Buford-- I hope that now that the neighbors affected rose bush is gone that you will be free from RRD. Seems like the county should help you dig and move those roses!? Great to see you again! Mendicino Rose-- Great to see you again. How is your lovely garden? Seil--Thanks! Hi Gean-- Alabama to the Puget Sound--that's a change, eh?! My last two big losses--both of which broke my spirit--were the loss of my huge blush Noisette and the Duchess de Brabant. I believed that the Duchess I had might have been one of the best specimens around, as the roses were perfect in form with the blooms being more upright instead of drooping. That was something that came with age and size, and was worth the wait. Man, I loved her. She resisted RRD for a long time. She eventually had one cane with RRD that I cut to the ground but two years later I found a very central cane that had it very bad. There was no way to get to and remove that cane without destroying the whole bush. Being that it was in the center I did not think the other branches would survive unaffected so we dug the whole thing. It took forever. Yep, I cried through the whole thing. After two years of pretty much a blank slate of a yard, I think I may attempt to grow roses again. Maybe smaller plants will be less susceptible. Maybe the high season for RRD has passed my area. I was here for years without one attack..maybe I can get a few more years in. I can only hope we find roses that resist it to a certain extent that I can add and watch. Its nice to see familiar names and to know that others are still plugging along in roseland. :o)

i'm sure ole bill is up in heaven tending his garden. we miss you bill. ***** ... and looking down at us from heaven and transmitting a series of his excellent photos to make his point. (smile) Thanks for remindning us of his passing Tom, and another good freind to remember is Big Red who died unexpectadly a year ago this past Spring. I had just gotten the varieties Linnie's Oxheart and Indiana Red from him and then two weeks later he passed on. Carolyn

Just testing to see if a follow-up on cleaning works. Keywords for testing Google: follow-up cleaning abcxyz

Marilyn_Sue posted a couple of weeks ago that her husband has been in the hospital, pneumonia I think. Found it https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5329034/anybody-know#n=19