Greta, I had a very similar problem. It was my first order from Vintage, and my first attempt at teas. Most of my 100+ (maybe 200? I'm afraid to count!)roses are from bands. I generally get them, give them a couple of days of babying in the pot to get over shipping and acclimate a little bit, and then stick them directly in the ground. They've all survived and almost all have flourished until now (some succumbed to other problems, but I've had a very high success rate this way.) Anyway, the stuff from Vintage got here, and of course we had some really nasty cold weather at the same time, so they didn't get put in the ground immediately. Now Lady Hillingdon is almost dead (and may be gone already), and Duchesse de Brabant and Mme Joseph Schwartz are really struggling. Mme Berard is creeping along, but I think she'll be ok. However, Clementina C and G. Nabonnand are doing really well, as are all the other non-teas I got at the same time. It was the bigger bands that seem to be struggling. In my case, I don't think it was the fact that they didn't get in the ground right away; I think it was the screwy weather. The larger bands that are struggling were completely stripped of leaves for mailing. When I got them in the ground, we had a couple of weeks of overcast, misty weather--virtually no direct sun. They were leafing out just fine, then we had a couple of really bright, warm days and those little red new leaves sizzled away to nothing--I think they sunburned since they'd never seen direct sun before. ARRGGHH! The teas that had leaves when I got them got sunburned a little, but weren't hurt as badly and have done just fine. Some teas that I got later that spent a little while in their pots have also done well--it's just those poor guys who got the big weather changes. I think DdB is going to make it, I have high hopes for MmeJS, but I think Lady Hillingdon is toast. Maybe I can give her another chance this fall when it starts to rain again. So don't give up yet--we can always blame the weather!

Glad to hear you folks find this post as helpful as I do! It's actually reassuring to look at the before and after pictures to realize that before will come again (so to speak). I absolutely agree that there are roses that are much more continuous bloomers than what I've shown here. I chose the more extreme case, since a lot of HTs and floris need rest periods, and I purposely put the ones with less rebloom in this back yard bed since it bugs only me when it's resting. There are better parts of my yard, and better roses for frequent or consistent rebloom. I just figured showing the contrast helps me. Roses that are pretty darned continuous blooming include my classic three - Bad Worishofen, Smiling Jean, and Lady Elsie May. I totally agree that it depends on location and conditions as much as the rose - Scepter'd Isle and Savoy Hotel and even Mme. Antoine Mari are close to constant bloomers for me, but they're right by the water faucet and benefit from the bonus water - I doubt they'd be so in other parts of my yard. Wilhelm and Heavenly Pink among the shade roses bloom nearly constantly, as do Bonica and Caldwell Pink. Sweet Fragrance and many of the Easy Elegance are essentially constant and prolific bloomers, which is why I put 5 Sweet Fragrance in the bed in front of my house, since that's one of the places I really want more or less constant bloom in at least some roses and flowers. Yep, Seil, I'm frankly amazed that the foliage looks this good myself. We had an abundance of rain in spring and unusually cool July weather, but not the drowning that the southeast has experienced. I don't spray anything for BS and can get away with it in our relatively dry climate, but I think my roses have gotten tougher and more resistant to BS with time because of the benign neglect since we do get a fair bit of BS in Nebraska. A friend in Omaha gave me about 15 of her highly BS prone roses, and they don't seem to get much BS for me even an hour away (though I tend not to notice much if they do). Location, location, location, eh? I love the statement - everblooming is a garden not a bush. All the descriptions of the wonderful variety of annuals and perennials and other plants remind me that we're all gardeners in the large sense, not just rosarians. I make sure to plant things that will be vigorously blooming all summer in my mailbox bed, since it's the most prominent in my yard, and the annual purple Salvia Farinacea and blue Aster Frikartii in the shot below do a terrific job of filling in between the sporadic blooms from Liverpool Remembers and Grand Duc Henri, plus the nearly constant blooming roses on the street side of Red Ribbons and David Barber (white) with the amazingly prolific Solero Vigorosa (yellow) still going strong in the front corner. We don't have to give up the exuberance that I dearly love in my garden, at least not in all of the beds, we just have to balance where it comes from and enjoy the changing landscape for what it is. So enjoy the rest of summer and the changes of seasons and the coming and going of rose surprises! Cynthia

Bayourose - Thank you. I've had my Royal William quite a few years. It is a dependable rose, sometimes a little slow to repeat and averages about one dozen blooms per flush, which I consider fair. Mine used to get very tall, but in recent years it probably doesn't get over 4 ft. tall. It has a nice tea fragrance and I consider it a true red, it is a pretty rose in person. Even though I don't consider it a heavy bloomer, I always enjoy the blooms I do get.

Thanks everyone! ac91, my Carding Mill starts off a darker shade of apricot and fades to the color you see in the picture. I love the color at all stages. rosiewells, I do not have my pole wrapped in wire, but I wish I had thought of that. This is an old telephone pole that is not used anymore. There is a newer one next to it. I simply put some nails in it and tied string from one nail to the next. It seemed to work. Now I just sort of wrap Peggy into herself. It's still a work in progress. I am just loving this time of year!