I was very disappointed when I first started learning about roses that Gallicas won't grow down here. I only started trying rugosas because my mother who lives in North Carolina has them in her yard and she said they were so easy to care for. Perhaps that's just it - they don't like my soil. I'm completely flabbergasted by these roses. I tried the Old Rosarian's recommendation that I replant the smaller roses with composted manure and it didn't seem to effect them, and of course, they had been mulched already. In September I tested the soil in another part of my garden, and I found that the nitrogen was almost nonexistent. That may be part of the problem with the others. I'm going to start using a fertilizer with a higher nitrogen content the next time I fertilize my plants. I had tested the area because the two tea roses I had over there were doing very poorly and I couldn't figure out why. Since using the nitrogen rich fertilizer in August, they've perked right up, their leaves are greener, and one of them currently has two blooms on it.

I have a Robusta, which is a rugosa hybrid, that is huge. It's like 8 feet tall and 6 feet across. And I have a Yellow Topaz which I planted from a 1 gallon pot in July and it seems to still be doing just fine. All the rest - the r. rugosa, r. rugosa alba, Blanc Double de Coubert and Basye's Purple - have done horribly in the same area. The r. rugosa I've already written about. The alba suddenly turned brown and died in August. I couldn't say why because there were no outward signs of a possible cause and the leaves were intact and it had been watered regularly. From July onward, the Coubert seems to be doing what the alba was doing last season - not growing or blooming at all. And the Basye's Purple is getting very leggy and still not blooming. I might just keep the r. rugosas I have from cuttings in pots, since they're doing very well in them, at least until I can get some kind of a positive response from the others. Very frustrating.