Steve, have you been growing roses in Arizona long enough to see if certain roses do better or worse as they age? Anyone else? Some posters-Zuzu in particular, have mentioned certain roses that do well for a few years, then decline. I don't know if those roses need soil that is enriched each season, or if their climate is not right, or if they are the type of rose that just doesn't have a long lifespan. Maybe that's a topic for another thread, but it comes to mind when we talk about who holds up well in excessive heat. I have not taken good notes about my own roses. One man in our club actually counts and records the number of blooms from each rose and he can compare bloom times from year to year. That sort of data, taken across our varied climes, would be more helpful than what we get from trial fields run by growers.
I would like to know if a rose is going to become a blooming monster, or if it's going to bloom nice for 2 years and sputter out, no matter what I do. I would also like to know if I'm doing something wrong when a rose that performs for everyone in a hot climate seems to self-destruct in my yard.
It took me several years to admit I can't grow the body bag roses, that all the warnings were right--that those roses have viruses or inherent defects, and no matter how much work I put into them, they won't make it. Now I'm buying from better sources....supposedly. Hopefully. It does help when posters here mention where a rose was purchased when they are commenting on success or failure or even just issues.
Roses in Review is a good source of info, and I do report to them. It helps to dicuss successes and failures with people in my local club, but none of them grow the quantities I grow, and almost all of them grow in the city where fences and trees provide a better microclimate.
could our own database here on ATP become so detailed that we can answer some of these specific questions about each cultivar? Take Mike's question into a survey specifically asking about 1. heat 2. humidity?
