Wow! Very nice, Elizabeth! I have one lonely little xJohnsonii bulb growing in a pot, but it's doing well... I sure hope it grows up to look like yours! That's a gorgeous photo! My little guy will go outside to the garden this summer, and I'm sure it'll grow like crazy! I just can't wait to see it bloom!

Well, one reason they are lush is it is early days yet. I did take Rita's advice and used fish emulsion early on all of them, and I am spraying with a fungicide every two weeks since Alabama is very prone to leaf streak. Also, I have been lucky enough so far to never have rust, although I got my first thrips (sp?) last year. I am know to throw some alfalfa around, and I will use miracle grow a couple of times too. If I had some well rotted horse manure, I would surely use it too. One of the reasons it looks pretty good (not great) is that I have weeded and cleaned up any old dead foilage. The mulch needs to be renewed, and I will get into that next week, hopefully. I do appreciate the compliment, however. kay

I really love that rose... Here is a link that might be useful: http://c.1asphost.com/Sanganagouda/forum/

Update: 24 hours later (and the rain finally stopped), my new rose Berolina is becoming a full bloom--nearly. I think she is quite pretty---the yellow is a pleasant and fresh shade. One reason I bought her is because she is supposed to be VERY disease-resistant. And here is my brand new Austin Scepter'd Isle putting out her very first bloom. It isn't as big as I'd prefer, but look at all those buds. When they all open, that has got to be a sight! I also have a new Austin climber with buds--will post its "first blooms" in a couple days Kate Updated Update: Here's some more pics. Sun came out and my new little Munstead Wood is going crazy with beautiful colors! Look and admire--but ignore the weeds and leaves I haven't picked up yet! : ) And here is the close-up all my glamor-girls rate: Those colors are exhilarating! This post was edited by dublinbay on Thu, Jun 6, 13 at 15:15