Anntn6b - I understand Rose Rosette. I've been pretty hardcore into roses for about 20 years now. I've had more than my property can handle. I dabbled in them when I was younger. Thank you for pointing me to the article. It does a good job of breaking it down for others. In my case, I just have not had to be to worried about it. I have good fortunina -even though it is suseptible like other roses. I have gotten to the point that I do not buy a lot of new plants. Not because of rosette, mainly time. I do not fall for every pretty face when it comes to roses. I understand it can be a problem and people should be educated when it comes down to it. I just think, in my opinion, people are more apt to try roses if they are not scared of them. Regards, Andrew

It appears that the reference that I gave about the problems of wood mulches and the advantage of compost could use some backing up by more primary scientific material. The link below is to an Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet, Plant Pathology, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210 Title: "Control of Nuisance and Detrimental Molds (Fungi) in Mulches and Composts" Please note the following and put in context of the full article (also note the appearance of statements such as "These bacteria compete with fungi to reduce the potential for the development of major mold problems.") "The best way to avoid all these problems and bring about beneficial effects by mulching is to add nitrogen to woody and hardwood bark products followed by composting to lower the carbon to nitrogen ratio. Blending of grass clippings with wood wastes before composting is one way to achieve this. Addition of poultry manure or urea to supply 1.2 lbs. available nitrogen per cubic yard of material satisfies the nitrogen need also. Some landscapers add 10-15% by volume composted sewage sludge to hardwood bark or wood wastes, and this makes an ideal product that has performed very well in landscapes. These amended products should be composted at least six weeks. This process kills plant pathogens, eggs of insect pests, and produces a nitrified product that releases plant nutrients rather than ties up nitrogen. As mentioned above, the microorganisms that have colonized these products reduce the potential for growth of nuisance fungi and provide control of many plant diseases" "What to Do Once the Problems Occur Sometimes very little can be done to control nuisance fungi other than to spade the mulch into the surface soil layer followed by soaking with water. Another option is to remove the mulch, place it in a heap after thorough wetting to allow for self-heating to occur (110-140 degrees F). This will kill nuisance fungi. If fresh dry mulch is placed on top of mulch colonized by nuisance fungi, the problems may occur again the following year or even earlier. The best control strategy for homeowners and landscapers is to purchase composted products low in wood content. Fresh, finely ground woody products should be avoided for many reasons unless composted first. Coarse fresh woody products are much less likely to cause problems unless applied too deep. It is important to soak all mulches immediately after they have been applied. Generally, mulches should not be applied to a depth greater than two inches. Mulches and composts applied in this manner provide many types of beneficial effects rather than nuisance problems, or worse, plant diseases. Sour mulches should be avoided altogether." Here is a link that might be useful: link for above

Patty W. zone 5a Illinois 3 years ago This rose has absolutely nothing in its genetic back ground to make it immune. It's parents are not resistant. But once the rose has been tooted as resistant and someone makes a couple of million dollars who cares. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/12/arts/music/toots-hibbert-dead.html

I planted a KO Double Pink at the mailbox about 2-3 years ago, expecting it to grow big and become this summer workhorse everyone gushes about. Not even close. My experience so far has been underwhelming. First, who says they are disease free? Here in the South, mine got BS worse than most others I have. Second, it is not growing. It blooms, it does nicely in the Spring, it looks good while the bloom is young but has dubious bloom aging and the repeat is questionable. The mystery for me is why the bush overall stays very small, despite careful fertilizing and all that. It has barely grown at all since I got it at the nursery and these are supposed to get to 5 ft high. I can only suspect it gets too much root competition from the boxwoods planted very close to it, especially the one in the middle. All in all, nothing to write home about. What do people think of the newer coral KOs? They seem to have something much more elegant about them than the red and the pink. I love the pink's early strong, fresh color but the aging bloom becomes both washed out and garish. So it's a major meh so far and it has had enough time to provide itself.