Hi, SFL, I don't know how similar Zone 9a and Zone 10b are. I imagine you get NO chill time, and I'm wondering how is your soil? 300 miles is a long way, putting us pretty much in different worlds even in the same state. But I'll give it a shot. The main similarity is heat & humidity!! There's a good small book called 'The Southern Queen: Growing Beautiful Roses in the Tropics' by Latimer C. Farr about growing roses in South Florida. I got mine in a local rose society drawing, and I can't find any for sale online. As to the nematodes, if you're going for HTs and other moderns, they definitely should be on Fortuniana. I grow Tiffany on Fort and two Chrysler Imperials probably on Dr Huey so they're in big pots. Both are on Farr's HT list. I have a very early HT (pre-1895) called Madame Abel Chatenay (own root) which I love, she's healthy but loses her leaves in Jan & Feb. Farr has a pretty long list of moderns that do well down there. Probably your local rose society would be the best source for a list. I don't grow David Austins. Belinda's Dream is a good modern one. She gets very big here. Hmmm, don't they all? Old Garden Roses, especially Chinas, have some resistance to nematodes so they can be grown on their own roots. (I have 100+ roses, mostly own root.) And it has been found that nematodes don't like organic matter and heavy mulch including concrete slabs & foundations, so organics is the route I take for nematode deterrence with OGRs like Teas, Noisettes and polyanthas that aren't 100% China. I incorporate a lot of composted horse manure and pine fines (close to 50%) into the bed before planting and topdress every spring with composted horse manure on top of the old mulch and add new mulch. (I didn't know that clay could be obtained and added to the soil when I did my beds, but if I were starting over, I would try to get some for water and nutrient retention. I don't know what type of clay is preferred.) This year I've started watering daily with a micro system for 30 minutes in the early morning. When I watered every other day, my bushes stayed almost leafless all summer even with thick mulch. So! Which roses? Louis Philippe is the best, a beautiful red/pink flower with cherry candy scent. Easy care, virtually no BS. Another China that I love is Le Vesuve along with Jean Bach Sisley & Old Blush. Teas are great. They love the heat and come in a variety of colors and bloom forms. Some favorites are Maman Cochet, General Schablikine, Mrs B R Cant, Anna Olivier, Duchesse de Brabant, Madame Antoine Mari, and many more. The Bermuda Roses work well. I like Carnation. Noisettes and Tea-Noisettes are generally climbers that like heat and tolerate our humidity. They get fairly huge here. Cile Brunner Spray, LeMarne & Perle d'Or do very well in Florida. I have had less success with Hybrid Musks probably because of my soil pH and they tend not to like heat & afternoon sun. For climbers Don Juan does well enough here but does get BS. Mine is on Fortuniana. I have own root Sally Holmes & Pink Perpetue, both are recommended by Latimer Farr along with New Dawn, Sombreuil & Clair Matin. The short Bourbons in the Souv de la Malmaison clan do well albeit with some BS but have beautiful flowers and extended blooming, and Farr says Maggie does well, too. I found that Maggie got more BS than I could handle so she's gone, but you have to establish a tolerance level for that. Hope this is helpful. I hear the soil in South Florida can be really shallow on top of limestone. What's your situation? Hi, lagomorphmom! Sherry

It appears that 3 of the 4 Samoan seedlings sprouts are making some progress with new growth. Don't know why but the 4th one of them seems to be near death, almost completely browned out. :( I've read the strong sun/heat can crack the husk too much and cause the plant to have a reduced resistance to the environment. Maybe sunburn, overwatering, underwatering? Maybe 100% success rate is asking too much. If it dies, I think I'm going to replace it with a Satakentia liukiuensis rather than another coconut palm.

Thank you, Denise, GardenGal, and Poncrusguy, (I haven't figured out how to respond to a specific post if there are several in a row.) GardenGal, I clicked on the link, (thank you) and it says it is not available for shipping or pickup in my area. Bummer. Poncirusguy, I looked at the link you sent me (thanks). I had looked at that bark at my local HD, and it was way bigger than one inch! It seems these products can vary greatly from one area to another. I know this is nothing short of heresy, but a friend made the following comment. "Look, you bought those trees when they were at least two years old. They stayed in those pots for three years. During that time, they bloomed like crazy and produced tons of fruit. Why not try to find the same soil, put the trees in bigger pots, and be done with it." I can get that soil, but it definitely doesn't look anything like the 5-1-1 mix. I asked one of the owners of a fruit tree nursery about the 5-1-1 mix, and she felt it would drain way, way too fast for this climate. (She doesn't sell soil, so she's not trying to move product.) Denise, you are so right!! I am stressing so much over this. Two trees are over 6 feet tall, 3 are five feet tall, and one is four feet tall, but it is a miracle tree, and is more of a bush, but very root bound. All are going into 20 inch pots. I was thinking that the Repti Bark would be pretty much free of contaminants. If I add organic peat, and perlite, it would be pretty close to an organic growing medium. Perlite is not organic, I know, but don't know of an organic substute. If I rinse and soak the root ball and plant it in this medium, and use organic fertilizer and pest control, I could get fruit that is close to organic. What would I use to make the potting medium more acidic? I know citrus trees like a slightly organic soil. Again, thanks to all of you for taking the time to help.

Thank you everyone for responding! I have pulled up everything I can find on this rose and read everything on here that I could find. I was thinking the 3 year wait on getting a decent flush would be worth it considering it's nice healthy dark leaves. I have not played with roses in over 20 years out here so am having fun doing some catch up on what is going on and all the new varieties. I am an avid gardener and pretty much grow 90% of what I eat now. I also do lawn and ornamental work so deal with all the diseases and soil problems on a weekly basis. Yes Purilisa, the nematode pressure is high in many area's here. I am going with all Fortuniana rootstock except for this one because it seems that it probably does not do as well grafted from all I have read. I just received 4 roses yesterday from KandM and do like his quality. I asked him about MA on the phone and he said he could not get it to bloom so does not carry it for resale. I do not know if he trialed it on it's own roots along with a grafted version to compare and if he gave it enough time to show it's worth. I also wanted Amazing Grace and that one will be another challenge from all I have read.