Your response of "Feel free" on another thread yesterday was pretty memorable. If there was a "like" button I would have hit it about 30 times, given the egregiousness of the previous post.

I find many posts memorable. Though I don't post often, I am genuinely moved by the generosity of those who reply and speak from their experience. I find people are are so supportive on the Gardenweb forums, and you can benefit from the expertise of some of the most experienced people in the field.

I cannot remember the exact post, but I do know who made the post. I was just starting a rose garden in glacier slurry. Of course, the proper way is to have built raised beds and imported soil, which was included in the advice, but there was one sentence which, in a sense, gave me the opportunity to give myself permission to build a rose garden where no garden should ever exist.

Michaelg mentioned that I only needed six inches of good soil to start my roses and could improve the soil from above from that point on. Not his exact words, but that was the concept.

I couldn't afford to build raised beds or import soil, but I could use basic principles to create a garden. Every time I look at the roses I have planted, I think of Michael.

The other thread that made this garden possible was the thread on patience where so many Forum members participated. It takes at least four years before a rose comes into its own in this garden. When they do, they are treasures in my life.

I thank all of you for enriching my experience with roses.

Smiles,
Lyn

Oh, harmony, thank you! That is so sweet of you. I'm so glad to hear that your little carpet rose has flourished!

The advice that always sticks with me, and I've shared many times with others, was from Jeri. I hate spraying. But I was always battling black spot. For the first few years I spent all my time trying desperately to get rid of it and failing, of course. For some reason I felt that if I didn't have spotless roses some how I had failed as a gardener and rosarian. But Jeri posted once on one of my many questions about the subject that I could spend all my time fretting about it or I could just learn to accept a few spots and ENJOY the roses. And if something is just too spotty, get rid of it! Which goes along with her also famous, location, location, location! Life is too short not to stop and smell the roses...spots and all! Since then I've spent a lot more time just out enjoying the garden instead of trying to make it "perfect" all the time. And I don't have to spray. Thank you, Jeri, for putting some sense in my head!

Now that you mention that Seil, I too have Jeri's words in my head, to accept the little disease and disfiguration issues, and relax. I was PANIC'D this spring with my first rust, and then I thought about so many of Jeri's postings. And I figured - they survive the rust, or out they go. Seemed as soon as I let go, the rust let go. Darndest thing (sure weather had something to do with it). I no longer scour my roses for rust or mildew, and I smile when I see the circular holes from the cutter bees. My roses are far from perfect, but they sure are purdy and make me happy, and I yanked out absolutely mildew covered Europeana with vigor and a big smile.

What I particularly love are answers from different parts of the country that show that two people can do 2 different things and both of them can be right for them.

Then again, nothing is more valuable to me than someone who has dealt with exactly the same conditions as me.

Any posts by Michaelg and Mike Rivers I always try to keep in my head. Their advice is always grounded in science and so helpful. And when I was first lurking here and on Antiques, Jeri's advice to plant teas, Chinas, and noisettes in the Deep South saved me a lot of wasted time and money, not to mention anguish over failed roses.

Yesterday while deadheading all our roses, I recalled Kim's advice about Peace and Sterling Silver (a seedling of Peace) in the Trying to find a 'Sterling' rose bush thread. (We have Peace, but not SS). I will do this from now on with Peace and Angel Face (and our new Granada and AF babies). I can't wait to see the results next year.

Her advice follows:

Sterling Silver is a seedling of Peace. Like its parent, it requires a lot of older wood and much foliage to perform well. Nope, don't whack it (or Peace) if at all possible. Giving new plants of both varieties the same disbudding treatment discussed on the OGR forum under "Forcing Teas" will improve the plants and performance of both. Give both the best of cultural practices for your area, the best soil, position, feeding, etc. and pretty much just snap off spent flowers at the point of abscision on the peduncle so you allow all foliage to remain on the plant to feed it and you may have decent results for your area. Any dog legs or other offensive growth patterns can be cleaned up at pruning time, but neither "enjoys" hard pruning. Treat them like old Teas, permitting them all the good canes and foliage they can make and keep and your experience with them will be better than "average". Kim