Defrost - I wrote a long message this morning that seems to have gotten lost in the ether. There are a several roses that I've grown in the past or am growing now. Many of my current plants I started from cuttings, and you'd be welcome to come take cuttings if you would like. I have found them relatively easy to grow from cuttings even though I don't know much about it. Almost all my roses are relatively easy care, but the Japanese beetles bother all but the earliest. I recently read that water that has had cedar soaking in it will discourage the Japanese beetles when sprayed on susceptible plants, so I'll be trying that this summer since I have way too much field area to treat for grubs. - Rugosa Hansa (previous house along with one other Rugosa) - Lovely scent, easy care, but I didn't get good repeat. - Double white rugosa - Lovely scent, not good repeat, looks like wet tissue if it rains but gorgeous if it doesn't get wet. One of two current roses from Uncanoonuc, and it is grafted. I fight the understock to keep it from taking over. - Apothecary rose - striped red and white shrub with strong rose scent. I fight the understock (multiflora I think) which has come up 8' away from the plant. Early bloomer no repeat. Uncanoonuc. - Autumn Sunset - Gold Climber, good repeat, light scent. Another Uncanoonuc rose, also grafted, and after about 3 years didn't come back after one winter, though I don't know if it was due to voles or it was too cold. I would grow again if it were on its own roots. - Fairy rose - previous house - no scent, repeat (almost constant) bloom, easy care. - Dr. Huey - Dark red climber from understock. Not much repeat. - John Davis - light scent, medium pink, one of the Canadian Explorer roses, shorter climber. Long bloom with lighter repeats continuing. - Lady Elsie Banks - medium pink shrub, no scent that I notice. Repeats well. - New Dawn (probably) AKA George's rose since it came as a cutting from my now-gone neighbor George. Vigorous climber, very pale pink very double flowers, little if any scent (can't get close enough to smell) and wicked thorns that require that it be planted away from paths. - An unknown pink shrub rose that was here at the house when we arrived. Lovely scent, no repeat bloom. Cleanest foliage of any rose I grow, and the foliage has a light scent. Although IME own root roses don't take off quite as soon as grafted roses, in the long run, I prefer them as I don't have issues with the root stock and all my own root roses have always come back. I don't do any extra winterizing. I don't know if Uncanoonuc has any roses that are own root. I added Zepherine Drouin (pink climber) and Westerland (orange mix) this past summer and haven't yet any feedback on them. This winter will test them, but they are both own root, so I have faith that they will come through.

I shop at multiple stores. Pay day is every other Friday so I that is when I go to Wal-Mart or Smith's (Kroger owned). Every 2 weeks we also get coffee beans at the little mom and pop shop. We go to Sprouts every 2 weeks as their ads overlap on Wednesdays. This is actually getting less frequent as they have not put the bulk things on sale that I want the most as frequently (steel cut oats and short grain brown rice). The bread outlet is a once a month trip. Other stores such as Keller's (for meat), Trader Joe's, the international markets, Vitamin Cottage (for other bulk items), I alternate months. Some things I get through Amazon's subscribe and save and that can vary in frequency. Eggs are mostly from my hens and many of our vegetables come from our garden. Some of the variety in shopping is about the money savings but it is more along the lines of trying to match the quality to a certain price point and meeting my needs of acquiring a diversity of ingredients. Arborio rice at TJ's, quality meat at Keller's, red lentils in bulk at Vitamin Cottage, etc. Part of it is me trying to maintain a well stocked pantry because my moods are fickle and if the pantry has a variety of things, I can cook according to my mood. Pre-planned menus never, ever work for me.

