nila: Your tree didn't produce more shoots because it didn't have enough vigor, that is, not enough roots to push more shoots. So let it grow as much as possible this summer to beef up the root system. Then next winter head it back again. When it has sufficient vigor it will push the shoots you need to form that bush.

In my experience, Evans/Bali is a great cherry for folks in zones 5 & colder - but if you're in zone 6 or warmer, don't bother with it. Photos konrad has posted from his zone 4 setting make it look phenomenal! Have had it here for nearly 20 years (finally pulled it out a year or so back, but there are still a couple of suckers that popped up 30-40 ft away). Yes, it ripens later than Montmorency, but that just allows more time for curculio and other pests to hit it, and it was never as productive as Montmorency. Don't know that I ever saw more than a half-dozen fruits that were worth bothering to pick, and they weren't nearly as plump and tasty as those from the nearby Montmorency. Grew out some row-run Nanking seedlings a number of years back - I'd purchased them for use as dwarfing rootstocks for plums - tiny little fruits with minimal pulp surrounding the pit. Native P.serotina(black cherry) produces larger fruits with more pulp. Maybe I had a less-than-stellar strain, but my impression was, "Why bother with it?" Kinda made me think maybe these bush cherries were for folks in the frigid northland who don't have enough growing degree days to grow a real fruit (tic). lol

Thank you all for such thought-provoking comments. They are really helping me work through this undertaking! Sandy, all of your info is appreciated, and I especially liked your comments, "Your land will actually speak to you" and "The right plant will present itself to you when you're at a nursery sometime." I know these are true, and I need to not be in such a hurry! Your spacing and color info is very helpful, but I have a couple more questions (for greenhaven, also). I've seen lots of pictures of perennials mixed in with roses, or a clematis twining through a rose bush. Doesn't this make it harder to care for and prune the roses, and doesn't it limit the air circulation? I have 3 Carefree Wonders that look gorgeous by themselves. Can I plant them closer together since they are the same rose? I have 3 Quietness (very lovely pale pink) and 3 Winnipeg Parks (a pretty red that looks beautiful with the Quietness). I have other contrasting and/or blending of 3 or 4 single bushes that look good together IMO. Is it possible to have multiple focal point groups, separated by low evergreens or green perennials in the space I have and have it look good? I really like informal gardens more than formal, especially with our setting. I've seen lots of pictures of parts of gardens with roses, or formal rose gardens, but I've not seen any plans showing predominantly rose gardens, interplanted with other perennials. Any ideas where I could look at such plans for roses? greenhaven, DH nixed the manure, so I'll put peat in the planting hole in the 12" of top soil. Thanks for the specific info! sunnyrose, thanks for the heads up on the Roundup. I'll check into it further. alisande, thanks for the pic of the large spruce. This, with greenhavens warning, motivates me to go back out and more carefully look where the sun will fall when our spruce is mature. We got our estimate for building a wall today, so we've decided to bite the bullet and do it. One more thing, any opinions on whether I should have structures for my climbing roses mentioned earlier? Or do you think I'll be ok trying them as very large shrubs in the more open background? Anne

