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

The big box stores commonly sell fruiting plants that will not survive here and if they do would not fruit. They also like to sell northern grapes which would die here to Pierces disease. Some berries would grow for you.you could try Mysore Black Raspberries. They are VERY thorny. You could also try sunshine blue blueberries but you will probably not get a great fruit set. Perhaps Coffeemom will see this and chime in, I know she was trying a blueberry experiment.

Anything in pots or planters is likely to need repotting at some point. So if you use climbing plants that get all through the fence you will have to cut them off in order to get them repotted. And as mentioned with climbing plants being used on an architectural feature like a fence there is a need for consistently undertaken pruning and training in order to get the plants to assume and retain the desired size and shape. In addition to the regular cleaning up, fertilizing and watering that any kind of live plants used in your situation would require. So I think instead you should continue in the general direction of the fake fig panels, wherein you identify and implement some kind of material or product other than living plants that will still make it so your fence is not see through. It doesn't have to be something that looks like plants, just something that will produce a screening effect. And look acceptable to you.

I am in Palm Beach County Zone 10.... I also get roses from Cool Roses .... they are a great nursery. You can call Debbie or Geoff and ask... they are really helpfule. I have done both.... plant in the summer and plant in the fall. The nice thing about Cool Roses is that they are NOT grown under shade cloth so they are use to the really hot and humid weather.... So they can go out into the ground. Did you get your roses on Fortuniana or own root.... either way should be fine, but you will have to handle them a little differently. Your Fortuniana roses will have shallow roots and the own roots won't. You will need to mulch heavy in order to keep the fortuniana roots cool especially until the roses get well rooted.... but do NOT put the mulch so that it touches the trunk of the rose bush. Also, you will need to stake them very well because (this has happened to me) they started to root when we get summer gales or hurricanes and the wind rocks the newly rooted plants setting them back.... Once I learned to stake and mulch I had pretty good luck. If you do plant them in the ground you do NOT want to fertilize them until later in the fall... you want the rose building up roots, not putting out top growth.... this time of year we will be attacted by chili thrips so keeping the top growth to a min. is best..... and if you plant them in the ground, even though Cool Roses plants are use to the sun, you may want to shade your roses for a week or two..... Honestly, I have kept some of their roses in pots during the summer, just because it was WAY to hot for me to tear out the grass and build a new bed.... they did fine in the pots I purchased them in until it cooled off enough for me to get out there and plant.... I have also planted some in existing beds had just a few problems.... easily corrected.... don't push for new growth, but get some spinosad so if you do get chili thrips you can spray (early early morning or late afternoon) and make sure you stake until they are WELL established..... Do you belong to the Greater Palm Beach Rose Society??? Also what roses did you get?