Desertgarden, it still is "hot" here in October with temps ranging from 90--100 or so. It doesn't start to cool off until towards the end of October. October is what I call our up and down season. Nice weather one day and then the next it is hot. Then bam, come November 1st, it cools off dramatically. Usually by the end of November is it cold (cold being a relative term for me). We can have nights below freezing by the end of November and daytime highs in the 50's. Oh, and of course, our lovely fog season starts then. Can't see your hand in front of your face. That is when we have our 100-200 car pile ups on the freeways as people drive like they can see in the fog--which they can't. This year, we shall see how La Nina hits us. Last time we had a La Nina, we had snow for a couple of days with temps not above 28 degrees. Really bad on the citrus we grow here. Not looking forward to that again. Went to bed last night about 9:15 and it was still 94 degrees outside. After a week of 109--113, we are supposed to cool off to the low 100's. I think it is only going to be 103 today and they may be right since at 5 am this morning it is only 76 degrees. Roses are still pumping out blooms. Pretty Jessica, Blue for You, Eyes for You, Peppermint Parfait, Occhi di Fata, Candice, Wedding Cake (those blooms last forever on the bush) and Midnight Blue.

Hey guys. My experice as a gardner is VERY limted. As a matter of fact this is my 1st season of having a yard of any kind, but maybe this will make my experience more valuable. I am in Phoenix, by South Mountain. My soil is clay 6" on top of caliche. All planting but 4 mature plants are new as of late april. Here is what have not died SO FAR YET!! Lantana yellow and purple. Yellow blooming nicely time after time. Purple one is smaller and does not bloom as much but seesm to be hanging in there just fine. Honeysuckle (Mexican/Cape? not sure). One in the afteroon shade is HUGE and doing great but not blooming. 2 in the sun are smaller and some leaves are browned and burnet but it has nice new growth and blooming for some strangest reason in the world. Mesquite tree. Doing fine. It lost all the leaves and some branches dried out, but seems like it rebounded fine and putting out new growth just fine. Boxwood beauty. In the afternoon shade. Doing fine. Growing little by little. Can not find much info about care for this plant. Aloe. $3 tiny thing from IKEA. It was barely visible from the gravel. Afternoon shade. Grew up nicely and now about 12" or more and putting out new leaves. Oleander bush. Afternoon shade. Was blooming. Not anymore, but seems to be in fine shape, however not growing visibly. Pink Baja Fairyduster. Has some yellow leaves but also has new growth. Seemingly doing allright. Penstimon of some kind. Looked almost dead for like 2 month. But now it decided to come to life and put out a bunch of new leaves. So, i suppose its not bad. Desert prikly pear cactus. A bit whilted but seems ok. Purple prickly pear. Mostly lost its purpleness and somewhat whilted but seems allright. Ocotillo. Well..... Hummm........ Its ocotillo LOL Thorny twigs sticking from the ground. But seems like they are greenich in color under its bark and not brittle. So, i suppose they are Ok. Agave Americana. Somewhat dried up and not too great but probably will be OK. Ok, now for stuff that did not make it. Its 2 kinds of plants so far - Ice Plant fell 1st then Uonimous(?). Both in the full sun. Do not think they liked that. My Lemon tree looks pretty sorry with whilted yellowing leaves. Also, my 3 Italian Cypreses seem quite hanging there by a thin tread. erdict on those is to be determined. My mature trees (2 mesquites and polo verde) are doing just fine. Polo does not even get any water as irrigation does not extend that far, but it does not seem to mind too much. My mature agave of some kind, its in the shade, doing super good and putting out new babies. That is about all. I water shrubes every 2nd day and trees 1s a week. Cacti get water as i think they needed it. Eugene

