"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
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"0tterbot" wrote in message

i think the miniatures are more prone to fungal disease & are generally a
bit more delicate; what you describe could be fungal. i don't think i've
ever seen one that's not covered in black spot :-)

I just raced outside to see if mine had any black spot and not a leaf to
be seen, but I'm pretty sure mine haven't been afflicted with BS.

When summer comes, come over to lunch one day and we'll check them out.

all right, that will be lovely! (and clearly whether or not there is black
spot i shan't mind either way ;-)

concerning roses in general, i'm not a fan of them it must be said, but
we have an old-fashioned-looking thornless climbing (rambling??) one with
wee butter yellow flowers in clumps - i find it really beautiful! and
because it's been forced to look after itself for quite some time now,
it's very healthy. to celebrate this fact, i might give it a prune this
winter (i let it go a bit berserk last year with all those shoots that
come off the sides).

Sounds like a Banksia rose???

? not sure! but i like it.

of course having said that, i haven't given it a haircut yet. everything has
got on top of me so i'm having august off from much of my usual activities &
the past few days i've been out in the garden finding myself again.

I've recently started buying Alister Clark roses - he was an Australian
rose breeder and found they are brilliant for Australian conditions.

The "Black Boy"s I mentioned previously are his and I also have a
"Lorraine Lee" climber over the chook pen fence and it is superb - just
keep sflowering and hides a rather ghastly fence very well. I did no
ground prep at all for it and its in what was formerly paddock land and
hard and hungry soil at that. It's thrived.

I'm not especially fond of many roses but I love the old ones and I love
the smell and form of some of the Hybrid Teas and i think if I could only
ever have one rose, it might have to be Cecile Brunner - such a dear
little rose but as tough as old boots.

some roses are just lovely. but i can't seem to want to commit to any of
them & that is ok.
kylie