Thanks for the notes about the books. I've already purchased the Roses for Dummies book... I'm trying to understand the recommendations but not knowing the type of rose is blocking me from really understanding what to do next. I'm not sure if the growth on #3 is coming from below the graft. There's so many canes that have been cut it's just a mess- but probably? I took some time today to prune some of the dead canes. The next ones I'm really questioning are the ones with lots of top growth. Rose number 1 is just so tall for the space but looks the healthiest of all. I hate to cut it back too much and ruin it. Rose number 2 doesn't have much growth at the bottom and looks really top heavy.

Hi Sammy, I have 3 Pioneer roses: Thomas Affleck, Pioneer Spirit, and Mier Y Teran. Of these 3, my favorite is Pioneer Spirit, for it's disease resistance, remontant nature, and bloom color (I luv pinks). Fragrance is detectable only up close to the actual bloom. It's comparable to Sombreuil, as it repeats well if you deadhead, but the growth so far is not as aggressive. It hasn't grown taller since purchased this Spring, just wider by maybe a foot. Now Mier Y Teran, purchased the same time from ARE along with Pioneer Spirit, is already over 6'x3'. It has a nice fragrance, but I haven't warmed up to the color yet. It's more of a peachy/pink coloring, not to my liking but maybe someone else. It is VERY disease resistant. I'm still undecided with Thomas Affleck. Hope you find something useful from my post. Audrey

Esther, my brand new Gypsy Rose has more green in the middle, and shows her white G-string. But later in the year, that middle area will turn progressively yellower and perhaps fade a bit toward more creamy look. Gypsy Rose has an extensive wardrobe! And there are a bunch of nurseries which have Gypsy Rose, not simply TWO. I checked the HostaFinder 2013 and these are listed: WadeandGatton $11 Bridgewood $15 ContraryMary $15 Flying Frog $16 Franc's $18 Hornbaker $15 HostaPatch $15 In The Country $20 JacksHostas $15 Jim's $16 Land of the Giants $18 Long Island $15 Made In The Shade $14 Naylor Creek $15 Oak Hill $15 O'Brien $15 Pine Forest $15 Plant Delights $22 Sebright $13 Shadow $15 Woodland $10 Since those are abbreviations in many cases, if you want to get the full address, email me using my Gardenweb Member Page address and I'll get back to you right away. I see that WadeAndGatton come in very low, and you'd get a well grown product from them. Same is true of NaylorCreek. My Gypsy Rose came from Naylor, so did AlmostHooked, don't know about the others. Naylor sometimes sends two separate eyes from their tissue cultured hosta, not small things, unless they happen to be hot new items.If two, they could be planted separately quite easily. Esther, here is a shot of my Gypsy Rose this afternoon, showing what I mean. Coke can for size. There were two separate eyes which I put in the same pot fairly far apart. Note that the eye on the left is really still TWO EYES, but growing together. The one on the right is a single eye with a few dormant eyes at the base of the crown. What I'm saying is, in some instances, I separated the two into different pots, like I did Half And Half last year, and Sugar Daddy last year, but I bought ONE plant. So the cheapest plant is not always the best deal, love. That is the message. If you want them to look full, leave them together. If you can wait for the full look, they'll live separately quite nicely.

Group 1 includes what appears to be the species R. nutkana. Group 2 includes a Rugosa, but what variety remains to be seen when it blooms.