Kristimama - I use Black Magic potting soil. It seems to be widely available, and it was highly recommended by a very knowledgeable person on this forum. It's a tad expensive, but since my roses have so much to contend with already, I felt they deserved it. I should have mentioned that I have only had roses for about 4 years, so I'm far from expert. I've learned a lot, however, due to volunteering once a week at the Sacramento Historic Rose Garden in the old city cemetery (a wonderful place to spend a few hours, working or not!). I also should have mentioned that my roses are about to face an even more challenging environment: After yellowjackets came every summer that we've been here (4 years), last summer they built a nest in the rolled-up "privacy screens" on the balcony, directly above my roses. The exterminator said that they would be bound to come back, as they find those rolled-up screens to be a perfect nesting site (it keeps them warm, etc.), and that it would be best to keep the screens rolled down. They're part of the balcony (i.e., the property of the apartment complex), so I can't get rid of them. They are down now, as I am allergic to bees and wasps. SO... the roses (and my other plants, succulents) will get even less sun than before. This coming summer is an experiment - I'm hoping that the screens being down will produce a dappled shade effect, thus shielding things from frying, while still letting in enough sunlight to keep everything more or less happy. We shall see. As Amelia Peabody would say, "Another challenge! I'm up to it!" -- at least, I hope so. Laura

Thank you very much Patrick and Jeri: Patrick that's good to hear that I can just plant it straight in the ground if that's how it works out. Without worrying about the canes laying on the ground. Yours sounds really pretty. Jeri: You raise a good question. If I can grow it well in the ground or not. It certainly hated being in the new bed out front where pretty much all the other roses seemed comfortable. It only perked up when I put it in a pot. I do have other beds so I will probably end up with it in a larger pot or the back rose bed. Kate

So far Love Song has been nothing short of amazing. She blooms one flush after the other in full, all day sun. It's finally cooling down this week, but we had many days of over 100F. Love Song hasn't shown a bit of petal burn. The blooms last a long time on the bush and the vase. A second one may be an option. It's that good, and I don't have two of any rose. I can't believe I bought it on impulse because my favorite nursery had marked all its 5 gallon roses down to $5. What a bargain! I also have a youngish Silver Clould (another lavender rose). It's pretty and the plant itself looks good, but the blooms quickly crisped in the heat. I'm not sure it is a keeper, but it certainly deserves more time before I do away with it. The one good thing about my slowness in putting my roses in the ground, is that I can move them around according to their sun and heat tolerance. I've had to be super diligent about watering the pots in this heat though. I've been letting the grass suffer, as I prefer using my limited water on my roses and flowers. Everyone's grass looks bad, so I don't feel bad. Does anyone have both Angel Face and Love Song? I'm wondering if they look ok together in a vase. Cutting flowers for indoors is a big deal to me.

Thank you everyone! Jeri I love those found roses, especially De la Vina Mystery and Pulich Children--color is amazing! Wish they were cultivated for sale somewhere... Thank you for the encouragement Romogen, Boncrow and Virginia! I have been trying to be selective in the varieties I want to order. Asking questions on this forum and perusing great blogs like Hoovb's (a plus that her garden is near my zone) and other amazing blogs! BUT I do have zone envy. And being a beginner it's hard to gauge how bad all the negatives of a rose not-well-suited to my zone might be. I've never experienced rust, I have seen powdery mildew as tiny white smudges on a few leaves once this whole year, I DO know what black spot looks like on a HT that was planted by a previous owner of the house. But it only occurs on that one rose and doesn't cause defoliation. The roses I have chosen so far based on many positive reviews from this forum (Munstead Wood and Jubilee Celebration) have been great! Firefighter is just now starting to produce flowers that look as they should but the fragrance has been beautiful and last until the petals fall as Hoovb said. I think it's my inexperience that keeps me dreaming and wishing. And gosh darn it those blogs with amazingly beautiful photos of countless roses; especially some from Japan. I remember reading one of Ingrid's posts where she asked about a rose variety and after finding out it was not well-suited for her hot garden, she moved on (reminded me of a scene from Finding Nemo, when Marlin and Dory snap-out of the trance of the Anglerfish). At this point I am timid to try roses that may do poorly or eek out a few flowers annually. Though I am very very curious to try out roses on Romogen's list. I will have to ask at Roger's about Lavender Lady does well here... Thank you everyone for your guidance, advice, sharing and encouragement. It's really a wonderful experience to receive such help. Hopefully one day I can post some photos of my rose garden...and some advice from my own trials!