Prairiefire Crab is by far, one of the most beautiful crabs available. It will get to 25' X 25" at maturity and perhaps a little larger. The flowers are bright, almost fluorescent reddish-pink and will completely cover the tree in full sun. The foliage is a darker mix of red and green. A stunning plant to say the least!

I'm glad that I came back to my post to report that the ARS link above is confusing and contradictory. Lori_elf is right, experience rules over what ARS dictates. My Marchesa Bocella was a tiny band this summer. When I dug it up, the roots shrank in my alkaline clay, so my pruning wasn't the problem. The only statement that makes sense from the ARS' link is: "Avoid pruning Old Garden Roses the first two years, let them get established first." Some OGRs' once-bloomers bloom on old wood, and Marchesa Bocella blooms on both old wood and new wood. The above statement of "Avoid pruning ... let them get established" applies to wimpy own-roots as well, I don't prune mini-roses and Hybrid teas, both are wimpy as own-roots in my cold zone 5a. If I prune them too hard, they become appetizers for bunnies. However, I'm ruthless in pruning aggressive octopusy Austins like Evelyn, which throw 3 feet canes as a 2-months old baby. This link for Southern CA mild coastal climates make it much clearer than ARS's link: "Gallica, Damask, Alba, Centifolia, and Moss roses are OGRs that only bloom in spring. Prune these right after they finish blooming; this is usually sometime in early summer. The Damask roses in particular resent hard pruning, so it is best to lightly prune flowering shoots back a few inches. Repeat-blooming OGRs like: Portland, Bourbon, Hybrid Perpetual, Perpetual Damask, and Perpetual Moss roses are pruned at the same time as modern roses (January to February). Treat these roses as you would Hybrid Teas. Strong growing Hybrid Perpetual, roses require hard pruning to promote flowering, so plan to remove at least one half of last year's growth to produce better flowers. Tea and China roses produce flowers on small twiggy growth and should only be lightly pruned ... We have found they respond badly to a winter pruning. We have found that pruning Tea and China roses in the hot part of summer produces quick regrowth and they don't sit around moping for years as they tend to do if you prune them in the cold part of the year... A common complaint directed at the once-flowering Gallica roses is that they often produce very few flowers in our mild coastal regions. Gallica roses in particular require winter chilling to flower; often our mild winters are just not cold enough to produce flowers. " See the link below for Mild Coastal Southern CA tips on OGR's. Here is a link that might be useful: Huntington Botanical Garden on pruning OGRs'

The conflicting information you find is usually the result of the lack of keeping up with current trends and findings. Many old schoolers believe they know all they need to know and seldom attend industry and trade seminars or partake of continuing education. This is a pretty rapidly evolving course of study and practices that were accepted and very commonplace in the past have frequently been found to be less effective than assumed or even counterproductive. And, not all horticulturists and arborists agree on all the practices :-) This is not a perfect world and sometimes old habits die very hard! btw, the nursery industry is not typically where one finds a lot of trained horticulturists -- the pay is generally not anywhere commensurate with the training :-) As to Ken's adamant statements about not voiding the warranty, I'd pretty much blow that off (sorry, Ken!). It is extremely unusual to find a plant warranty that extends longer than 12 months and many of the problems associated with improper planting practices (i.e., leaving on wire cages, NOT correcting root defects, planting too deeply etc.) will not manifest immediately. As the quoted text above indicates, the establishment period for planting/transplanting easily exceeds that 12 month period and a good many problems associated with poor planting practices will not become apparent until well after the warranty period is expired. btw, local nurseries here DO tend to recommend the removal of all wrappings and often their warranties will be voided if you DO NOT! As to bare rooting B&B trees, read the link. It explains very clearly how to properly seat and secure the root systems in the planting hole, frequently without the need for any staking. And the breaking of the root ball should not sever any major roots unless they were damaged by the digging in the first place. There is often some loss to fine feeder roots but the removal of the heavy clay encourages their replacement, which typically will happen much faster without its impediment. And it is the development of these feeder roots that is of critical importance. And the benefits generated by loosening and removing that heavy soil and being able to accurately assess and correct root defects, determine root flare and correct planting depth outway any temporary root loss. And to get back to the original issue, I see nothing in the shrubs illustrated that would urge me to any significant stem removal or pruning at this time.

i planted mail order 3 foot sticks.. which the second year.. started growing about 3 feet per year ... YA KNOW ... you dont have to buy everything big ... for $110 .. you could get about 10 crabs in the mail ... IMHO.. you would be better off with 4 crabs ... a dark purple leafed with dark fruit... a white flowered with lime leaves and yellow fall color ... a green leaf with white flower ... and green with pink flower .... in each corner of your yard... full month of spring flower.. since they usually dont all bloom precisely at the same moment .... and it will be spectacular ... one crab... hmmmmm ... dull ...lol just a thought.. i know you are going your own way.. and good luck with all that ... no matter which one you get.. bone up on sucker removal.. it can be maddening ... ken