It can be confusing :-) UCG's have become such a popular gardening additive, they are bound to generate a lot of misinformation......it's the nature of the beast. I'd also agree that the referenced article is less than fully accurate. And concerns regarding the acidity of UCG's have been around for awhile and conform to the same concerns and misbeliefs other "acidic" soil amendments generate. Much like other sources of acidic organic matter, that acidic contribution to the soil is limited. Just like pine straw, oak leaves, etc., the high acidic content of UCG's is present only when very fresh, leaches insignificantly into the soil when used as a mulch and if incorporated into the soil or added to compost, is rapidly neutralized. In short, any acidic content is highly unstable if it exists at all and cannot be considered a significant contributor to altering soil pH. Here is a link that might be useful: the myth of coffee grounds

My Tuscany Superb has 6' long canes that arch over to a total height of around 4'. How big is too big? I've got so many roses that are doing well for me it would be hard to list them all. What are you looking for? Antiques and Austin roses only? Do you want some hardy shrubs, Buck roses, rugosas, etc? Some of my favorite roses right now that don't get too big (for me that's under 4') are: Shrubs & Bucks Quietness (a truly outstanding rose that you can purchase at Sam's...) Dakota's Song Prairie Harvest Winter Sunset most of the Easy Elegance roses: All the Rage Macy's Pride Grandma's Blessing Funny Face Antiques Indigo Vick's Caprice Charles de Mills (around 5') Leda "Reine des Violettes" from Sam Kedem - his is not the true RDV, I believe it is really Portland From Glendora. She is a bloom factory all summer long and highly fragrant but does get to be about 5'x5'. A must have in my garden. David Austin roses: Crocus Rose Christopher Marlowe Redoute Charlotte Eglantyne The Dark Lady Rugosas Snow pavement - new this year but very fragrant and should stay on the small side. Purple Pavement Marie Bugnet Linda Campbell - she gets about 5'x5' with massive hydrangea like clusters of blooms. An absolute showstopper in my garden. I could list many many more but I'll stop myself here..

I always add 2 cups bonemeal and 2-3 cups composted manure in the bottom of an 18"x18" hole and then leave them alone for the rest of the year as the bonemeal breaks down very slow. The only other thing I have used is tomato or rose food alternating when I feed which is only in the spring with new growth. Then I use bonemeal again after they have been in the ground for a couple of years and I mix it with composted manure (THE SAME AS ABOVE)then carefully dig a 4-6 inch trench and load it up. I stay away from miracle grow as I have heard it has too much nitrogen. My neighbors had 4 planted, used miracle grow every time they watered, had a few blooms for 2 years and then none of them showed up this spring. I had to laugh as they think they know everything and was trying to sell me on miracle grow and was telling me last spring how much better theirs would be because of it. Not one of the four came up this spring. Then I have also heard some really great things from people who use it, but not on clematis vines. I choose to do mostly natural as the salts build up in the soil from the powder mixes and this is not a good thing either. You really just can't beat natural but everyone has their own opinion. I also mulch with wood chips and of coure plant a few inches deeper and then after they have been in the ground a few years and after they go to sleep in the late fall I dump a half bag of composted manure around the base and cover with more mulch. The first clematis I done this with had 18 stems come up the following spring, A Nelly Moser. I'm not sure if this was because of the composted manure and all the bonemeal I use or a freak accident but it went nuts and I am absolutely enjoying it. I have clematis vines planted on a chain link fence every three feet with rose bushes scattered about and lilies and WOW what a show, and everyone gets composted manure and bonemeal. As for the cutting back, I plant, then wait for about 2 weeks, then cut them down to about 8 to 12 inches depending on the individual clematis and how young it is. It scares me sometimes with these tiny starts some places send out because they really have to be babied. I like healthy root systems to start out with, especially for my zone and stay away from wal-mart. K-mart, some Home Depot's have really good root systems as do some mail orders. When you live in a warmer climate I believe these tiny clematis (from wal-mart) can do well because they have more time to grow and less severe weather to deal with. I just choose to start out big and healthy and believe me, it pays off in these colder climates. I have done the wal-mart thing and it's not for me.

The problem with the glossy adds and other glossy paper might not be the ink but the glossy coating that tends to keep them from breaking down. I've been using all sorts of shredded paper products in my composting and in the worm bin. I notice that the glossy color paper and paperboard are sometimes still there a long time later (like after a year in the compost pile.) They might not kill your worms but it certainly won't make what you put in the garden look quite right. Anyway, we still shred almost all paper products that come our way and it is either cover in the compost pile or bedding for the worms. Except those paper egg cartons, they are just way too good as seed starting post since you can just cut them apart to transplant, just like those $$peat pots.