@Diane Brakefield I was reading through some of the older comments, and I just have a question on your Colette rose. Do you recommend it as a climber? Is it pretty free blooming for you or is it rather stingy? I’m just looking for a really pretty climber with nice blooms and likes to flower. I had my heart set on Eden, but after reading some comments on it tending to be stingy in colder climates, I might lower it from the coveted #1 position on my most-wanted list hahaha (if any other cold climate folks have personal favorites they’d recommend, lemme know!)

This rose, grafted, is available direct from DA as a 3-gallon potted rose in bud & bloom for shipping via UPS April-October. Shipped within 7-10 days from when you place your order, subject to availability, $38.95 plus shipping & handling which looks like $14.95. Coudn't find this on the website, but in the current catalog on pages 107 & 110. If you really want it this season & can't find one locally, you might call & see about it. 800-328-8893 M-F 8am-6pm & Saturday 8am-4pm central time.

Ingrid, yes, we are running ahead of our normal schedule here. Forsythias are long finished now too, and Narcissus and hyacinths have faded. Even lilacs are blooming! Morel mushroom season is also in full swing. Goodness, even one of my bearded irises is sending up their stems to bloom on I'm really looking forward to the return of my roses. I think Winchester Cathedral may give me blooms before the end of May at its current rate of development. Therese Bugnet is just behind with tiny buds still ensconced within folded foliage. We often still have snow in March with a few hard frosts and the occasional snow in April. The winter of 2013-2014 which brought record snow and cold, yielded an April through which nothing was even really greening up until May. Thank you, smithdale. I am certainly surprised that some of my plants are ahead of yours there in the PNW! It's been an unusually mild winter here, but with swings from 40 to 20, and back repeatedly murdered my more tender modern roses. However, by the same token, those pansies have bloomed off and on throughout my winter. Never in all my years living here in Michigan would have I thought it plausible to have blooms outdoors in my garden for over twelve consecutive months. I may never have that again! Steven

My wife and I grow a large variery of roses. We have found that in general David Austin roses require more spraying than othe varieties that are better acclimated to Florida. The grafting of plants onto Fortuniana root stock is to make up for the weakness in the root system of some roses. Unfortunately the academic types have used their lack of specific knowledge to proclaim that all roses grown in Florida be on Fortuniana. This is not the case. When growing in Florida many areas lack organic material in the "soil" Have a soil test done through your county co-operative extension so that you can amend the planting area as indicated. We like a deep bed of mulch around our plants We use 4-6" of wood chips or composted horse manure, both will add organic material over time. Some people prefer to grow in pots, this way you control the media that they grow in by using something such as Jungle Growth which is available at some Lowe's and Walmarts. The material is high in organic material and drains well. You might even want to use it when planting in the ground. We went through a number of plants before learning how to grow roses. It also took several years to carch on. You can do it and be successful. You might try some native roses in the future. You might also consider going to the Central Florida Heritage Rose Society meeting held monthly in Lakeland, FL.