I have grown DD in my dry and hot zone 10 climate for more than 15 years now and both my plants do great. They don't like my alkaline soil that much and can get chlorosis but this can be corrected with some citric acid and iron chelate. It's flower production is not as massive as say Firefighter or Perfume Delight or Happy Child or Sonia Rykeil but I've always got at least 1 or 2 every week in between the bigger flushes. it is consistently very fragrant in both cold and hot weather. It is one of the first to start flowering and one of the last to finish. It lasts well as a cut rose, opens slowly and looks good for a long time. It is one of my favourites of all time.

I know this is an old thread but its been very good and useful so I thought I'd chime in. All the roses i recommend have been mentioned here but I live very close to you in Zone 10 Florida so I thought I'd let you know what has worked in my garden. I have over 50 roses and my best performer is by far Belinda's Dream (you probably have it by now, if not, get it!). Always in bloom all year round, doesn't mind heat/humidity or rain has perfectly formed blooms AND its fragrant. It has it all! One of my other good performers so far have been some Ausitns. My BEST bloomer is Huntington rose, but it does get black spot a bit. I don't spray her so i just prune her a bit after every other flush and she keeps bouncing back. Queen of Sweden has been excellent. Not as big a bloomer as Huntington but NO black spot at all. She does grow TALL though (huntington grows WIDE), So Far she has stayed very narrow and tall. Jubilee celebration has done well but she is too new to tell if she'll get through the rainy season without too much BS. Wollerton Old Hall, great fragrance great BS resistance but bloom color is not my cup of tea (kind of a tan/beige). Alnwick rose has done well too as well as Abraham Darby (tried and true). All my Austins are in planters though, none in the ground. As for HT roses my best performers have been Mr. Lincoln, Olympiad (very good), Gold Medal (also very good), Queen Elizabeth (kind of gangly but blooms alot), iceberg and brilliant pink iceberg are great but grow wide, not tall (they stay short though). Pretty much all my HT get some black spot in the rainy season but i just trim them come fall and they do well all the way until the following May. If you are looking for a more bushy rose try the new KORDES varieties. I have had ABSOLUTELY no black spot on Lion's Fairy Tale and Mandarin Ice, and I hear all the Fairy Tales are just as good as lions. I'm getting a few more this year from that series. OH also don't forget BUCKS roses. Superb! I have Polonaise and Golden Princess and both are great with BS (very very little) but by far the best one has been Quietness! She has NO BS and beautiful fragrant blooms. Very Fragrant! Some roses to stay away from would be Oklahoma, Double delight (every one raves about her but she's a BS magnet in my garden) Angle Face (same). Cherish (love her blooms but same BS issues). I grow most of my roses in planters so you may need to see if you can find any of these on Fortuniana RS. I highly recommend the Kordes ones though, they have really thrived own root with NO disease they stand out like champs. They almost don't even look like rose bushes they are so leafy. Duchess du Brabant has been another good one. She does get a little BS but she seems to shake it off quickly. I just also got Rosette DeLizzy and clotilde soupert but they are still babies so too soon to tell. Good luck and let me know what does well in your garden!

All our Japanese Maples are already in full leaf for a month. We had a very warm and early spring. It all depends on climate.... so best to compare with your surrounding for this. The fact that your neighbors Acer is not budding out yet either is probably the good news. Piet, Here is a link that might be useful: Tsubo-en

Yep, the second one is 'Geisha Gone Wild'. Great new selection. The varigation is stronger with some sun.