG fertilizer before so I'm wondering how long it would take to start greening up Earthsongs leaves? Earthsong looks the same to me today plus he got rained on last night... so no changes yet....

msdorkgirl(11), last year one of our roses got transplanted in the heat so I had to do this...LOL

Cheap umbrellas that were picked up from Bargain stores...

Our Celebrity tomato plant that has NOT been fertilized:

Our Celebrity and Neighbors massive Tomato plants in pots... Those white pots are mine... He uses them...lol...I'm going to use a pot like that to plant "Rose of Hope" in next year....

Zinnia plant growing decent to the left of Earthsong.... Its starting to bloom...

This area is where I have our puny Cherry Tomato plant and I just threw some Marigolds in there... NEXT year Carefree Celebration Rose Bush will be planted right where that birdbath is now... Then other types of plants will be planted in front of CC...

Looks very nice & organized, Jim. MG soluble works within a week. I like your birdbath, I have one just like that, except bronze color.

Thanks Straw!

So how did everyones 4th of July go??? Rained here most of the day so we just stayed home...

Today (Sunday) was very nice weather wise..

I picked lots of cherries from my tree, which filled up 5-gallon bucket. I freeze them for the winter. We get a bumper crop of cherries this year, thanks to chicken manure NPK 5-3-2.5 which I scattered early spring.

Cherries sound good Straw!

I keep rushing up and looking at Earthsong hoping for change but nothing yet... lol... It's only been 3 days though...lol

I meant to tell you that most Earthsong sold has RMV (rose mosaic virus) but delay until I understand what cause the flare-up of RMV in my Gruss an Teplitz: heavy rain will cause flare-up of RMV, with marbled-yellow-veins in lower leaves. Sometimes RMV manifest itself as failure to grow, plus more susceptible to diseases like rust, mildew, and black spots. It took me 1 year to solve mildew in my RMV-infected Gruss, which I got for free from Burlington nursery. Here's what Roseseek wrote on Earthsong on July 2013:

"The Earth Song I grew, and which is still in the family, is badly virused. I obtained it from a gentleman who was a musician and played a concert at Iowa State, meeting Dr. Buck there. They found they both loved music and roses. Dr. Buck took him to his green houses and handed him a plant of Earth Song. The man grew it in many gardens over the years and came to Limberlost Roses in Van Nuys, CA, looking for another plant as his was in decline. Bob Edberg, who owned the nursery at the time, listened to the story and suggested he wait until he checked with me. I suggested the man bring in cuttings, which he did, and which I sent to Burling at Sequoia. Burling rooted it, returning three plants to me. I kept one, and gave Bob the other two. The gentleman never returned for his plants.

A few years later, when Bob sold the nursery to a landscape company, he asked me if I would be interested in managing it. The company hired me and there were still the two Earth Song plants there. I sold both. All three of the plants propagated from the Earth Song Dr. Buck handed the gentleman are/were infected with RMV. I don't know where the other two went after they were sold, but the one I retained grows in my youngest sister's garden in Newhall, CA.

The lion's share of Dr. Buck's roses were introduced by Roses of Yesterday and Today, all being propagated on the infected Dr. Huey their contract budder used. I purchased BUCblu, Blue Skies, the year before it was commercially available from a "Texas consortium" of growers through an ad in the ARS magazine for a whopping $25, plus shipping. That plant was obviously virused. It expressed all the classic water marked foliage as well as unusually distorted leaves. I have grown 60+ of the Buck roses and MOST demonstrated the water marked foliage over the years they were in my garden. I have not grown any of his unreleased seedlings, put out after his death. But, if plants given personally by Dr. Buck from his work there at Iowa State have been infected, what's to say others propagated there and growing in friends' and family members' gardens weren't, also? Unless the Buck rose in question has been put through a virus clean up program, I would strongly suspect it to be infected." Roseseek (Kim Rupert) on July 7, 2013.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1690208/pictures-of-rose-moisaic-virus-rmv

Straw I think you are 100% correct about our Earthsong! So I called Heirloom Roses and they told me there Earthsong was Virus Free so I ordered one... 20% off regular price...

I'm going to transplant this RU Earthsong to another yard location. Then I'm going to mix into our clay soil alittle compost then I'll plant the Earthsong from Heirloom where the other one just was...

