I have not spoken to the MU extension about it yet. I sent an email and am waiting on a response. However, they always seem to lean toward the old school chemical way of thinking and wanted to get some organic suggestions here. And yes, I have read that Fusarium sticks around forever and I am really hoping that is not the problem.

I'm sorry for assuming. I went by your username, you never signed your real name. I would imagine it might be best to take advantage of local opportunities. Is there any way you can go on a car trip around town in FLorida to see if there are ANY instances of THE actual rose you are looking for still in town or in the surrounding counties at older homes and or abandoned homesites/former farms? That way you can ask the owners of that property if there is a house nearby if you can take cuttings yourself? Or if there is plain no one in sight, go up and take a cutting yourself? That's called 'rose rustling" by some, when they find old abandoned roses and either find permission to move them, take care of them or take cuttings. That way it's FREE, and completely up to you AND it gets you exactly the rose you want. I'm still unclear about what you actually want, most of the signs you are saying point either to pink pet/caldwell pink Old blush Dorthoy Perkins. But it seems I've either read incorrectly, someone is suggesting your rose does not repeat while I'm remembering the rose you are looking for that you've seen has been described as flowering year round. Can you please confirm if the bush blooms only once for a few weeks to a month or throughout the season in flushes? If you're worried about not finding it, I'm sure it's around if you say it's as common as it was. Even I see old bulbs still poking up in certain spots in woods as I drive by where there might have been a house or path around here, plants are terribly resilient! In fact I know where there is a giant stand of r.virginiana or carolina by the road where these days you'd usually see the invasive multiflora. I repeat I think you are probably looking for 'Old Blush' and it can be considered an old Florida heirloom. Best wishes, I hope you find your rose. Max

Mattpower and Veggiedreams, I feel your pain. I have a small backyard garden and I have been growing heirlooms for about 7 years. The first two years I had good results, although I dealt with problems of overcrowding such as foliage diseases; I long for those days. By the third year, something really sinister was happening to my tomatoes. I have good quality soil in raised beds, I start all my own seeds, I mulch all the plants with finely shredded leaves, the plants are caged and well supported, and I water evenly from below. I use organic fertilizers and replenish my beds with excellent compost from our township recycling center that is made up of fall leaves (as well as my own compost in the Fall). In essence, I do everything right. At first, not all of the plants showed the same symptoms, which made it extremely difficult for me to know what was going on. Some wilted during the day in the high heat, starting with the tips of branches and progressing to the entire plant over time. Those plants would stop growing and then start to yellow and die. Others had single lower branches that turned yellow and wilted (much like yours in the picture above). I'd trim them, but the problem would progress until only the tops of the plants remained. Theses plants would then stop producing fruit and eventually die. Fortunately I was able get some tomatoes before the disease would take over. I decided to take action, so I sent plant samples to the plant pathology lab at Penn State University. They confirmed a strain of Fusarium wilt supposedly common to Pennsylvania. I don't know how it came to my garden. It also kills my cucumbers, but nothing else. Now, Mike McGrath of "You Bet Your Garden" fame tells me that the university is full of it and that we don't have Fusarium in PA. I respectfully disagree. Since this discovery, I started growing my tomatoes in large pots. However, here's where it gets really weird: the disease has followed my plants to the pots somehow. Each of the past several years, I have had trouble growing in pots as well. Not all plants are affected, but nonetheless, it has been incredibly frustrating. This year, I sterilized the pots, stakes and cages, and used only store bought, high quality potting soil and compost and used plastic mulch. Alas, I have fared much better this year. Only one plant is showing signs of wilting. However, I've been hit hard with blossom end rot, something I've never dealt with before to this degree. I have two plants loaded with tomatoes and every single one has blossom end rot. They are paste tomatoes, so I know this can be a problem, but I've NEVER seen it on every tomato. My point is that growing in pots can be successful, but getting good results can be tricky. One heirloom I have grown successfully every year is Kelloggs Breakfast. This is an incredibly powerful tomato plant that seems to withstand Fusarium pretty well...better than the so called super hybrids that are supposedly resistant to the disease (yes, I've experimented widely with these to no avail). Allison, any suggestion as to how this disease is affecting my potted plants would be welcome! For what it's worth, I have two plants in the ground in a patch of yard away from my raised beds and they are doing really well. So I know the evil lurks only around my garden beds.

Just curious: how did they confirm Fusarim? What was it based on? Did you cut the stem about 6" from the base and observe a brown inner ring (the cambriam is a thin concentric sheath inside stem,it is the circulatory system of a plant, green in healthy plants, brown in Fusarim or Verticillum wilt infected plants.) Or did they do some type of biological lab test, or what? About what to do: it's kind of up to you at this point. It's not contageous just sitting there. (if you use a tool to cut the stems when you pick the tomatoes, don't use it on another plant without disinfecting it.) It usually is associated with watering problems, poor drainage in compacted soils, etc. Take extra special precautions to avoid overwatering the remaining plants you wish to save, meaning let the soil go bone dry down 2-3"..Below that, it should be moist, not wet. Trust me, they can take it. Your soil will not be safe for planting any Fusarium sensitive plants such as carnations pretty much indefinitely. For now on, plant something not subject to the wilt there, and always treat the soil like it is contaminated - don't spread it around your yard, and disinfect any tools , shovels, etc that come into contact with it. Or dig it out and replace it. When you get rid of the plant, toss it in the trash pick-up, not in your yard or compost.