well hey, thanks Michael and Kim - there is nothing nicer than seeing some validation of one's fiddling around. I first noticed the stem slitting method while idly perusing an ancient dracaena in my bathroom. Without thinking, I dug my thumbnail in the naked stem (there had been no new growth for years and it had great long, twisty, bare limbs) and thought no more about it until a few weeks later, a brand new shoot appeared out of the slit I had made. Months later, I came across the exact same principle, elaborated by a breeder I much admire (Chris Warner). As for shoot bending, the papers you pointed me to were fascinating - I love to learn new things but once you have got the basics of horticulture tucked under your belt, it is a frustrating search for innovative ideas for amateurs such as myself - which is why forums such as this are so brilliant. I like to mess around with little trials of this and that (you wouldn't believe my latest fad but it involves phyto-remediation, sorting out rose replant syndrome by using zeolite - I have persuaded a mate with access to amazing university facilities to participate, using loads of Sommerwind (cos it is a cakewalk to propagate)and zeolite, a naturally occuring mineral with astonishing uses. Then there was the inosculation fad - still growing a circle of hornbeam for approach grafting them into a living arbour......and so on and on. Keep up the search for new and interesting stuff - we are hungry and avid for information.

Josh I agree, I have an Aloe Ibitiensis and have been removing offsets from her for a long time, she is rare. She is not growing any taller but still puts out offsets. She is been in the same pot since 1990. I do fertilize her and treat her well. A long story goes with this plant. I think that help keep her alive, she is not drained of energy. I have four healthy babies that I will be removing when I think of it again. Some Aloe continue to grow, other do not get taller and remain on the soil line. It will depend on the species. Norma

Yes, the tub drain can be capped right below the subfloor and tile over it. Have your plumber check out the tub vent - it may need to be capped or just left alone. Put a nice shower head / hand shower set in your shower - maybe something by Hansgrohe. If your hall bath is not very deep than it is just good for bathing young children - not adult soaking baths. That should be fine for resale. If a bath person wants to buy your house, they can install a deep soaker in the hall bath.

Per the stated parentage, it is a "Hybrid Sweetbrier", the parentage being "Golden Glow", one of the Brownell Sub Zero Roses, crossed with a hybrid of Eglantine, R. Eglanteria, the Sweetbrier. Species hybrids are generally considered "old garden roses", probably due to rose exhibition/rose show rules. Your chances of wining iron are much greater competing against more "rustic", rangy, older types than something more controlled and refined. Size depends upon climate and resources. At the colder end of its range, it supposedly makes a largish shrub, like many of the Austin roses do. Unleashed in the land of never ending summer, it gets HUGE (and usually won't flower). Much of how a rose is classed will depend upon WHERE you're trying to grow it. Peter Beales wrote of Ballerina, that it was one of their most useful small shrubs. Let it loose in coastal Southern California and I've seen it eat a 20'-plus pine tree in Manhattan Beach. So, what is it? "Hybrid Musk"? Though it obviously has NO "musk" genes in it what so ever. "Shrub"? Where? Britain or British type climates? Not where there is no "winter". There, it is a large, mildewy and black spotted climber. "Hybrid Multiflora"? From what it appears and how it performs, yup. Personally, I would love an 8' "climber". VERY few in these parts ever remain that "small". Climber v. rambler is a bit easier to envision. Both "climb" because they get overly long. "Climbers" tend to be stiffer, more brittle wooded, harder to train without kinking and breaking canes. They often have larger flowers, too, but not always. Think of the type of wood the average Cl HT creates. Try bending that to a trellis and it often kinks and breaks. Have you ever tried training Polka? Imagine trying to force rebar to bend to your will... "Ramblers" generally can even be used for ground cover as they can easily lay pretty flat on the ground before building themselves into large mounds. They generally produce rather flexible wood, unless it is very old, thick and woody. Until it ages, most can even be wrapped back on themselves to "self peg" and created a hoop, tying it back to itself. Something the average climber wouldn't be easy to make do. Most ramblers are going to be hybrids of multiflora, wichurana, soulieana, arvensis while "climbers" are sometimes based upon ramblers, but bred further with other types to create thicker wood, smaller flower clusters and larger flowers. "Climbers" can also arise from other types...Chinas, Teas, other species such as Brunonii, Moschata, etc. Consider Dr. Huey, the "root stock". Huey is a Large Flowered Climber with pretty stiff canes. The seed parent was Ethel, a rambler with flexible canes and smaller flowers in larger clusters. Ethel was a self seedling of the old Dorothy Perkins, one of the most infamous of mildewy ramblers the world has known. Jack Harkness joked that Dorothy Perkins had mildewed her way around the world. This line of ramblers was then crossed with Gruss an Teplitz, a "China, Hybrid China, Hybrid Tea" (all of which COULD be claimed from its breeding) which gave it larger flowers in smaller clusters, and fewer flowers, plus thicker, stiffer canes, removing it from being a "rambler" and into being considered a "Large Flowered Climber". Clear as mud?