Raining again so got the roof over Earthsong...lol

Interesting info on the Buck Roses -- (El Catala is one).

Nice house for Earthsong Jim, my roses burnt up some with the intense sun. That zinnia is really tall?

That zinnia will get even taller...lol

I dug out Earthsong and planted him elsewhere for now...His roots look exactly the same as the day I planted him...

Now I'm going to mix some compost into our native soil in that location.... I will plant the new Earthsong from Heirloom Roses in that location when it comes..

in a pot? try in a pot.

For now Earthsong is in another location in the ground... Earthsong will overwinter better in the ground until I figure out what to do with him...

The new Earthsong will arrive from Heirloom next week sometime...

Hey Straw thanks a million again for the RMV info!

Nice house you made for Earthsong, Jim. I actually have 2 roses with RMV: Queen of Sweden from Roses Unlimited has lower leaves with yellowish-marble-pattern whenever it rains. Q of Sweden was really stingy with tiny blooms for me, although it's disease-free. I spent $$ on that hole, with super-phosphate for phosphorus, and that didn't help. When I dug that up, the soil was nice & fluffy, so it was rose-mosaic-virus (RMV) fault, and NOT the hole's fault. Now Radio Times occupy Queen of Sweden spot, and it's blooming non-stop. Two other people reported RMV on Queen of Sweden.

Gruss an Teplitz with RMV gave me hell (aphids & mildew) when it was in a pot, with perfect potting soil ... while other roses in pots were OK. So I moved it to well-drained hill, and it mildewed. I had to fix the hole twice before it's OK, but still have lower leaves with zig-zag yellow lines. RMV makes a rose slow-to-bloom, and even harder to stay healthy, even in a pot.

The only reason why I keep Gruss is I don't have to water that one.

Msgirl: Amazon has this shade-cloth on sale really cheap for $13, original price $40. There are good deals on Amazon, one time my husband got a pair of headphones 1/2 price, and the $20 work better than the expensive ones. One of the reviewer from below link is from Chicago, yes, we get super-strong wind. My kid's play-park is heavy, yet the wind blew that onto my tomato bed. Our wind also toppled over those blue portable-outhouse at public events.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IPPQQ1E?psc=1

For a higher quality shade cloth, it's $34, free shipping, with video & tips:

http://www.amazon.com/Idirectmart-Triangle-Shade-Sail-Inches/dp/B004OQ4SLI/ref=pd_sim_86_42?ie=UTF8&refRID=0RX2181BEXRHR1XQEX1V

My husband loves gadgets. He bought for himself an electric trimmer, and a $50 laser-measuring tool ... Not sure why he wants a laser-measuring tool to measure the roof ... but guys go after high-tech for no reason.

lol on the gadgets...lol

Everything is ready so as soon as I receive the new Earthsong it will get planted... I have planted several Heirloom Baby Bands before in July and they all made it through our winters...

I applied some compost under and around all our new roses today also... In September/October I'll do the entire beds after I take all the flowers out....

Alfalfa has growth-promoting properties, if the right form is used with the right soil. Since alfalfa has a "gluing property", the meal and pellets form work great for sandy soil, but lousy for clay soil. I find that alfalfa hay works best in clay soil for promoting growth. This is my 2nd year testing alfalfa hay and I'm impressed. For my 4 roses bought from Roses Unlimited, received 3rd week of June. Versigny rose with alfalfa hay in the planting hole achieved earliest leaf growth, plus a bloom. Bronze Star rose mulched with alfalfa hay has next-best leaf-growth. Betty White, zero alfalfa hay, only cocoa mulch, has 3rd leaf-growth. Dreuil (old garden rose), with home-made compost in the planting hole, has zero growth. The home-made compost is one-year worth of coffee grounds, tons of banana peels, melon rinds, veggies scrap from the garden.

I'll have to check around here for Alfalfa hay... Thanks Straw!

Question Straw: How exactly do you put Allfalfa Hay in the planting hole? I'm guessing you cut it up into smaller pieces? Place at bottom of hole? mix in with backfilled soil? Thanks!

