In article ,
Gail Futoran wrote:
"Jeffrey L. Kline" wrote in message
.net...
I have two distant drums in pots as well as a country music and a hi
neighbor in the ground. All very nice although smallish at this
point. I have 35 bucks in 5 inch pots under lights in my basement,
and they are blooming like crazy. Cute. Word around here is that
they are very hardy. The old Ford estate, (like in Ford motor
company) has a big collection that is quite outstanding.

Jeff Southeast Michigan, zone 5

The (the Ford estate collection) would be well
worth seeing.

Re hardiness of Bucks: I think that refers
to cold tolerance, right? That I don't have

Somewhat.

"When Dr. Buck set out to produce cold-hardy roses, he began with
proven performers, including Rosa laxa, a species native to the
Siberian steppes. Once crosses were made and the resulting
seedlings sprouted, they were planted in outdoor fields, neither
sprayed nor irrigated, and left to survive the elements. The
young plants that thrived under the rigorous conditions passed Dr.
Buck's first and most critical test. ..."

http://query.nytimes.com/fullpage.html?res=9806E1DD1039F932A15754C0A9649C8B 63#

This was the New York Times article that caught my attention. When
I came across a entry for some Griffith Buck roses in the Jung
catalogue, I thought that I'd give one a try. So far I'm pleased.

You'll note that although cold-hardiness was the primary characteristic
that he sought, the "neither sprayed nor irrigated" line says to me that
the plants should be pretty good at surviving droughts as well (low
rainfall is common here). We didn't have the full-fledged drought
this year that we've had before, but there were some pretty dry weeks,
and the plant came through beautifully.

problems with. I've noticed the Distant
Drums tolerate heat quite well, continuing
to bloom in the summer when many other
modern roses in my collection have
decided to wait for the fall cool-down.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8




--
-john

February 28 1997: Last day libraries could order catalogue cards
from the Library of Congress.