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?

Hi all, I have 9 Pampers Perks points that I'm not going to use if anyone needs them (I know it's not a lot, but if you're close to a prize it may help!) Email me at brisbydog@yahoo.com and I can send them to you. Pam

Both of my grandparents stayed at home until they were in their late 80's and then Mama had no choice but to put them into a nursing home. My GF lived about 3 years after and my GM is still living. She turned 100 in Sept. She has very good care and is the favorite in the home. She has a double room and has been lucky for the most part about room-mates but she has had a couple that were a chore to deal with. When they retired they had a substantial amount of savings and their home with a few acres of land. We hired one of the home health aides to come spend the night with them for a few months but were paying out about $300 a week and all she was doing was sleeping there. Anyway now my GM has been in the home for about 13 years and all of her money is gone. She gets $30 a month and goes to the beauty shop in the home once a week and the family pays for her TV and phone and any other things she needs. Her money was building up in her account and they told my sister that we needed to spend some of it because she wasn't allowed to have but a certain amount and she was over the limit. Family members moved into their home for a few years and then when it was vacated we sold it and the money went to the home. We had no problem with that. They've taken good care of her and know they will continue to. The main point is that people save their money for their old age and then when they get their and need it for health care the other family members often think it should be theirs. Yes, we've paid taxes most of our lives but nobody can live on the amount of taxes you pay in for a month. Probably the best solution would be to go back to many years ago where extended families just built onto the family home and the kids stayed after marriage and were there to help care for the elderly family members (great-grandparents) and the grandparents are there to baby sit for the grandchildren. Thus cutting out a lot of expenses. Of course we've gone away from this custom for too many years for most to want to do it. G'nite John-Boy! lol Nancy