I may of got ripped off! Remember that fertilizer and Humic acid I ordered? Seems the company has jumped ship... They take your money but you get no product!

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/c/2246/

So I had to file a complaint with the BBB of Illinois...

I have emailed and tried to call the company. Phone numbers not valid and they do not answer emails...

I ordered from this place 3 times from 2010-12 with no problems... hummmm

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This petunia is in the well composted bed... All petunias and Marigolds huge in that bed.

Yardstick used: I actually had to cut back some petunias as they are getting too big and growing into the roses...

Hi Jim: I'm so sorry to hear that you are ripped off by MegaGrow. Was it sold through Amazon? I got ripped off by this guy whom I trade roses with. He's a friend of Kim Rupert, and he lives in Beverly Hills (rich guy). I spent $30 in Total postage cost (mailing twice), and the whole day prepping & mailing my roses to him, but he failed to exchange roses back. Actually the debt is on his part, since he will be held liable after he die. Folks who don't pay now, will pay dearly for that later (when they die). Charles Dickens quote: "We forge the chains we wear in life." My translation "We forge the chains we will wear for eternity."

Fresh alfalfa hay is hard to stuff in the planting hole. I leave it on top of the planting hole, and let the rain washes the nutrients down. When it's half-rotted, then I stuff into the hole, and let it decompose for at least 1 month before planting. It's the best way to attract earthworms. When rain water passes through alfalfa hay, alfalfa-tea is made, so the soil where the alfalfa hay is mulched ... there's tons of earthworms underneath, they really like that alfalfa-tea.

Sorry to hear you got taken too Straw!

Question Straw? I found Alfalfa Hay at our local feedmill... Do you cut it up into small pieces when placing into planting hole???

Not through Amazon. Megagro website... I ordered from Megagro 3 times from 2010-12 and I always got prompt service. But now seems like they ignore people take your money and send no product... :-/

Shame on Megagro !! Our country is still a lot better than some other countries. My Mom grew up in a 3rd-world country where everyone cheat on each other, even her relatives borrow her money and never return.

Alfalfa hay is sold here for $8 per big bale, enough to mulch 20+ roses. At first I cut up the dry hay, but it was hard work, so I gave up. If you soak the alfalfa hay in a 5-gallon bucket with rain water for a few days, the water is rich in nutrients to feed roses, and the wet hay is easier to stuff into holes and break-up with a shovel. Despite our month-long-rain in June, the alfalfa hay was still hard to stuff into the hole. Alfalfa is easier to work with when it's soaking wet ... it's softer to mix into the soil. Roses are healthier with alfalfa hay in the planting hole .. that create gaps for roots to breathe, plus help to loosen compact clay. Plus earthworms really like that stuff, the more earthworms, the fluffier the soil. Alfalfa hay takes forever to de-compose, so it stays SEPARATED from clay. In contrast, alfalfa meal and pellets decompose fast, thus glue-up with clay, The faster something decomposes, the more acid it gives off. I like to stuff COARSE sand along with alfalfa hay, since COARSE sand never decompose, it stays dry & separated for years, thus help in creating gaps in the hole for roots to expand.

Menards has a display where they put samples of different mulches, tiny pebbles, red-lava-rocks, and one sample of COARSE sand. I touched them, and the wettest one was COARSE sand, that's how long it retained water, plus there's a tiny plant sprouting from the COARSE sand sample. Roses root easiest in COARSE sand, rather than peat moss-based potting soil. Peatmoss is harder for roots to go through than sand.

Thanks for the info Straw!

I put some Espoma Organic Garden Lime under my sisters rose today Straw. I really do not know what else to try? The soil in that area is already very fluffy that's one of the reasons I chose that spot for my sisters rose bush. Fluffy and well draining area...

Thomas Affleck is blooming again....

"Rose of Hope"

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/gardening/article/M-D-Anderson-trial-garden-joins-search-for-5567848.php

Rose of Hope is beautiful . I love the color !! Thank you for that link.

I'll try to get a better pic later but Prairie Harvest is going to bloom. But its raining so not sure how well blooms will hold up...

Easy Does it bud...

