Question
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR MULCH ON ROSE BEDS? WE LIVE IN A MINNEAPOLIS MN SUBURB

Answer
Right now, I'm hooked on something you've probably never heard of:  Cocoa Mulch.

Believe it or not, Hershey, Pennsylvania, the home of Hershey Chocolate and their great philanthropic founder, has some incredible Rose Gardens.  They mulch them with Cocoa Bean Shells.  There's an excellent post on this at the Ohio Mulch Landscape Supply Co's website:

http://www.mulch.com/aboutmulch.asp

I prefer a thing layer of Mocha mulch.  I add Starbucks Coffee Grounds to my Cocoa Mulch.  Earthworms LOVE Coffee Grounds, which is a great side effect -- Earthworms love to visit Roses rich with organic matter, especially when it's Coffee.  This year, I am also sprinkling on the surface Cornmeal -- the same stuff you can make muffins out of.  Of course, I only have 50 Roses, so it's not going to break the bank.

In other years, I have used a mixture of Tree Bark and Manure, which is handed out for free in many communities by eager horse stables who have to get rid of it.  You are supposed to let this age, but like many people, I don't wait -- I put it down, mixed well into the soil, not too much.  Then I put a layer of Cornmeal mixed with Cornmeal Gluten.  This stops Fungus and Mold plus keeps weeds from sprouting.  And it does not kill anything except the bad Fungi.

Finally, although I don't use this, the Rosarians at the American Rose Society say they use Pine Straw: 'Pine straw is the mulch of preference at the American Rose Society's Headquarters (the fact that it is located on 118 acres of pine forest may have something to do with this). Pine straw doesn't pack easily, is slow to decay, allows water and air to move through it, and can usually be acquired for FREE!'

You can read about the Rose Beds Mulching at the American Rose Society headquarters:

http://www.rosesocieties.com/memphisrosesociety/Mulch.html

I could go on but maybe you have a question about some other mulch not mentioned?  Something you noticed someone use?