It shouldn't make any difference. If fungus is a problem it'll be a problem regardless of weather conditions. Fungi are spread by spores and if the conditions are good the fungus will be there. After the storms pass you can always get out with a bow rake and fluff up the mulch to help it dry. This is an odd issue for this forum.

Good luck! I am also in the N. O. area and this will be my first year with Austins, too. I bought an Abe Darby, Charlotte, and Jude the Obscure. I have them all in pots because I started a "lasagna" bed a couple months ago and it's not ready to plant yet. I will wait until the summer heat is through and the organic material has composted to plant mine out. It is already so terribly hot and humid during the day I can't stand to do anything outside until after 5PM. I don't think brand new roses appreciate being planted directly into the blazing heat. I also have a "Peggy Martin" climber, a Belinda's Dream, and a Cecile Brunner, and I would love to get a an old fashioned Tropicana, or Peace rose because I love the colors. When I bought my potted roses they were most all already covered in blackspot, but a couple consecutive weeks of spraying with Bayer remedied that. I know I will have to spray in this brutally hot and humid climate, but really it only takes a total of 20 minutes twice a month. I'm willing to do it because for no other plant do you get so much excitement out of anticipating the blooms. I have gardened for years but have always ignored the roses because so many people down here have a big prejudice against them. Really, if you aren't going to spray, the hybrid teas that are regularly available will generally look like crap, and that used to be the image "rose" brought to my mind.

You need to wait until the roses are completely dormant and there isn't a chance that it will warm back up again. I don't do mine until December most years now. Last year did catch us off guard but we just went out and did it in the cold and snow anyway. Better that than putting it on too soon. If it's too warm it will cause mold and canker to grow on them.

It is interesting to me how much rose culture can vary in different climates. What works here in the deep south would be a poor cultural practice for where Straw lives. This what makes an open forum like this so great, you don't have to rely on the wisdom of a single individual but can get collective global wisdom. Also the people who frequent this forum actually grow roses and are kind enough to share their experiences. I can't recall ever seen a healthy garden in Florida without some kind of mulch being used. Where I live, the favorite is pine bark and I have seen many health roses gardens growing with a pine bark mulch. Here in my hot humid climate, without some sort of mulch, the organics are burned out of the soil. Before the use of chemical fertilizers, farmers who wanted to use the same plot of land over and over had to replenish the organic materials in the soil. This was done through cover crops and mulching. Now farmers try to maintain growth of crops through the use of chemical fertilizers and irrigation without trying to maintain the organics in the soil. As the organics disappear from the soil, so does the nutrition and water holding capacity. This is a big difference between wood mulch and bark muIch. Pine bark takes many years to breakdown and is a good mulch for gardeners who already have plenty of organics in their soil and can afford the cost. I use wood chips (and now peanut hulls) because they breakdown and provide a composted organic layer for my garden. In a new garden, when wood chips are first applied, I see a period when the nitrogen is in short supply and I have to feed nitrogen to my plants. By the second year, I don't need to water nearly as much and I don't need to fertilize. I am trying to mimic the forest floor where organic materials is constantly being renewed by falling debris. No one needs to water or fertilize the forest. In the old days in Florida, newly cleared land was called "virgin land" and was known as the very best for growing. I am also trying to create a diverse population of micro organisms in my soil. Many fungi and bacteria compete with each other. Certain type of fungus feed on nematodes, so nematode damage is not a problem in my garden. I have been very influenced in my gardening approach by Ruth Stout and her success with heavy mulch.. I would really like to hear other's experiences with mulch.