Thomas Affleck today

Jim: Too much Garden lime (pH 9) doesn't provide balanced nutrients. Dolomitic lime isn't best for multiflora rose with cluster-blooming. Red-lava (high potassium) is a better buffer for cluster-blooming. Alfalfa hay (high nitrogen & plus phosphorus & potassium & calcium) is the best buffer overall. I zapped Baby Fauraux rose (multiflora & cluster-bloom) with calcium via gypsum. Buffering agents against rapid change in pH (be it acidic rain, or very-alkaline topping) ... that depend on a rose' species, and depend on one soil pH. I post detailed info. in the below link.

Gypsum, dolomitic, lime, sulfates vs. buffers and anti-fungal agents

Thanks Straw for the link!

I'll use some Alfalfa Hay when I get some here soon Straw...Our feedmill has it I just have to pick it up yet... I took off as much Dolomitic Lime from my sisters rose as I could then it rained again... My sisters rose is forming buds already I actually would rather see it concentrate on growing leaves back first...

I took a better pic of a Prairie Harvest bloom:

Zinnia:

Nice colors that cheer my day. I went to HomeDepot to get some coarse sand, they have Red Peace rose (smells good, but better color than Pink Peace) and another dark-red rose that smells really good .. forgot its name.

How close do you plant your roses together Straw? I'm planting Carefree Celebration where the birdbath is in the pic. I'm thinking of Rose of Hope and another smaller rose bush in front of CC...

I'm trying to think how I want to space them...Since CC is large and the other two would be smaller rose bushes... Smaller would have to go in the front... If I have to I can take out more grass and enlarge the area if needed...

Here's the stage Prairie Harvest is at today... Seems like he's holding his spirals for awhile before opening up completely...

Thomas Affleck blooms do not last long on the bush at all... 48 hours or less after opening they are falling apart and off the bush... But TA does repeat fast though...

Thomas Affleck: Blooms are short lived... 48hours or less after opening they fall apart and off the bush...But TA does repeat very fast...

Wow! The leaves are so healthy on your roses. Plus Prairie Harvest has a great color. What did you put on top of those 2 roses? Plus what's in the planting hole? The more I experiment, the more I realize gypsum is NOT a good buffer, since it dissolve quickly, and releases too much sulfate (caustic to roots). The acidic part of gypsum is 17% sulfur. My roses broke out in B.S. and rust when I dumped 1/2 cup of gypsum.

Garden lime (with calcium & magnesium) is a better buffer against rain, since it's slow-released. Your sister-rose bush is a multiflora (small leaves & cluster-blooming) ... that type of rose has cluster-root, rather than woody-long root like Dr. Huey. The more woody & chunky a root is, the higher the demand for calcium (lime). Calcium is what makes tissue tough.

I find that roses need good spacing in between for air-flow. Also putting black-plastic to kill grass in advance: that convert grass into compost, good for the soil.

It occurred to me that roses are healthiest in the 1st year, since the soil has fresh minerals & organic matter as buffering agents against acidic rain. But as time goes by, roots secret acid to expand. When I stuffed alfalfa pellets in the planting hole ... that worked great at first, then as it decomposes, it releases acid, plus glue-up with clay. The place where roses occupied for a few years, I tested the pH and it's slightly acidic, rather than alkaline like when first planted.

I applied Horse Manure and Garden Lime to Thomas Affleck earlier this season. All our Double Ko's got my compost in September of 2014... All our new roses got nothing since planted in May... I Just applied my compost under all the new roses the other day...

Sadly I read an article not long ago that said most horse manure these days are not good for plants because of certain additives... But I have seen no ill side effects from the Horse Manure I used...

I like lots of spacing to Straw...Good idea with black plastic Straw...

Rained a lot today again but we got at least 2 days coming with no rain...

Horse manure and garden lime works wonder for my roses for 3 years !! The stable here limes their horse manure, so I don't have to do liming. Last year I didn't get horse manure, but I put dolomitic lime on my aggressive roses with dark green leaves. This year those are 100% clean as of today, July 9. But the new roses which I haven't put garden lime, are breaking out in black spots (Carding Mill and Yves seedling), so today I put garden lime on them. I really have to test the pH of soil before putting gypsum (has 17% sulfur) ... So glad that I put Garden Lime inside the planting hole of Pink Peace ... I dug that up, tested the pH and found it slightly acidic. Pink Peace grows 100% healthy new leaves, despite being dug up recently.

