Thank you for the quick responses. I think you are correct. Maybe rubus benenden or parviflorus (thimbleberry).....or something similar.

First of all, a rose like New Dawn just may not be happy in the dry heat of Texas. I've had falures with a number of workhorse roses, especially OGRs, do well for 2-3 years in my coastal southern California garden, then decline, which I think is do to a weird combo of (1) lack of extended winter chill, (2) murky coastal spring-summer conditions, followed by (3) extended late summer very dry hot weather till nearly December. Quite a few roses look moldy here the first half of the year, then have a brief glory Sept -November when it conforms to the classic southern California climate. If you haven't tried it, a really vigorous Tea-Noisette climber is Manchester Guardian Angel from Vintage Gardens which will put on 7-8 feet the first summer, even neglected, as long as you give it a good deep watering regularly. The thorns are pretty scarey tho altho they are a pretty reddish color. This rose will turn into a big climber and flower very well. But it's a bit monstrous. As for your sickness problem and wondering if concrete might have something to do with it, I've had a similar problems. First, with a small citrus tree planted in a concrete planter -- it simply didn't thrive. A second attempt with another citrus tree also failed to thrive, and the local nursery suggested it might be the concrete planter leaching chemicals. Second, we've got hedges planted atop a stacked broken concrete retaining wall. Altho the shrubs were healthy for years, the past two years they've been sickening and we suspect it could be chemicals leaching into the soil from the concrete pieces, which were salvaged from various driveways and sidewalks torn out by renovators as our neighborhood regentrified. We have an old property (old by Los Angeles standards: 1915) and there was a lot of debris uncovered when we dug up old shrubs & palm trees to create our garden: bottles, large chunks of broken sinks & toilets, tools, horseshoes, pipes, old bricks....it lay pretty much uncultivated for decades. After we added liberal amounts of amendment to the soil the past decade (some purchased amendment & mulch, some from grinding up old palm trees), the soil here is much improved, even rich by southern California standards with plenty of big worms. I've also got a big compost heap going and add that whenever we plant anything or prune roses. So I'd recommend liberal additions of compost & mulching -- get those worms going! BUt you will get more weeds the better the soil gets! I thin Gregg Lowery wrote about this in his pruning blog -- the weeds make a good mulch ;). I think you're lucky you've got the heat to grow all those Tea-Noisettes -- we have a little too much coastal weather here from winter-summer to get the yellow climbers going. I've tried Crepuscule a number of times, and the only place it's finally growing is in the very hottest corner of my yard atop the concrete retaining wall. We'll see if it lasts thru baking in the late summer heat.

I should have also said that it keeps this beautiful green and white color year round and .. It is "Always" in the shade! The leaves have a bright, glowing, kind of waxy, (artificial) look to them. Brenda

In no spray gardens east of San Francisco, california where the soil is heavy clay, and the conditions favor p.m. over blackspot during most of the green season. -until June or Autumn, when rain or watering the foliage will bring on blackspot. Rust is rare here. I ignore light coverings of p.m. and get rid of any rose that defoliates from disease, those roses included: Lundy Lane yellow' Ducher' the worst rose for p.m. it defoliated more than 90% of its leaves which of course stopped it from bloomming. Borderline, moderate p.m. during wet months but never defoliates 'Mutabilis' The best: China Fabvier' very healthy, floriferous and a bright color. Le Vesuve' such a gorgeous plant. Old Garden Tea roses, and Tea-Noisettes; white: Westside Road Cream Tea' as fragrant as Ducher but far more resistant to powdery mildew. Clean most of the year, here. Lamarque Mme. Alfred Carriere ( best in full sun, small plants are borderline for p.m. in cool wet months) Reve d' Or Crepescule Marachal Niel' ( borderline when a baby, but has good disease resistance now) Marie Van Houtte Mrs. Dudley Cross Duchess de Brabant (borderline for p.m. as a young plant, now that she is older, still gets some p.m. but never defoliates from it) Souveinir de Pierre Notting (not my favorite yellow Tea, as it forms an ugly brown rufff before the petals fall off a bloom) Etoille de Lyon ( a great beauty in my op.) Mrs. B.R. Cant ( one of the fastest growing Teas I've ever grown along with- Monsieur Tillier' Mme. Berkeley (very healthy here, and one of the 3 most beautiful Tea roses I think) Maman Cochet and the white sport Lady Hillingdon (some p.m. easy to ignore with that great vast wealth of apricot bloom.) Paul Nabonnanad Tea roses I'd avoid here, these defoliated from disease or were thickly covered with p.m. most of the year. Alliance Franco Russe ( covered with a thick coat of p.m. as a young plant, if you live where conditions are hotter this is a gorgeous Tea. ) Georgetown Tea (p,m. on all leaves, thickly. H.P.s Reine des Violettes Comtesse de Chabrillant' such a pretty H.P. Arrilagga ( I love this rose, a big buxom beauty, light pm easy to overlook) Glendora (some b.s. not enough to be a concern) It does shattter rapidly in hot weather but has plenty of side buds which makes this a non-issue on the plant, but not a long lasting vase flower) Grandmothers Hat (is this a perfect pink H.P.? or what? fragrance, disease resistance and a long bloom season with quick re-bloom for its' class. --- Polyantha Mlle. Cecille Brunner and all her sports. Borderor Leonie Lamesch Marie Pavie katherine Zeimet and her offspring 'Popcorn' perle d'Or Musk roses R. moschata Temple Musk both have clean foliage most of the year. I cannot detect any fragrance off Temple Musk, which I think is odd as I find R. moschata to be very fragrant. Hybrid Musk Callisto such a pretty yellow rose and very fragrant too! Cornelia my favorite pink H.M. very fragrant as well. Lavender Freindship Queen of the Musks' fat red stained rosebuds stand out against the open creamy white rose blossoms. a wowser of a rosebush, gets huge here, 7' tall x 6' wide, a good rose for a tall hedge. Pernetiana roses. Etoille de Feu Mari Dot that Penardananda rose I can never remember the full name of , cantaloupe hues and very fragrant. Gruss an Coberg Irene Chirucca Borderline : President Herbert Hoover better in a hot and dry climate, c. 10%-20% b.s here during the b.s. season. Very fragrant Bourbon S.D.L.M., but needs full sun here or won't open well. Pauls Early Blush' on rootstock this has genormous blooms even on a small plant. starts blooming when the Tea roses do. (Bourbons that flunked the no spray test: M.I.P and its pink sport M.me . Ernst Calvat. Alba white rose of York Maidens Bluch Gallica Belle Sultane Species R. californica laden with sexy pollen, huge flakes of it, fragrant and long blooming. R. palustris Hybrid Tea roses. Mme. Caroline Testout some p.m. in the spring. La France Mme. Jules Bouche ( I adore this white rose) Radiance' and all her clan. Mrs. Herbert Stevens The rest Souvenir something Denoyal. nearly clean the whole growing season, fragrant and lovely, I did not love a red rose until I saw this at Luannes and nabbed one. The climber called 'Sombruiel' Albertine Ramblers The Garland Pauls Himalayan Musk' a musk to climb a mountain. Veilchenbleu is more resistant to pm. than Rose Marie Viand' well that's a start, I have c. 200 no spray rose names from the area from my days as a volunteer at a local no spray public rose garden. Hope your sister finds a low-care rose to love, Lux