saki wrote in message . ..
(Okay. Fine. Whatever.) wrote in
om:

I live in Brentwood, about three miles from the beach where it rarely
gets too hot and a "cold" night is somewhere in the '40s. After
looking through some old posts on this newsgroup, it sounds like Mme
Alfred Carriere grows well in this climate, and it's pretty much what
I was looking for, although I'm also tempted by the Eden (Meiviolin)
and the climbing version of Souvenir de la Malmaison, which sound
lovely but less reliable. If anyone has any experience with the
latter two in the L.A. area, I would appreciate any advice.

Mme. Alfred Carriere has a powdery mildew susceptibility, so you might
want to think about that; Brentwood can get lots of overcast days (I work
at UCLA so I'm right near you). But it seems a nice choice for your
situation if your west wall is warm enough.

I grow climbing Souvenir de la Malmaison further inland, in the mid-
Wilshire area. It's been great for me with lots of extra flushes this
year, and considering its sheltered locale in sometimes full shade (north
side of a patio) its performance amazes me. I have little mildew problems
with it, and its fragrance travels throughout the (admittedly small) back
garden.

I don't grow Eden; a neighbor does, however. I don't notice much of a
fragrance from it but it's reliable, though not as tall a grower as the
other two roses.

Also -- how many individual plants should I order to plant together if
I want a nice, big, but not too overwhelming climber?

This will depend on the size of the area where the rose is to grow; can
you measure the wall length and let us know? I have two Zepherine
Drouhins growing up a south-facing wall and after three years those two
plants are more than enough...but it took three years for me to realize
it (they're now throwing out canes like there's no tomorrow). In my
experience climbing Souv. de la Malmaison tends to be a bit delicate with
its canes. My neighbor's Eden is manageable. From the looks of Mme.
Alfred Carriere it can get reasonably vigorous.

I know of a good nursery in Pacific Palisades where an experienced
rosarian can help you further. Email me for details, if you like.

----


Thank you for your post! Actually, Zepherine Drouhin was another rose
I was considering, and it's good to know that it grows well.

I think I might have already met your Pacific Palisades rosarian ...
in any case, I had a long talk with *a* rosarian at the Pacific
Palisades nursery that I visited yesterday. I had a lot of general
questions about taking care of the roses I already have, and he was
very helpful and very thorough, although I have to say that I'm still
completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of knowledge and work
required in growing roses.

Since you were nice enough to answer my last question, may I ask you a
few more? I appear to have a serious case of black spot, and I'm
leery of using fungicides; I'm cancer-phobic and don't even like to
stand too close to the microwave oven. I bought some Rose Defense and
had hoped to use that, after stripping my rose bushes of leaves that
appear infected. Do you know if Rose Defense works? Is my concern
over the use of fungicides silly? Is there such thing as a "mild"
fungicide?

Thanks again ...