Here's Prairie Harvest today: Bloom is more open now...

Easy Does it today:

Thomas Affleck: See how blooms fall off bush quickly... Wonder if anything could help that situation Straw???

Jim, I love your gorgeous and healthy roses, esp. the color of Easy Does it. When blooms fall off the bush, or when blooms don't last long in the vase ... they don't have enough solidity, or structure ... what helps is calcium. I had seen Thomas Affleck's bloom with many petals in HMF. Calcium gives it more petals & long-lasting power on the bush. The slow-release calcium with magnesium (dolomitic lime, or Espoma Garden lime) is best. Calcium should be given with nitrogen-source (manure or alfalfa) at a ratio of equal calcium to nitrogen for woody-solid-root like Dr. Huey. But for multiflora-cluster-blooming, and cluster-root, with less woodiness & less petals ... calcium should be a bit less than nitrogen.

Since your soil pH is less than 7, it's safe to use dolomitic lime. Here's an excerpt from below link for alkaline clay like mine: "Use gypsum instead because it does not raise the soil's pH. If your garden soil tests with a pH of less than 7.0, you can use either gypsum, which will not raise the pH, or lime or shell meal, which will."

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/good-source-calcium-plants-29839.html

Sorry it's been a while, I have to catch up. Between being sick and catching up on shows, I haven't kept up with the forums or my roses. Hope everyone is well and from what I quickly scanned, it seems everyone is good :)

first bud on one of the Austins (yesterday)

Fake Chrysler Imperial (maybe it is ... who knows)

Thanks for the info Straw... I already put garden lime down in April of this year under Thomas Affleck. Is it safe to put more down this year? I'll have to figure out a nitrogen source... How about Alfalfa Hay on top of soil?

msdorkgirl(11), just wondering why you call your red rose Fake Chrysler Imperial? There is a pic on HMF under Chrysler Imperial that looks like your bloom...

Great pics by the way msdorkgirl(11)!

Sorry to hear your were sick!

MsGirl: Thank you for those 1st blooms, it's so exciting to see them. Sorry to hear you are sick too. I have such bad hay fever now ... my nose get stuffy & I really need to get an effective nasal spray so I can breathe easier at night. Hawaii sounds like a wonderful place to live ... I assume low-pollution, My doc-sister has a perfect house & location in Northern CA, but the air is so polluted & bad for her asthma, so she's looking elsewhere to retire. I have a few siblings in Florida too, but the weather in Florida is super hot & humid now, above 90 ... so my siblings move back to Michigan for the summer, and keep their Florida's houses for the winter. It's quite costly to keep 2 residences in 2 different states. My sister in Florida got her air-conditioning stolen, she spent $8,000 replacing that unit & plus installed a gate & lock. My days of renting were so much carefree & less worries. Now I have zillions of things to do with a large garden: tons of weeds to pull and dandelions to dig up. How's the crime rate and air pollution in Hawaii?

I'm testing the spirulina tablets made in Hawaii ... it supposed to lessen hay fever & boost immunity, but honestly the Kelp tablet works better in perking me up. Maybe it takes the spirulina a while with my hay fever. People swear that they don't get sick with spirulina tablets, I haven't notice much, but I notice that with Kelp-tablets, I can nap easily, and when I wake up from a nap, I don't get tired nor groggy.

Jim: We have lots of rain in June, but it's drying up now. The last heavy rain was a few days ago. I put 3 cups of red-lava-rock per big-bush in spring, and it shrank down to 1 cup. When I see all the gritty lime disappear, I re-apply again. I am using pH 5.6 water with my rain-barrels. But if you are in a hot & dry spell and plan to water with your alkaline tap: DO NOT put lime down, since there's already calcium hydroxide in your tap which raises the pH of the soil to the point of no-blooming. Best to wait until the rainy months start (mid-September) for the 2nd application of lime. Alfalfa hay is fantastic for re-growth of leaves. I like it as mulch in hot summer, since it keeps the roots cool & protect the earthworms underneath.

Straw our in the ground roses only get rain water...I never hand water them...

Our in the pot/container flowers get tap water but only after it sits in containers for a few days...

