I'm excited about getting September Morn. I've been waiting a long time, and last Fall dithered in getting a full order together when it was briefly available, and missed out. Lesson learned! If Snowbird proves to be the same rose as a "found" rose discovered my others near my home, then it is one of the most beautiful roses I've ever seen! Beautiful old-fashioned cream colored blooms somewhat like a cross between SDLM and Sombreuil. And fragrant. Beautiful. And IF it is the same as the found rose, it has to be one very strong rose, as the found rose has survived unbelievable neglect and drought. I hope to grow both Snowbird and the "found" rose side by side for study. Funny but Grace Darling was the very next "alternate" on my list. Next order. Bill

Hi Jim: Mas mentioned that she's applying silica ... known to strengthen cell-wall. I checked on potassium and disease-prevention, and found this in Wikipedia, "In agriculture, some cultivars are more efficient at K uptake due to genetic variations, and often these plants have increased disease resistance.[1] The mechanisms include a decreased cell permeability and decreased susceptibility to tissue penetration. Silica, which is accumulated in greater quantities when adequate potassium is present, is incorporated into cell walls, strengthening the epidermal layer which functions as a physical barrier to pathogens. Potassium has also been implicated to have a role in the proper thickening of cell walls." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_deficiency_(plants) **** From Straw: I notice that my disease-resistant roses: Basyes Blueberry, Excellenz von Schubert, Knock-outs, Kordes Flower Carpet, Annie L. McDowell, Marie Pavie, Bolero, Christopher Marlowe, Frederic Mistral, Old Port, Lilian Austin, and Nahema have THICKER LEAVES than flimsy Gruss an Teplitz' leaves. The disease-resistant own-roots are more efficient in getting potassium from the soil, than Dr. Huey's parent, Gruss an Teplitz. I notice that when I bring down the pH of my alkaline tap water through a bit of vinegar, ... the leaves of Sweet Promise rose became thinner, and more wilting in hot sun. So I checked on that, and a few University Extension mentioned that as the pH drops, levels of calcium and potassium are less available. There's the misconception that the pH has to be slightly acidic for roses to bloom best ... that's NOT true. The best tons-of-blooms in HMF are from sandy alkaline gardens, such as of Kitty Belendez in CA, she uses a soluble fertilizer mix, including kelp meal. Seaweed has alkaline clay soil, and she gets tons of blooms with soluble fertilizer. Alkaline soil pH doesn't matter, since plants can do acid-phosphatase (secreting acids to utilize phosphorus in soil). Dr. Huey root-stock is good in acid-phosphatase for blooming, but lousy in getting potassium from the soil. Here's an excerpt from eHow: "Potassium levels increase with higher pH levels, so acidic soils, which have lower pH levels, tend to have less potassium content than alkaline soils. According to professor Linda Chalker-Scott, potassium levels are particularly low in sandy acidic soils. Amending Your Soil: If your soil has low pH and potassium levels, you should apply lime to increase soil pH. For potassium-deficient soils that are not acidic, fertilizers such as potassium sulfate (sulfate of potash) may be more appropriate." *** From Straw: below is Annie L. McDowell, zero diseases for the past 2 years, that rose has VERY THICK leaves. I put gypsum in the planting hole & use soluble sulfate of potash. Picture taken June 19, after 3-days of rain & humid weather:

Thanks for you reply Charles!! Nice to hear from you in SA itself. I was born and grew up in JHB in the 50's and 60's in Rosebank and then Craighall. You know what yearly family holidays along the Natal and Transkei coast and game reserve (and all that) do to you for the rest of your life! Here in the south of France it's nice, but.......! This is not a full Mediterannean climate as far as temperatures go, since it gets much hotter (in 2003 we had 41 degrees C for about 10 days) with a long summer period generally ranging from 20 to 35 degrees for 5 months of the year. Rainfall can be scarce during this period and we cazn saley say that watering (I have a well) is reguired during the 2 peak summer months of July & August. Winters are generally mild with only about 15 days frost in the year, BUT most years there is a "cold spell" when there is hard frost at -4, -5 and sometimes up to -10, usually accompanied at the beginning by a bit of snow. There is also a period of about 1 month in January or February when you have heavy winter rainfall with temps in the 5 to 10 degree C range. I think we are in a "Warm Temperate" zone. To give you an idea of what grows here: On the exotic side: there are artificially planted olive trees that do well with no protection. Citrus has to be taken inside in winter. Bouganvillia will survive in the right shelter. There are almonds, figs, pomegranites and loquats. Date palms grow in gardens but need winter protection when young. Soil in my garden is naturally abiout 30 cm deep and is clayey and slightly acid. There are good full sun areas, half shade and full shade. And thanks for that link too!! Hey it gets quite nippy in JHB too in the winter! thanks a ton, Steve in Toulouse

Thanks everyone, My camera has a crack through the 2"LCD monitor. When I turn the camera on it looks like oil on water. Rainbow. So I'm taking photos through the view finder on Auto setting. Have to down load to see results. Most of the time bad pics. This one below is ok