I'm over 1 1/2 yrs late in entering this conversation, so forgive me. Before I'd consider working with your landscaping, I'd tie the house together. It's too disjointed. The top floor is reminiscent of a half timbered Old English Elizabethan home is Umber. The cedar shakes don't add anything when you consider the other elements. I wonder what might be under those shakes? The ground floor is more of a 1950's +/- brick home with windows that differ greatly in style from that of the 2nd floor is Terra Cotta) And the concrete porch is Redwood in color. I think you'll be happier in the long run if you can work on unifying the appearance of the house. Then consider adding your climbing rose on each post. I'd keep the bricks, don't paint them. That leads to forever painting them. So, use that as one of your primary colors. It will take a great mind that what I have as to how to tie in the two floors. But, if you can bring some of that Terra Cotta brick color up, then maybe it would might help OR bring some Umber down to your bricks. Shutters can be unifying, but consider that considerably later. You could even make them yourselves consider the Old English look you have to work with. Then paint the front on the porch. Maybe the terra cotta color with umber lines. Others could suggest that one better than me. I'd put a climbing rose on both porch posts. The rose that I'd suggest might not grow there. I called Chamblee's for my own questions regarding another climber. Lady Ashe is one that I would have selected, but the color doesn't work here. The peach accent would blend nicely with the terra cotta colored brick and very fragrant. Then I'd plant an evergreen shrub that could help fill in both those side of the steps as there are 2 blanks areas that could handle a small shrub nicely. I can see other areas where you could edge your sidewalk in front with some similar terra cotta colored bricks that you could probably get off Craigslist very reasonably. There are some other things that can be done, but I just hope that I haven't alienated you by now. So, take what you can and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away. I hope you are able to live there for years and years. You got a good place to start. Xtal Here is a link that might be useful: Lady Ashe

I'm Reeeeeeaally Not in your climate zone, but here's my understanding as to your question. You certainly can use minis to edge a shrub border. BUT, some minis stay small and others will grow 2, or 3, or even 4 feet. It really depends on the variety. Same thing with winter hardiness. Unless you know the variety you are purchasing, it's hard to know how well they'll survive the winter. Just from posts I've seen from folks in your zone, you really want to plant roses as early in the spring after frost as possible to give them time to establish a deep root system before they have to deal with a harsh winter. A deep blanket of mulch will certainly be helpful when winter temps come. Others can better advise you on winter protection methods. I never have to deal with that down here in N'awlins. :) Also, how established is the shrub line already in the ground? If you're planting the minis at the same time as the bigger bushes behind, then they shouldn't have a problem with root competition. But if the shrubs have a lot of roots in the ground already, the minis may have trouble staking thier own claim to root space, unless they've had some time to grow a good root system of their own. Some recommend giving new roses some time to grow in a pot and produce goot roots first without competition from neighboring plant roots before planting them in their permanent spot in the ground. But then you are cutting into some time you'll want for the minis to spread their own roots into the ground to get ready for winter. Maybe if you dig some really good-sized holes for them, cutting out any roots of the shrubs behind in a given space, that will buy them some time to grow their own before they have to compete for root space. June may be too late in the season to want to start your mini border. If you've got some place to do it, you might consider buying potted minis, and overwintering them in some sheltered place such as a garage or cellar before planting them out next spring. Unless the folks selling the minis you spoke of can tell you the variety, though, I'd advise you to look elsewhere and find out what variety(-ties) you are buying and what their reported zone-hardiness is. If you at least know the name of the roses, you can ask on this forum or check out "helpmefind/roses.com" or local rose societies for the expected bush size and zone hardiness rating. Good luck! I think you idea of edging with minis sounds good. You will just want to plan a little for it so you're minis don't end up as "annuals." Mike

Your roses look to be about 1/2 dead at this time. The watering for container roses is insufficient for newly planted bare roots. If the containers have good drainage, you should be watering them about 2-3 times a week. You say you used a 2:1 mix of potting soil and perlite. Potting soil should be planting mix and less of the perlite, if any. Roses need a sandy loam growing environment. Potting mix is for houseplants, not garden plants. Cut off the dead ends of the bushes with sharp bypass shears to 1/4 inch about the new growth or a burgundy bud-eye. The cane damage is canker dieback and is often found on bare roots that are stressed for water. The ceramic containers are about the right size, I think. They should be about 24" x 24" by 30" deep for a large rose to grow to mature size in two years. Rose bushes are frost-tolerant; immature rose leaves and blooms are not. Remove any damaged leafsets. If possible the roses need to be in rising sun until about 12N in the summer then can be shaded from the afternoon sun. Roses need at least 4-6 hours of early sun in order to thrive. Too much sun and they'll bake in the container. Too little sun and they'll have twiggy growth without much bloom. Hope this information helps, Jeannie Cochell, Master Rosarian, Phoenix Rose Society

I have 30 plus seed pods on my plant and am checking every day (several times), waiting for them to open. I will send you some if you will send me your mailing address. I have about 15 plants that I have started from seed and a couple I have started from cuttings. I usually plant over 20 seeds and am lucky to get 5 or 6 plants that make it. I will send you one of the pods (once they open) so you have a chance on getting some starts. I searched the internet for info on how to plant them and there are several articles on how to do it. If anyone else out there needs seeds, I will gladly send you some...I have too many plants for a sane person to take care of.