I just tried my hand at grafting some Cherry scion wood (Black Gold, and White Gold) onto an old cherry tree in my yard. I mainly grafted to some watersprouts coming out of the trunk. I used cleft grafts for all of them except one, (tried a t-bark graft). I used trowbridge grafting wax to cover all exposed wood and then wrapped it with parafilm tape. I was originally going to cut the trunks at about 2-3feet off the ground, wait a year, and graft to the watersprouts, but I decided to try this first. if these grafts take should I cut the tree down above the grafts? Any Advice?

I am awestruck by your rose in your slideshow. I did grow the cl Cecile Brunners in both Houston and New Orleans. In Houston, it went from my side yard over our joint brick wall and tried to eat a neighbor's patio while they were on vacation. That one never approached the age of yours. The second one came with our house in Algiers Point and had the gnarly woody look of yours. It was growing in between the slab of our craftsman house and the very thick slab of cement that had been a driveway to the back yard. That space was about two feet wide. A workman took initiative and cut the rose back to eight inches above the ground. I thought it was gone. It came back as if it didn't notice the indignity of the major pruning in midsummer. I tell you this in case you worry about the strength of your leviathon. You might want to gently remove some of the loose bark where you want to spur new growth. Working in organic fertilizer is small amounts might also spur growth. Working with the soil would seem to me to be the direction where you'd be more likely to see a cause and effect on such a massive rose. Simply great slide show!

Annielu...how cute!! Wow, big improvement on the trunk even though I kinda like the rust too. ha I have this thing with rust. Love the way you tied in all the sides of it. Looks so good. I especially love the One Nation Under God side. Is this a keep or sell item? ~Anj

Just to give you an idea here are the grape vines showing the 2 trunks. First pic you can see right above the green tie