First, let me say that I'm in central Italy, not the USA. Normally, at the end of July we would expect that our temperatures should be at least 30 - 35 degrees C or more (85 - 95 F) from mid-June until the end of August with no rain since, at least, the beginning of June until the end of August. However, this year is like no other. Last winter wasn't cold, it rained constantly until mid-May and it's now raining three or four times a week at the end of July - absolutely unheard of - it's raining as I write this, and today our top temperature was 21 degrees! So, how has this affected my roses? Well, blackspot is the major problem. My rose garden is only two years old. The first two Austins I planted were a St. Swithun climbing rose against the south-facing stone wall of the house and a Golden Celebration planted in full sun. These were both 2 year old grafted plants. For me, 'full sun' means that in Summer sunrise is between 5:30 and 6:00 am and sunset is about 8:30 - 9:00 pm. There is no shade for any of my roses (apart from the one against the South-facing stone wall) - they're in 'full sun' all day. St. Swithun has almost reached the top of the 4 metre (13 feet) South facing stone wall of the house. It was planted in mid-May 2012. Despite its location the pale pink blooms are prolific from April until November. It really doesn't seem to stop blooming until very late November. The perfume of the blooms is wonderful (I like the myrrh fragrance) and it is a healthy plant, apart from some BS problems with our ridiculously humid weather this year. The flowers do not fade, even though they are a pale pink. However, it has the most hideous prickles of any of my roses. They really are vicious and I have to wear leather gauntlets when dealing with it. The other negative comment I have about St. Swithun is that the blooms don't fall off the plant when they've finished flowering - they stay there, dead, brown and ugly! I have to use a broom to knock them off. Because of the height of the rose I've had to spend a fortune on a ladder that's tall enough for me to take my life into my hands and prune it! Golden Celebration is, perhaps, my favourite DA rose. My grafted version is about 1.5 metres high with a diameter that is at least the same as its height. It is covered in blooms all Summer long and is normally disease free but, this year it has some BS. The fragrance of Golden Celebration is the most pleasing to me. Other DA roses I have - A hedge of Queen of Sweden roses (100 plants) - the most healthy of all my DA roses. Planted bare root in January 2013, they now form a hedge about 1.2 - 1.5 metres in height that flower constantly from the end of April until November. A delightful myrrh fragrance. I can't think of anything negative about the Queen of Sweden. An own-root Teasing Georgia bought in May 2013 in a 2.5 litre pot which is now over 1 metre tall and perhaps 1.5 metres in diameter. It has flowered constantly since mid April. At the moment it has some black spot, but it is smothered in blooms. I find its fragrance very elusive. An own-root Golden Celebration, also bought in May 2013 in a 2.5 litre pot which is not as vigorous as Teasing Georgia but is healthy and floriferous. A 2 year old grafted Lichfield Angel, planted in June 2013, mid-Summer (never a good idea - but it was a gift). It is already a 1.5 metre tall x 1.5 metre diameter plant covered in enormous blooms. For me the only negative about this plant is the lack of any fragrance - at least, I can't detect any. A grafted Wildeve - I love the bloom form - but I should have paid more attention to the catalogue where it said that it shared many characteristics of a ground-cover rose. Mine is much wider than it is tall but it, too, is covered in the most beautiful pale pink roses with a lovely perfume. A Shropshire Lad - a mistake. I didn't realise that I had bought the climbing version. This too, is a 2 year old grafted plant that I've spent all spring/summer trying to convince to become a shrub rose. I believe I'm fighting a losing battle. It's also a complete BS magnet. I've also noticed that my Shropshire Lad flowers don't seem to bear any resemblance to others I've seen. Don't quite know what went wrong here. I can't detect any fragrance. Sharifa Asma x 2 - bought as own-root plants in 2.5 litre pots in May 2014. Replanted into larger pots a month ago they've both doubled in size and are now covered in buds. I just wonder whether I can keep them small enough to grow in 50 cm pots? Very healthy foliage and delightful perfume. Evelyn - another gift - about a six weeks ago. I've replanted it into a larger pot until I can decide where it should be planted. At present, the foliage doesn't look great and it seems to have some fungal infection so I've sprayed with an anti-fungal spray to see if I can control it. Sorry for such a long post … I forgot to say that I have extremely alkaline, very heavy clay - pH 8 soil - which, in its natural state varies between yellow and blue/grey in colour. Truly hideous. I have amended it heavily with anything and everything I can find - kilos of coffee grounds from my local bar, dozens of plastic bags of oak leaves (which I collect in early Spring an let rot down for 12 months), truck loads of rotted horse manure. Something must be working because the roses are all growing like crazy. Cheers Tricia