On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 21:19:06 -0700, Cass
wrote:

In article m, Shiva
wrote:

Now that it has stopped raining every other day, it is so hot there's
no way I'm going to work in the gardens especially since we now have
skeeter-born illness here! (I'm a wimp, it's true.)

I'm still chewing over what went wrong that resulted in the death of
so many grafted roses, mostly the new ones I planted bare root.

What has been different this year is:

1. LOTS of rain.
2. No anti-fungal or insecticide sprays at all since mid-May.

I wouldn't think either factor could have been involved, since, as you
say, other roses subjected to the same conditions are thriving.

I disagree (but I'm just a novice).

It sounds to me like a case of drowned roots. If the bare roots were
planted in March and the rains immediately started and didn't stop for
months, then the bare roots would have never gotten the chance to
breathe (literally) and grow properly.

Established root systems would grow far deeper and more extensive and
could probably thrive in such conditions. However, a one month old
plant doesn't have any roots deeper than about 2 feet, and at that
depth *all* of the soil would be sodden.

Just my two cents...