ibheri, if I can grow it here I think you may have a good chance at succeeding too. Mulch is extremely important, and water of course, and some alfalfa meal would be welcome, although I haven't fertilized this rose since last year. As mentioned frequently, the teas take a while to build up. I think mine is probably at least four years old, but even when they're younger it's still enjoyable to see those beautiful flowers. I'm having a great time hovering over the bands that I received from Vintage and a few other nurseries recently, and seeing that first bloom is always so exciting. After that I force myself to disbud most of them to encourage growth. Ingrid

I have been fighting this purple morning glory for years, pretty sure it is this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_indica. I thought it was beautiful when I first saw it too. It has choked out all my other climbing vines, passiflora, jasmine, honeysuckle, strangled fruit trees, completely obscured climbing roses, etc, etc. I spend at least half my time in the garden pulling it, it comes up in long ropes. It has taken over much of our block in, yes, San Francisco. It climbed in the space between my house and my neighbor's, and actually made it's way through the walls and started growing in the basement! My neighbor recently had her roof fixed, and the roofer said it was covering both roofs, he was kind enough to pull them off of her roof and our roof, where it was growing on top of the solar panels. This stuff is serious, and much more pernicious than the delicate blue morning glory. I have not used pesticides in my yard, so maybe I'll try the pulling the leaves technique, although there are a TON of leaves. Has this method worked for anyone else? I was thinking of trying to make a biodynamic solution out of the rotted plant, so I may try that in conjunction with something else. I think my neighbor is ready for the pesticides... This is a different plant than the much milder bindweed. If you are in a place without frost, be very careful about growing this weed. I will try to post some pictures soon, was going to do a whole blog post about it because this is one weed I don't want anywhere near my compost. OK, I'm calming down... now... Here is a link that might be useful: The Lazy Composter

Thanks everyone and what a warm day it turned out yesterday after all that fog it got to 31degs. I love the damp foggy mornings also not that we get many here. Dee the garden is just about finished now though I did make a new bed for my Gerbera a few weeks back and I am thinking of another Rose bed but no more roses just giving them more space. We got 1200 used pavers given to us on Tuesday ( exchanged for hard yakka ) so I can see a few new raised beds getting made for extra vegies.. Hi Macbirch...I have a lot of Gerbera's now and those doubles are so beautiful and last a long time in the vase. Marion do you get Misty morning's like this..How is that packing going... Dear Rosalie::: No I have not mastered it yet..though I am trying hard between library books and video's and all those camera forums on the Internet...Today being a special day for me we are going into the big smoke to my favourite toy shop and Tony is going to buy me either another memory card two big ones are not enough for me or maybe a filter ??? Then there is that book shop, O decisions decisions but I will come back with something. Sorry I dont know the name of the Plumbago as I found it in a pile of rubbish when we bought this block it is not a really bright blue......Cheers...MM.

Oh dear Woody - gloomy indeed...and terribly reminiscent of an English February. Dunno if your forebears are Frenchies, Woody, but I have always been hugely tempted by the French peasant's mode of winter survival. According to the wonderful Graham Robb in 'The Discovery of France', the yeomanry, after seeing to their tools and burning the vine stocks, settle down into hibernation 'corked up like snails', packed into beds to quite literally sleep through the winter. And nope, not in some dark ages, but as late as 1909, the phenomenon has been recorded throughout rural France. Removed from their troglodytic cave dwellings by concerned reformers, the peasants felt more depressed at trudging up 6 flights of stairs than retiring to some basement dungeon...and even in summer, the epithet of sleepy France was true as labour cost calories so a farmer might husband their limited strength by meandering slothfully to plough a field which would normally take a day but when done by Frenchmen, might take a week. And amazingly, cash proved no stimulant to labour - Beaucaire inhabitants could make enough money in 11 days of the regional fair to spend the rest of the year smoking, hunting, playing cards and sleeping. Are we all missing a trick here? I have always been quick to down tools as soon as the household money needs are fulfilled.