I grow this rose, and love it. I have three Mme Pierre Ogers up by my front porch, and they perfume the front yard. They grow to about 5 feet tall by autumn, with a vase shaped growth habit. They repeat bloom nicely through summer and into autumn.

I just want to add my agreement to what Mike Rivers and Snowheather said about the Bayer-tebuconozole and the Banner Max. Both are excellent. Banner Max is much more expensive up front, though it will last much much longer. Either one is generally used on a bi-weekly basis and is best used preventively (the Bayer has a little bit of curative effect). With either of these products, used throughout the growing season you should see very little disease problem. They're well worth the effort. But for the Bayer, you can find "Bayer All-in-One" at any Wal-mart and most Home garden centers. But it tells you to drench the soil, rather than spraying. Easier, yes, but far more wasteful and expensive. You'll run out before you realize it. Plus, that formulation throws in chemical fertilizer and insecticide, which is overkill. You don't need the fertilizer if you're already fertilizing and adding organics to your soil, which we all should be doing anyway. And the insecticide is baaaaaddd on your good bug population and the environment in general. Why pour insect poison into the soil unless you actually see a specific insect problem? Better to spot treat bug problems, instead of using sustained heavy artillary. My 1000% vote goes instead to Bayer brand "Disease Control for Roses, Flowers & Shrubs." It's that same tebuconozole-based fungicide but without the excess fertilizer/bug killer. I've only ever seen this formulation at Lowe's stores, but it IS available at most Lowe's, so ask a store employee if you can't find it on your own. Oh, and I didn't see this spelled out plainly, so...Blackspot spores can spread from anywhere anytime that there is sustained dampness or wetness for at least 6 hours. Once the spores land on the plant surface, they take a few days to germinate. That's why you saw the apparent spread of the disease AFTER you sprayed. It's also why people often experience a bout of blackspot shortly after they bring home a seemingly clean new rose plant. Chances are the rose brought the spores with it. As far as organic methods, fertilizer, yes! bug control, sure!...mostly. but at least where blackspot is concerned, I don't buy into the organic paradigm, not around here, anyway, in Blackspot Hell. Even old garden roses and "Knockout" that are supposed to be highly resistent to blackspot will get some around here. Not enough to seriously threaten their health, but enough to still sap some of their energy that would otherwise go to leaf and bloom production. I tried using Greenlight brand Neem oil several years back and ended up chemical burning my roses. Seems they couldn't handle hot sun with that oil. No thanks. Organic does not automatically mean "safer." Hopefully this will be encouraging to you; Blackspot is most likely to appear in the fall with dampness and moderate temps. It's partly because the foliage is getting old and losing vitality as the growing season winds down. So it succombs more easily to infection. No big deal. It IS nearing the season when the leaves should drop anyway. So start a sensible regular preventive spray program, but also don't worry too much about long-term damage taking over. It's easily reversible. Mike

Up until yeaterday I didn't know what kind of fern it was. I posted this pic on the Fern forum and was told that it is Ostrich Fern. I started with only a few and they have multiplied many times over. They're very easy to transplant so I've been moving some around the yard into different locations. They love moist shade.

Here are 2 pictures of the problem spots. What is this and what can i do about it. it grows twice as fast (if not more) then the surrounding grass, and it seems to get bigger every year. (there are just 2 small spots, i have a pretty big area of this in one corner)