Hi bart bart,

I don't know anything about setigeras, but thank you for bringing up this rose, your post prompted me to look it up on HMF and it is beautiful! Oh and the hybridizer's beard is very impressive too!

I see it grows at a garden near you : Carla Fineschi Foundation Rose Garden. Maybe you can find out if they are having the same issues with it as you are?

HMF says this rose can grow to 3m, is yours that big? If it's not too big maybe move it to a big pot and see how it would do in perfect soil?

I have a small garden so if I don't really love a plant after about 2 years, it goes away (this fall I said goodbye to acacia dealbata and arbutus unedo: so glad I did! More room for new plants!). But if you have a lot of space, maybe it's worth keeping her around a little longer in better soil to see how she would do in the best conditions possible. She is a very pretty rose!

I'd keep it, Bart, because it is rare and can be beautiful. I have Long John Silver a setigera and my sense is that it is cooking/baking in the heat and poor soil I planted it in. Another struggler for me is Spanish Beauty which seems to also struggle in the heat. I have some high sand in the soil hot areas that are very difficult for roses.

I agree with Sheila ;) if I were closer I would snatch it on up! But alas I am too far away. I hope it grows on ya :)

Thanks, all. Alana, I , too, am sorry that I can't just give it to you, but I'm here in Italy; it can't be done.

The fact is that I have too many roses.True, my garden is huge,but the soil is poor; I am the first person to cultivate it-ever. Global warming has made our climate terribly hot and dry, and I have no running water out there,so I am using more and more space for trees to provide shade and beauty. I will be 63 in March,and I basically do all the work by myself ...do you see where I'm going with this? At a certain point, after starting out and being surprised at the success, I just got too carried away,and now I am trying to re-adjust things- eliminating roses that aren't working out,re-working soil that was inadequetely prepared, etc. My DH is also wanting me to reduce the pot ghetto that I have out on the terrace at our house, and I want to do so as well ,but it's going to take a few years,since my limited water supply restricts the number of plants that I can put out each year. So, in a way, I guess I was secretly hoping that people would respond by saying "ew, yuck, F's Heim is a sucky rose",lol! Instead, here I'm reading that it seems to be beautiful and rare! LOL!!!

Seaside,my F's Heim is still quite small- it's just a modest shrub,and it's been there for several years (that's how I know that the soil is just too poor).

However, your pleas for mercy WILL be heeded. I'll dig it up, and try it in a pot, if I can. How I wish that I had gardening friends living near me!