We are suppose to have at least 2 days in a row without rain...

After thinking about it I'm ok with Thomas Affleck dropping blooms so fast right now as I would really like to see him concentrate on growing a good root system so he grows into a decent sized bush by October...

I have been experimenting with RU Earthsong and nothing seems to change that yellow pattern in its leaves so it has bad RMV for sure Straw... Lightly Foilage spraying ES leaves did nothing also...

Pics:

Prairie Harvest looking alittle ragged today...

A couple new Prairie Harvest buds getting ready to open:

Easy Does It today:

So springy ... I do love the colors jim!

Tranquility

Tahitian Sunset

Wild Blue Yonder

Summer Love

Fake, maybe real Chrysler imperial

Grande Dame

Neptune

Secret

distant drums

Thank you Jim & and Msgirl: What a wonderful treat for the eyes. I love Jim's organized garden, and Msgirl ... your roses have lush-thick-leaves. Your "Chrysler Imperial" looks really good. Secret is beautiful, so is Tranquility. Grand Dame is beautiful !!!

Things looking real good msdorkgirl(11)!

Just some pics I snapped today:

Easy Does It slowly starts fading from Orange to pink...

Morning Glories:

Prairie Harvest blooms:

Bud on Thomas Affleck:

Petunia:

I love the color combinations .. will have to plant blue petunias next year. Blue is my fav. color.

I hope I don't bore anyone by posting shots of the same thing over and over...lol

I do that so I can use the pics and info for future references...

Orange and Blue make a good combo...lol

Wow! I love that exotic plant which your wife planted. What's its name? I'm going to order Kordes Roses from Chamblee, I'm getting sick of putting buffers on roses to prevent black spots. .

Your pics confirm my plan of putting orange rose next to blue rose. Thank you, Jim. I plan to get Kordes-perfume collection: Poisedon (blue), Beverly (dark pink), Dark desire (dark red), First Crush (light pink). And one Austin rose: Lady Emma Hamilton. Will have to register my wish-list with Chamblee website to reserve those roses.

https://www.chambleeroses.com/order/Kordes%AE/

Be very careful what Kordes roses you buy Straw! I was on a Kordes website and they have a rating system on that site... Up to 4 star can be given for BS resistance... BUT some of there roses they only gave them 2-3 stars for BS resistance... I personally will only try the roses they rated 4 stars...

http://newflora.com/kordes-roses/arborose-collection/

For instance Lavender Veranda® Rose is only rated with 2 stars so not good!

Rose of Hope was rated a 3 so not sure if I will try it or not?

Plum Perfect is rated a 4 but from doing research winter hardiness is in serious question and it seems to do best in hotter locations...

We do not know name of my wifes flower... Sorry Straw...Someone walking by our house today asked also...

Chamblees Kordes roses:

Beverly rated 3 stars for BS and 2 for Mildew

Brilliant Veranda rated 2 Stars for BS and 2 for Mildew

Carmella Fairy Tale rated 3 stars for BS and 3 for Mildew

Coco rated 3 stars for BS and 3 for Mildew

Cream Veranda rated 4 stars for BS and 4 Stars for Mildew *****************

Dark Desire 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Fiji 4 for BS and 4 for Mildew ************************

Fire Opal™ Kolorscape 4 for BS and 4 for Mildew *******************

First Crush 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Flamingo Kolorscape 4 for BS and 4 for Mildew ***********************

Golden Fairy Tale 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Heart Song 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Iceberg ?????????????

Innocencia 4 for BS and 3 for Mildew *****

Jolie Veranda 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Kardinal Kolorscape 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Kosmos 4 for BS and 3 for Mildew *****

Lavender Veranda 2 for BS and 2 for Mildew

Lemon Fizz Kolorscape 4 for BS and 4 for Mildew ************************

Lion's Fairy Tale 4 stars for BS and 3 for Mildew *****

Lone Star 3 for BS and 2 for Mildew

Mandarin Ice 4 for BS and 4 for Mildew *********************

Pink Enchantment 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Plum Perfect 4 for Bs and 3 for Mildew *****

Polar Express 4 for BS and 4 for Mildew ***********************

Poseidon 4 for Bs and 3 for Mildew *****

Purple Rain 4 for BS and 3 for Mildew *****

Raspberry 4 for BS and 4 for Mildew ***********************

Rose of Hope 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Roxanne Veranda 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Roxy Vigorosa 4 for BS and 3 for Mildew *****

Ruby Ice 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Savannah 4 for BS and 4 for Mildew ********************

Seminole Wind 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Shreveport????????????