For anyone who likes research, here is a nice article on fragrant roses as cut flowers: http://horttech.ashspublications.org/content/18/4/734.full Field Performance of Cut Flower Rose Cultivars in Mississippi Crofton Sloan1,2 and Susan S. Harkness1 +Author Affiliations 1Mississippi State University, North Mississippi Research and Extension Center, P.O. Box 1690, Verona, MS, 38879 Next Section Summary Rose (Rosa) cultivars from two breeders, Meilland Star and W. Kordes Söhne, were planted in field beds at Verona, Mississippi, to evaluate cut flower production potential. Seventeen cultivars of an outdoor cut flower series of roses from W. Kordes Söhne and nine cultivars of the Romantica series from Meilland Star were planted in adjacent field beds. The number of stems produced per plant and stem length were measured to assess the field production potential of cut flower stems in Mississippi. Based on 2 years of assessment, the best performing W. Kordes Söhne roses were ‘Fantasia Mondiale’, ‘Masquerade’, and ‘Pinguin’, averaging three to 12 stems/plant per month that were at least 30 cm long, and the best Meilland Star cultivars for outdoor cut flower production were ‘Frederic Mistral’, ‘Michelangelo’, ‘The McCartney Rose’, and ‘Traviata’, averaging three to 20 stems/plant per month that were at least 30 cm long. These cultivars performed well during the heat of the Mississippi summer.

Re-check what Frank Gatto, the owner of rose-nursery advised for his high-rain acidic PNW location, and HE LIMED ONLY IN MARCH, and no more afterwards !! I checked on liming and lime DOES BURN in hot weather, and cause wilting & scorching of leaves from its extreme alkalinity (pH over 10). Roses Unlimited formula for planting hole is a bit complicated, so I post a simple formula below (I also mix in 2 cups of alfalfa meal for growth-hormone). Frank Gatto's roses are grafted on Dr.Huey (prefers alkaline), so he's heavy on liming! I would use less lime (1/2 cup) for large & years-old established rose in high-rain climate. Farmers routinely use lime with nitrogen in spring time since lime boosts nitrogen uptake. https://goodlifenw.blogspot.com/2012/07/seven-essentials-to-growing-healthy.html "SOIL — For planting, Gatto mixes 50 percent native soil and 50 percent organic compost or potting soil and adds a cup each of bone meal and Garden Lime per bush. He also gives established plants a cup of lime in March, for optimal soil pH." I translate this to 1/2 potting soil and 1/2 my clay (on top), also mix in 2 cups of alfalfa meal plus 1 cup Plant-Tone (has bone meal), and 1/4 cup lime to neutralize the acidity of 2 cups of alfalfa meal (or 2 TBS of lime to neutralize the acidity of 1 cup of alfalfa meal). For LARGE established rose (grafted on Dr.Huey), Dr.Huey rootstock prefers alkaline pH, versus own-root prefer neutral pH, versus multiflora-rootstock prefers slightly acidic: "Gatto advises giving roses small but frequent meals, as opposed to large amounts of fertilizer less often. He uses a balanced granular fertilizer with an N-P-K number no higher than 20 (such as 15-15-15), along with a blend of organic meals including alfalfa, cotton seed, fish, blood and kelp. "I give each one a handful (about a half a cup) every three weeks." Water thoroughly after feeding." So he uses 1/2 cup of chemical fertilizer 10-10-10, plus 1/2 cup of organics like Espoma Tone per LARGE bush (3' x 2') every 3 weeks for grafted-on-Dr.Huey (heavy feeder). Big-fat-foot-long-Dr.Huey-rootstock needs heavy fertilizer, but for tiny own-roots, I skip chemical fertilizer altogether and use only 1/4 cup organics every 2 weeks. Since pots leach out nitrogen more, I use 1 TBS. Osmocote per month, plus 1/4 cup organics (Lilly Miller) every 2 weeks per pot. There is 6% sulfur per 1/4 cup of Osmocote PLUS NPK 15-9-12 (applied every 6 months per 2 gallon pot or 4 square feet, per label instruction). Sulfur is for growth & dark-green leaves, but Osmocote PLUS DOES NOT HAVE calcium. Since we have heavy rain in spring, plus heavy rain in fall. I limit liming to early spring, or late fall with cool weather. Lime does burn, so best in cold & week-long rain. Below is the Squire (older Austin rose), which has bush beauty (nice color), plus heat & drought tolerance (very thorny). Blooms have zillion petals, so the repeat is slow. The Squire with dark-green leaves prefer alkaline so does well with liming. I also give it potassium to prevent blackspot after blooming. Potassium should be twice more than calcium per rose-tissue-analysis: