Hi Phyl, With over 300 rosebushes (and growing) I don't limit myself to just the old roses, rugosas, Explorers, etc...although I do appreciate them for their ease of care. I grow many, many roses that should not be hardy here in zone 4 and yes, I do have to cut them back all the way to the ground every spring. They always rally and put forth new growth and I am content with plants that will never exceed 2 to 3 feet at the end of the summer. I just enjoy them for their lovely blooms and expect no more than that, always happy that they come back each year in spite of my nasty winters. The upside to these more tender roses is that since they will never get large, I can plant MORE of them since they aren't going to use up my precious rose real estate like the hardy ones which get huge. This winter we had record snowfall and I thought that would be a good thing, since the roses would be more insulated. It was good in terms of them not having much winterkill from the cold, but the weight of the snow busted them up so much that I ended up cutting even the hardy roses back severely because there was so much breakage. It was heartbreaking because even the tender roses came through with more green cane than usual. But already they are sending up shoots and looking vigorous. I never let it discourage me for too long, because giving them their annual "haircut" stimulates them to grow and bloom just fine. Its discouraging at times to live where there are so many obstacles to rose-growing (japanese beetles being my most dreaded foe) but my passion for roses is a greater force than anything Nature throws at me. I just deal with it, and love them all the more! Celeste

Whether it's the so-called 'Black tip' or 'stem collapse', it's all basically cell death brought on by stress to the plant. My understanding is it is not caused by a fungus. Therefore I do not think any fungicide will be able to prevent it. I think you're right about maintaining the right 'balance' during dormancy between soil moisture, temperature and air circulation. Still trying to figure out what that balance is! I do think that plants stored dormant for a long period of time, regardless of temperature, should not ever dry out completely. I think perhaps that particular plant of mine did dry out too much. Perhaps higher humidity could have prevented it. I'd be interested in knowing if any Northern growers have had any luck storing their plants bare-root. If so, under what conditions?

If you buy the pizza pan, make sure it is stainless steel instead of aluminum, as aluminum can melt on wood/charcoal grill. If you are using a gas grill, you will not get a smoky flavor - unless you are adding wood chips - and so there would be no point. I use a pizza stone on my charcoal grill, and I still get a smoky flavor, and so I do not think the holes in the bottom are really necessary for the smoke to flavor the pizza. They might help, but they are not needed for flavor. However, all of my pizza pans have holes in them, and so there may be another function to them. I used to have five pans, but now I have four... I've never seen a Pampered Chef store, and so maybe they are only in the East. Lars

I sent in my points end of November. I ordered three things, the Jeep, a set of books, and a Little People toy set. I got the book a couple of weeks ago and there was a packing list that said the Jeep is backordered until July!! So if you sent yours in around the same time as me, it is probably the same deal. I think the only reason I received any sort of confirmation was because one of my items was shipped to me. I think they are not very organized and were not prepared for the volume of orders they received. My sister sent in her points back in September and she got a confirmation before she received any of her stuff, and they gave her the option to pick something else if she did not want to wait that long for any of the items. She ordered some books and the Jeep. She got the books first and then she eventually did receive the Jeep.