Solero Vigorosa 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

South Africa 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Summer Romance 4 for BS and 3 for Mildew *****

Sunbeam Veranda 2 for BS and 2 for Mildew

Sunny Sky 4 for BS and 3 for Mildew *****

Tutu 4 for BS and 3 for Mildew *****

Wedding Bells 4 for BS and 3 for Mildew *****

Westerland????????

Winter Sun 3 for BS and 3 for Mildew

Zaide 2 for BS and 3 for Mildew

NOTE:

Some of these Kordes roses are newer so take ratings with a grain of salt... Hard to find real life info on these roses.........Hardly any info on HMF about them yet...

Thank you, Jim, for the warning on Kordes roses. I research on that, and found to be disease-resistant and cold-hardy at the same time .. Kordes get breeding from Rugosa .. which HATES alkaline clay. Hoovb garden is in alkaline clay, CA, and she reported lots of Kordes rose she tried don't bloom, or lousy repeat for CA's alkaline soil and tap-water.

I had one Kordes rose: Deep Purple ... it hated my alkaline clay, but it was 100% healthy in fluffy potting soil. The key to Rugosa's health and blooming: loamy soil. Alkaline sandy soil grows good Rugosa, but alkaline clay soil is lousy for Rugosa. Since Rugosa provides the scent, I'm cautious about Kordes Perfume collection.

In contrast, French Romantica love my alkaline clay. Draw back: French Romantica are NOT winter-hardy like Kordes roses.

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23

Several of the newer Kordes have done poorly in my garden, except for disease resistance, which is superb. I appreciate 12' of pristine, gorgeous foliage, but without flowers there's no point.

They grow huge, huge, huge and have slow or very little repeat. Perhaps the long growing season and mild temperatures is the problem. They are bred to survive a cold winter and when it doesn't come they go hog-wild with green growth. Goes to show you that an excellent rose in one climate can be problematic in another.

People that live in hotter climates like Texas etc. are reporting Plum Perfect does great! But people are questioning how it would do in our colder climates... So opposite of most of there other roses...

I'll have to tell you the truth the only Kordes roses I like at Chamblees is Rose of Hope and Plum Perfect... Others ones I like the blooms are just to small...

We don't want anymore red, white, pink roses so not many options for us...lol

I'm tempted to get a Plum Pefect and see how it does here.... Also a Rose of Hope even though it only has a 3 rating for BS resistance...

If there's any roses here in Hawaii, they're either Weeks or Star ... and it is very cost prohibitive to order mail-order. It's time for me to slow down anyway and I'll rely on focusing on my plants to keep them occupied instead.

I love your orderly garden, Jim. Others have called what they have a "pot ghetto" and I agree that the description fits better for me than a garden.

I am waiting for my tech appointment at Apple so am just catching up now ... I have 30 minutes :)

Jim, you gonna start another thread? :)

I'll start another thread soon msdorkgirl(11)....

Found this info Straw....

"Plum Perfect KORvodacom is a large floribunda with deep plum colored flowers and very dark green foliage. It likes the heat and humidity of the south but is quite cold hardy. Alas it looks like it should have scent but it does not. I think at this time Chamblee might be one of the few nurseries carrying this rose but hopefully there will be wider distribution soon. This rose was never introduced in Europe so there is not another commercial name."

newroses

"Plum Perfect (KORvodacom) was never entered in ADR and probably never will be. It is not an introduction in Europe. Its introduction in the USA is by Newflora and yes at the moment the only place to buy it retail is with Chamblee Roses. It has shown itself to be black spot resistant. It performs extremely well in hot humid climates. It was patented first in the USA not Australia. There are significant mistakes in the information provided in Help Me Find about this rose."

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1707599/plum-perfect-and-lavender-veranda

msdorkgirl(11), I turned a red rose purple once by adding sugar to our tap water...