According to the guide to grasses at Pawnee Butte Seeds, tall fescue is adapted to Arizona. They list creeping red and sheep fescue as not adapted, but those varieties take less water than tall fescue does. Tall fescue usually needs about 3/4 inch of water per week, but I think you'd probably need more than that in Phoenix due to the amount you'd lose to evaporation. I don't know which ones are most heat tolerant. One drawback to most fescues is that if some of the grass dies, it won't fill in (unlike bermuda, bluegrass, and others). Creeping red fescue will fill in, but I'm not sure there are varieties that are appropriate to Phoenix. You might try calling Pawnee Butte seeds. They're located in Colorado, but seem to be targeting most of the intermountain west, so they may be able to help. I would imagine there's an extension office in Phoenix (or somewhere in Maricopa county, anyway) that could give you some help.

Straw, I am not handicapped; I am recovering from surgery & have post Lyme. That's the main reason I am not in Africa now. I have experience in Africa, knowledge of sub-Saharan African cultures and work here as much as I can with refugees from Congo. The orphanages in Botswana & SA house children not only from their own countries, but children who have fled from Congo & other countries where war, strife, food insecurity, political corruption and many other dangers are an everyday occurances. Africa is where my heart and my call are. I am a trained psychotherapist and have experience in medical social work. By the time I am medically able to return to Africa, I will have completed my MDiv and will be ordained by PCUSA. This combination enables me to serve in both secular and faith-based institutions. Every day, children suffer in many countries, including our own. Your heart has called you to help children in Vietnam. My roommate will be going back to Congo. My home church just returned from building an orphanage in Haiti. There is room for all to serve, many many many areas of need.

Re-check what Frank Gatto, the owner of rose-nursery advised for his high-rain acidic PNW location, and HE LIMED ONLY IN MARCH, and no more afterwards !! I checked on liming and lime DOES BURN in hot weather, and cause wilting & scorching of leaves from its extreme alkalinity (pH over 10). Roses Unlimited formula for planting hole is a bit complicated, so I post a simple formula below (I also mix in 2 cups of alfalfa meal for growth-hormone). Frank Gatto's roses are grafted on Dr.Huey (prefers alkaline), so he's heavy on liming! I would use less lime (1/2 cup) for large & years-old established rose in high-rain climate. Farmers routinely use lime with nitrogen in spring time since lime boosts nitrogen uptake. https://goodlifenw.blogspot.com/2012/07/seven-essentials-to-growing-healthy.html "SOIL — For planting, Gatto mixes 50 percent native soil and 50 percent organic compost or potting soil and adds a cup each of bone meal and Garden Lime per bush. He also gives established plants a cup of lime in March, for optimal soil pH." I translate this to 1/2 potting soil and 1/2 my clay (on top), also mix in 2 cups of alfalfa meal plus 1 cup Plant-Tone (has bone meal), and 1/4 cup lime to neutralize the acidity of 2 cups of alfalfa meal (or 2 TBS of lime to neutralize the acidity of 1 cup of alfalfa meal). For LARGE established rose (grafted on Dr.Huey), Dr.Huey rootstock prefers alkaline pH, versus own-root prefer neutral pH, versus multiflora-rootstock prefers slightly acidic: "Gatto advises giving roses small but frequent meals, as opposed to large amounts of fertilizer less often. He uses a balanced granular fertilizer with an N-P-K number no higher than 20 (such as 15-15-15), along with a blend of organic meals including alfalfa, cotton seed, fish, blood and kelp. "I give each one a handful (about a half a cup) every three weeks." Water thoroughly after feeding." So he uses 1/2 cup of chemical fertilizer 10-10-10, plus 1/2 cup of organics like Espoma Tone per LARGE bush (3' x 2') every 3 weeks for grafted-on-Dr.Huey (heavy feeder). Big-fat-foot-long-Dr.Huey-rootstock needs heavy fertilizer, but for tiny own-roots, I skip chemical fertilizer altogether and use only 1/4 cup organics every 2 weeks. Since pots leach out nitrogen more, I use 1 TBS. Osmocote per month, plus 1/4 cup organics (Lilly Miller) every 2 weeks per pot. There is 6% sulfur per 1/4 cup of Osmocote PLUS NPK 15-9-12 (applied every 6 months per 2 gallon pot or 4 square feet, per label instruction). Sulfur is for growth & dark-green leaves, but Osmocote PLUS DOES NOT HAVE calcium. Since we have heavy rain in spring, plus heavy rain in fall. I limit liming to early spring, or late fall with cool weather. Lime does burn, so best in cold & week-long rain. Below is the Squire (older Austin rose), which has bush beauty (nice color), plus heat & drought tolerance (very thorny). Blooms have zillion petals, so the repeat is slow. The Squire with dark-green leaves prefer alkaline so does well with liming. I also give it potassium to prevent blackspot after blooming. Potassium should be twice more than calcium per rose-tissue-analysis:

Seeingreen - the old Tea roses do tend to nod (we do not call it "drooping"!), but the solution is easy - there is such a thing as a "rose bowl". It is an old style of vase for roses. Many of them are crystal, and I have seen ones made out of ceramic too. The are shaped like spheres, with the top cut off. They are perfect - you just fill the up with old tea rose flowers, which then nod over the edge. Then you put the vase somewhere just above eye level, so that you can see the lovely blooms from below. The same thing works in the garden - in warm climates most old teas will climb a bit, and you can then look up at the blooms also. All of my teas have pretty thick petals, and last in vases indoors just fine. China roses are another kind which are heat tolerant - I tend to leave mine on the bushes, so I do not have much experience with them in vases, except for Le Vesuve, which acts more like a tea rose. Hopefully someone else on here can let you know. Diane and catspa - thanks for the suggestions! I will have to check out those roses. My issue is not getting rose plants through a periodic drought. but getting them through the endless cut backs on watering gardens we are facing here locally, and all over CA. That is political, and does not always jibe with whether we get enough rain or not. Jackie