I just don't like the personal chore of it. I don't like to go often, so I make a big plan and try to go every two weeks. It requires making a meal plan and a very thorough list to feed the 6 of us. So, I get frustrated trying to get my family to participate in the planning, getting ideas of what they'd like for meals so I don't get in a rut. They "don't care" when I make the list, but then ask for things later that I didn't get. Shoulda told me when I asked! I come home with a full minivan, it takes 3 hours, I go to 2-3 stores and take a cooler to keep cold foods. Then it takes me 1/2 a day to put it away. I hate that. But at least it's done for a while. If I am in a bad mood, I know the grocery is not the place for me. The mood will get worse, I won't stay focused, and the job won't get done right. So if I can help it, I wait until my mood improves. I might have to take a little time to myself and find my Zen, get my mind ready. ;o) Most of the time, people are polite and will correct it apologize if the commit a faux pas. Having said that, there is still one thing that will irritate the beejeebees out of me. In the parking lot, people walking diagonally across the driving lanes as slow as molassas while having a conversation. Then they slow to a stop in the middle and have a chat. They will look up, knowing full well cars are stopped waiting for them, and it's like it doesn't cross their mind they are in a parking lot not a park!! These are not physically limited people who cannot walk any faster, I am patient with that, they gotta do what they gotta do. I would get out and hold traffic for them. These offenders are young, tight jeans and high heals, toddler in the cart, bags piled everywhere, hands on their hips "I got all day to stand here and chat so that's what I'm gonna do." It is as if they are from another planet where this behavior is the norm b/c there is no indication that they know any better. Some days I just have to take a cleansing breath and remind myself that I don't want to hurt anyone. I really want to get out and explain to them "Welcome to our planet where we don't have reunions in parking lots."

there is a plant propogation book i have wherein the author describes his own mist system. that author has a large black coil of hose in the roof of his greenhouse so that water can be heated before reaching the mist nozzles. that's at least one vote for using warm water and keeping the cuttings reasonably warm as they root. just thought i would toss that in! lol. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mosaic z8 LA (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 11:59 With such a setup you could probably root roses under mist all winter here in Louisiana. And then as an added bonus, you could save on your power bills all summer by using it to steam your veggies :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: tammyinwv z6/WV (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 16:05 i have been unable to find the mist heads even within an hr from my home.Someone mentioned here they found them for .50 each.would anyone be willing to get me a couple and mail them? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: wild_garden virginia z6b (My Page) on Sun, May 11, 03 at 16:32 at my lowes store the mist heads where in the indoor gardening area next to the register, i doubt the people at lowes would have even know what to look for. it was with the drip irrigation supplies, as i said in the indoor gardening area next to the big outdoor area where they sell trees and things. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mist heads supply source Posted by: RoseHawke 7b AL (My Page) on Mon, May 12, 03 at 10:37 For you folks that haven't been able to find the heads locally, try going to this site: Dripworks or here's a direct link to one of the pages with some heads:Misters . I just a couple of weeks ago ordered some irrigation supplies from them and received them quite quickly. About 4 days if I remember correctly. Haven't had a chance to put it together yet, which is probably just as well as the flood we had last week would've probably washed everything down the creek ;-). I also have the Melnor timer, and it does seem a bit confusing about its ability to do a mist cycle, but what you're doing is programing it to do one cycle (on in the am; off in the pm) and punching in a choice of watering pattern, in this case the off for 10" on for 2" pattern. I believe the idea behind the pattern was/is actually to help prevent water run-off when doing overhead watering by allowing the water to soak in between the on phases. I bought this particular timer though because when I looked at it my mind said "Ah! Mist!" (heh), even though the reason I bought it at the time was to keep a new patch of zoysia sod watered until it rooted in. My batteries did last all season last year, but it was only opening that valve 4x a day for 3 weeks, and then 1x every 4 days for a couple of months. I can see where a misting pattern of opening and closing that valve many times during the day may eat batteries, but as ShamanSherpa pointed out, it's still cheaper than a $100+ misting timer! