Thanks to the two previous writers. I apologize, I should have mentioned that I have Artemesia Silver Mound Schmidtiana. I'll wait for spring this year to cut them back. I think they splayed because first of all, they were somewhat root bound (though healthy and within the splayed areas you could see new growth, tiny leaves). They had gone into flowering mode, and I did trim all the flowers off. What a beautiful plant--I know it's common, but I love its fluffy rounded shape. Really pretty next to the Little Spire dwarf sage, also common,that I planted which has such vibrant lavendar flowers. I remember reading in a thread about gas station or mall plants. It just reminds me that you should garden for your own sake and plant what you like. I love people who have "show" gardens, or have unusual varieties of plants. But I also admire simple gardens full of marigolds and zinnias and Knockoput roses. There is beauty in many common plants, or why would they be "common?" The lady I bought the small silver mound from had a huge display of artemesia that looked exactly like the schmidtiana ones I got, except they were a variety that grew HUGE! Three plants took up this huge area, and quite tall too. A giant silver mound! I wonder what variety those were? The mound looked about 4 feet high or more, and at least 6 feet wide. Thanks again, Leann

Dale........ When I first started growing miniatures, it was in southern California where there is no real winter. Since then, I have moved to the mountains of northern California. The first year I moved here, I was gifted with more than 60 miniature and miniflora roses in April 2004. Since I was working on the house I just purchased, I potted the roses up in the largest pots I could find because I didn't know a thing about over-wintering roses and figured that it would take longer for soil in a large pot to freeze than a small pot. It turns out that was a very wise decision. Some of those roses have been in pots for four winters. So far, I haven't lost one rose to winter even tho'temps have gotten down to the low teens one winter. (Most of the time we can expect low 20s) All of these gift roses came in 2" to 4" pots and, like I said in my other post, I just put those tiny little plants into the big pots. The roses were full size by the end of summer. Then I had to learn about over-wintering roses in pots because I didn't have time that first year to plant anything. I suggest a spring order. Now that I have experienced over-wintering roses in pots, I know it's easier to work with a plant that has already developed a root system. You can pot up in your new roses in smaller pots than I did, if you plant to put the roses into the ground in the fall. Mad-gallica - Micro-minis might get lost in the grass, but I have tucked them into the rose bed in front of larger roses and they can really add to the look of the bed. I have also planted them in a cluster of small plants in one bed and it seems to work. There are miniature roses that can grow to 5' tall... those plants do not get lost and can be quite lovely. And, of course there are roses in both the miniature and mini-flora classes that are taller than the micro-minis and shorter than the big mini roses. Deb and Dave Boyd, who often post here, have a garden listing on HMF. You might want to check out some of his photos of minis. He grows several of my favorites in a zone that is similar to yours. Lyn Here is a link that might be useful: Deb & Dave Boyd's Garden on HMF

If a cane is exceedingly tall, like over 5 or 6 feet and sticks out above the majority of the rest of the plant, you could trim it down to the height of the rest of that bush. That way it won't blow around and possibly break over winter. But wait to do this until after the plant has gone dormant. Otherwise for any hard pruning it's best to do it in the spring.

Just a few more weeks, and you can go to town. I prune from Thanksgiving through Valentine's Day. My garden in Sonoma County is in the middle of the best fall flush I've had in years, so I couldn't think of pruning those roses that are blooming and holding all their foliage. I do have some roses (the hardier types) that are headed toward dormancy. I could get started on them. You can also get started by removing dead wood. You can also do a little thinning of weak wood, if you're removing entire canes. I have plenty of work I could do on my climbers, for example, removing unproductive wood. But in the end, it's probably a waste of energy to clean up now and prune later. It's more effecient to do is all at once.