Good choice, Msgirl !! I was about to warn you that Mary looks best in cold weather ... in hot weather above 80 her bloom has black-button when old, plus fade to white. Sharifa is worth $20, it's one-tenth the size of Mary. Cold-zoners complain that Happy Child is wimpy .. so it would be great for warm-zoners, plus compact & nice yellow. Golden Celebration is another fragrant yellow, except it's a climber, and is HUGE as own-root. Your Claire Austin and Tranquility are both perfect-form, very nice. About thrips: Switching from lime (pH over 9) to Azomite (pH 8) might help. A few people report that Azomite repel insects. I tried to find the salt-index of Azomite, couldn't find it. So I googled for the salt-index of calcium-chloride, a major component of Azomite ... no number was given, except for the fact that calcium-chloride is very bitter, plus salty. Something that bitter would make flowers less edible, and less tempting to insects. Jim: Would you start another thread? Thanks.

I think that was a end of the year bouquet...lol... Notice all the blooms that was the year I grew Mister Lincoln in a large container until September when I planted him in the ground... OK I'll start a new thread.... lol

Lovely roses everyone!! Wise Portis has such a wonderful color!! Double Knockout looks great!! Straw - I just throw the frozen tomatoes into a bit pot with a bit of water on the bottom, so the tomatoes don't scorch. Then I boil them forever. The skins float up, so I take them off (my mom takes the frozen tomatoes and holds them under warm water, and the skins just slide off. But I think the skin probably gets extra vitamins into the sauce, since most vitamins are in the skin. Then when it's boiling nicely and the skins are gone, I add a couple of tsps of sugar and a lot of oregano. When it's a nice consistency for spreading on pizza, I use it or freeze it. It's pretty easy, and tastes delicious!! Winterizing pots - I wrote this up awhile ago, since I've had so many requests as to my methods. Here it is. :) _________________________________ I overwinter my 50 roses in large pots in my garage with the 2 cars. LOL Three car garage. Here's what I do: - I keep deadheading until it's time for them to go into the garage. - I keep feeding them and watering well until it's time for them to go into the garage. -Then when the temperature gets to be about -6C I cut all the leaves off at the point they join the heavier stem. I don't cut any height off of the plant. - At this point I water them really, really well and move them by dolly into the garage. - I cover them with thick blankets, layers of flannel sheets or sleeping bags. - My garage is insulated. - Then I leave them alone in the dark. Doesn't matter if the garage door is opened and closed. - Around January, I look and see if they're dried out a bit. - If they are, then I water each rose 1/2 cup. - I repeat this every month. - As the weather starts warming up, I take off some blankets - so they don't start making new growth in the heat. - Any new growth should be broken off as you would thorns - just push them to the side, and they'll fall off. - If you have only a few pots - you can start taking them outside during the day when it gets about 5 C outside. Bring them inside until the night temperature doesn't drop below 5C. - Remember to water really well once you take them outside. - If you have a lot - then either wait until night tempreatures are 5C before you take them outside - or cover them with blankets at night. Hope this helps, Carol

jim1961: thanks for your kind words. I am glad you like my roses. Strawchicago: Wow wow so its you. I got confused initially as you have a different nick here but when I read your posts, I had no doubts that its you. There is only one person that I know who would take so much pain in conveying to the others what she knows with all her sincerity and honesty, without any desire for recognition or commercial benefit. God bless you. English Rose Forum was a nice place and we had few very good discussions there. I always learnt a lot from your posts. And BTW, don't bother much about those who refuse to listen (and thus learn). I absolutely agree with Bible verses that you have quoted in another thread. There a people who would never be able to come out of their so called "egos" so there is no point wasting time with them. I am so happy to be around and I have been reading the old threads for hours yesterday (I am on holidays nowadays). There is so much to learn I must confess. I have already got answers to some of my questions and will be asking more. Will try to post photos wherever I can. Let me acknowledge at the outset that with regards to organic rose growing, I am just a beginner and may not have anything profound to contribute. I will be more on the learning side. Nevertheless, I can provide information on behaviour of various rose cultivars in hot humid monsoon region of Islamabad. I won't say that it truly represents Zone 9a that you have in the US but it is close to it with regard to temperatures. What makes it different from US zone 9a is monsoon season where for two months (jul and aug), we have torrential rains, floods and very high humidity with temperatures ranging between 35-42*C. This is a torrid time for roses, all kinds of pests / fungus attack them and if the drainage is not good, most of them might die. At times, it might rain for two to three days at a stretch and whole lawn might be filled with 4-6 inches of water if the drainage has not been carefully designed. I don't have this issue in Islamabad as it is a semi-hilly area nevertheless one has to be careful while selecting location for rose pits. I will post my observations in a separate thread as advised. Best regards