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: patclem z7 (or 6) TN (My Page) on Fri, May 23, 03 at 8:32 Regardless of how much water it wastes, etc, I decided to experiment with misting. I am TERRIBLE at rooting cuttings. I've tried baggies. I've tried jars. I've tried special cutting trays with plastic domes. I've had one rooted cutting out of probably 50. I had the same problem finding true super-fine mist systems in the south. None at Lowe's, none at HD. They're not popular here because they don't have the same evaporating effect they have in less humid areas of the country - they make you wet here. Here's where I found mist heads. They didn't charge me anything for shipping. They were super-good to deal with online. Web Page - Phone/Fax 888-693-0578 Local/Fax (719) 495-2266 Qty: 4; Sku: 6W401; Product: Monarch Misting Nozzles M-1; Amount: $7.40 Qty: 4; Sku: 6W519; Product: Reducing Tee for Monarch Misting Nozzles; Amount: $4.40 You have to go to Lowe's or local hardware store and get a hose adapter, timers, 1/2" PVC, PVC caps, etc. I have mine set up with 2 mist heads, and about a 6' diameter section of my grass is soaked! I don't have mine on a timer yet. Results? I don't have any yet, except none of my cuttings have turned black yet. PS - I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH THIS BUSINESS IN ANY WAY! Here is a link that might be useful: Mist Heads -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: fuselighter 7/WA (My Page) on Thu, May 29, 03 at 21:41 I am so excited about the misting bed. I went out and bought all the supplies today. Total cost was about $15 (my husband had PVC and elbows left over from installing the sprinkler system). I would like to go to an intermittent system eventually, but for now I am going with continuous. The water bill is not an issue because we have an irrigation system (there is an annual fee but it is not based on usage). I set the whole thing up in about an hour. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: debbinard Z4CO (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 03 at 10:54 Shamansherpa -- I could not open your picture! I live in Colorado, it gets very warm middle of June (up to upper 90's) and stays low humidity. We are on outsidewater restrictions 2xweek, so I'm not sure this method would fly. Am wondering how visible this is, or if inside is an option under lights. At any rate, I would like to propigate some rose cuttings now (is this a good time?) My daughter in law is moving and would love some plants from a rose with sentimental value. Is the rooting hormone used just the usual or special for roses? Thanks Deb -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mytrid Zone8b Florida (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 03 at 13:48 Deb, Maybe you could call your water extention office and see if you can get special permission, exsplain to them how little water it uses. Yes you use rooting hormone, there are many available. Dip and grow I here is supposed to be really good. I got some of the more exspensive stuff from a friend whom bought it threw rose imporium on line. But you can always use something like dip and grow. Deanna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: rose_enthusiast z7 TX. (My Page) on Sun, Jun 1, 03 at 15:47 Hi there Deanna! It seems to me you've managed to help a lot of people with your invaluable info. And I would like to thank you for inspiring me to start a misting bed to root my cuttings. I have one question to add to the many others you've been getting though... What rose company is it that you get your rooting hormone from? Is it Rose Emporium or the Antique Rose Emporium? I would like to purchase this product as well, since you and this company are using this to successfully root your cuttings. Thanks Again, Carlos -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: mytrid Zone8b Florida (My Page) on Tue, Jun 3, 03 at 1:31 Carlos, Thank you but we should all thank AngieAnders, she is the one who did all the research and work to discover this method and then post it here for us last year! She truly diserves all the credit. I just wanted to keep any new people aware that have just started rooting this year. Best of luck all and don't forget to post your sucess! Deanna -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: epiphany z5b PA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 3, 03 at 9:28 I found the Arizona Mist system which is by Orbit as mentioned at Wal-Mart. It has 12' of tubing, end cap, six misting heads and hose adapter for $14.95. Of course, it is once again cold and wet here,......all of a balmy 56°. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by: auntnana 6 TN (My Page) on Thu, Jun 5, 03 at 13:06 I ordered the misting heads mentioned above from Dripworks last year and they don't put out a fine mist as much as they do a fine spray/droplets. And even though I had a pressure regulator on there, I kept having a problem with the heads blowing off! (Their drippers work perfectly by the way so it's nothing against the company) I ordered foggers from Misty Mate this year and they put out a super fine fog. Perfect for propagation. They are a litte more expensive than the ones from Dripworks but worth it. And if you ask they will ship the misting heads for $1.50. I went to HD and bought a 10-24 tap and drill set (3.00) and drilled holes in my 1/2" cvpvc and the heads just screwed right in! I bought a Melnor timer at HD for $39 and it has 1 minute spray options so I've got it set for 1 minute every 10 minutes. Can't remember the model number but it's not the one on the HD website. I hope to finish my new propagation box soon. I built one on a stand this year so I can move it around easily. Wouldn't you know, HD has plastic sheeting made just for greenhouses that I used! It's not the real thick heavy stuff either. It's only 4mil and is crystal clear see-thru! Hopefully I'll be finished this week!