We have had unseasonably warm weather for March and our snow cover is rapidly disappearing. My roses are planted deeply and are mounded, but I worry that the warmer weather may coax some of the roses out of dormancy. We're almost sure to have one, probably SOME, killing freezes before spring is truly here. Would it help for Erika to mound the roses with exposed bud unions should the weather turn colder? The fact that they have survived for the past three years probably indicates that the grafts are either buried, or the rose has put out good feeder roots above the graft - both of which should protect the rose. But this early warming trend does concern me with my own garden. I hope our orchard trees don't break dormancy and start blooming too soon.

For those in the NW suburbs, there is plenty of mulch, woodchips and compost at the Palatine recycling center located on Smith Road just west of NW highway next to the blue water tower. There is also a huge pile of horse manure mixed with mulch on Dundee Road east of NW Highway. There is a large sign on the fence that says "Free Fertilizer" anytime. You can go get it anytime indeed. All you need to do is lift the stable gate, pull your car in, close the gate behind you to prevent horses from leaving the stable and load your car with manure to your heart content. It is available 24/7. Go to the back of the pile for aged manure. I have been hauling mulch and manure from those two sites for several years and have created a system that fits my built and capacity. Equipment: 1. 5 gallon buckets (25 can fit in my Toyota Prius, 34 in my Plymouth Voyager) 2. a 4 prong garden rake 3. a shovel 4. Tarps to line the interior of your car 5. Gloves 6. Face mask Make sure you close the gate behind you. Happy manure hauling.

Dear crowspice, Thank you for responding. I went last year and it was awful and I did not have to drive far - about 12 miles. The folks I really felt bad for were a couple of ladies from Indiana who had purchased a package which included a bus trip and admission. They were out $65/each. That's a bit upsetting - they promised everyone last year to be patient and that 2008 would be better since they would have a full 12 months to line up vendors and speakers. I noted on the website this year that less then a 100 vendors were participating. Someone online made mention of a hot tub vendor? and thought it in bad taste. Yesterday, I was browsing through an old Chicagoland Gardening from 2006 and looking at the beautiful pictures from Navy Pier. This is too bad - maybe one day I'll have to drive to Ohio or Philadelphia to attend a quality flower show. I believe those two shows are supposed to be outstanding.

Great preliminary report, Vicky. I only have a few of these and two are new. First I want to say, I'm sorry that you lost your Dad. I know you are greatly comforted in knowing where he is now:) I don't really do red roses, but I have investigated Rouge Royale because my sons seem to like red roses, and those Romantica Roses by Meilland do so well for me. I'll add what I've observed so far in the roses that I have from your list. Earth Angel: Impulse buy at Lowe's. Potted, big healthy looking bush. Fell in love with the pictures someone posted over on the regular Rose forum. It is still in it's purple Kordes pot.(I know, bad rose lady!) The blooms did bleach out too much in full sun, but once I moved the pot to afternoon shade, I got the blooms I bought it for. They are absolutely perfect! The scent is amazing, too. I did get some funny colored leaves, that looked exactly like iron deficiency. I gave it a bit of ironite, and it cleared up. Others told me later that Earth Angel sometimes does this in response to a sudden overwatering, too. I'm not getting many blooms, but right now I've moved EA into even more shade, just because it's so hot. I'm more concerned with keeping my potted roses alive right now, than bloom production. Once it cools off and I settle this rose in, I believe I'm going to be crazy about it. I cut every bloom it gave me, and kept it by my bedside. Fabulous! Cream Veranda: I have two of them. They are in large baskets with a water reservoir, hanging at the front entrance to my home. I've had them about 2ish years, purchased as quart sized, own root, from Wayside Gardens end of season sale. They have stayed a nice size for the baskets, and are fairly healthy. They just get the usual spring powdery mildew, like many other roses do around here. They don't really seem to bloom in big flushes for me, rather 2-6 blooms on each most of the time. That's fine with me, always some color by the front entrance arches that way. Princess Charlene de Monaco: I only purchased this one in January or February this year, potted from a local nursery. I already love it! You are absolutely right about PCdM wanting to grow straight up and bloom up high on top of those long canes. I decided I'd had enough of that, and I wanted more blooms for cutting and arrangements. This IS a florists rose after all, and I want enough blooms to do something with. She's planted in a raised bed, in full hot sun. She had the usual spring bout of powdery mildew, but shook it off on her own. I tied her canes to trellises about 4 weeks ago. I now have something like 15-20 laterals, each with at least one bud. All that happened in just 4 weeks! There is a post with the details and photos on the regular Roses forum titled, "I'm liking my Princess Charlene de Monaco". This is a great rose for cutting. I would suggest training/tying the canes sideways to produce lots of laterals. Then cut the buds early in the morning when they show color. They will last a long time in the vase, and have beautiful color and fragrance. I'm considering purchasing a second one. I don't have two of many roses, actually only two. I have the two Cream Veranda's for the matching baskets, and I have two Violets Pride roses. They only reason I have two Violets Prides, is because the second one came as part of $13 surprise rainbow of roses collection. Me buying a second Princess Charlene de Monaco is saying a lot about how much I like this one. Try some in a vase! The Pilgrim: I can third the stinginess of The Pilgrim, here in So CA. Mine was also purchased bare root from Wayside Gardens. I think it was bought 5 or 6 years ago. Yes, it is in a difficult spot with blazing afternoon sun. I saw its first bloom last year, and I've gotten a handful of them this year. I'm hoping things will improve shortly, as the adjacent park removed a huge eucalyptus tree that was nearby, and I had Queen Palms and a Texas Privet hedge removed this past spring. I am finally seeing more growth in the past 6 months, than I've seen in the past 5 years, so I'm not giving up yet. Kate, how long are you willing to give your Pilgrim? I'm willing to give mine another year, due to the improved conditions, but that's it. If it doesn't wow me next spring or summer/fall, it's out of here. I don't shovel prune anything in haste, but 7 or 8 years is plenty time to show me what he can do. Vicky, count yourself lucky. At least you've seen some of the Pilgrims blooms already. I didn't see a single one until it was almost 5 years old. And then, it really was a single ONE:) I've seen great pictures of The Pilgrim loaded with blooms, so surely it must bloom well somewhere, for someone? Well, those are the ones I have here in S CA. Please keep us updated on how they are doing, Vicky. And please do check out the Princess Charlene de Monaco thread. I think you could get more roses out of her, and they are best appreciated up close in a vase:) Lisa