They are lovely I would like to see one with leaves too. Good luck with your show. Besure to keep us posted. Kim, fyi: The pvc pipes that I attached the garden signs that I made for a local shelter held up pretty well except where they got snowplowed. I used automotive goop on them. I posted the tutorial from my blog below. Scroll down through part 2 to part 1 where I talk about attaching the pipe fittings. I also use automotive goop for the spoons when I make plate flowers, for glass to glassI use ge silicone ii clear. Kathy Here is a link that might be useful: Plant label signs.

1) Is the growing light too close? 1-2" above is what is recommended although it isn't needed until germination happens as already mentioned. 2) The 2" lid has side vents that I opened half way to let some air in. Is this OK? Should I open the vent at the top of the lid? No, because your soil may already be too dry as Flora said. The tray/cells is loaded with moist potting mix (thoroughly wet and then wrung out), not dry, and misting is not enough. If you moisten your soil properly then you can use the vents if you wish. Most lids do not have them (it is a pay more gimmick) so it isn't really an issue. 3) Should the growing light be on 24/7 for the time being? Do I need to worry about melting the top of the plastic lid from the heat of the growing lamp? No, once needed on 16-18 hours, off 6-8. 4) What about watering from this point on? I believe I'm supposed to remove the seedlings from the flat, add water (how much and how often?) to the bottom of the flat and put the seedlings back in so that they could draw the water in from underneath. Right now the only water I added was when I moistened the soil prior to planting the seeds. Then if it was wet you shouldn't need any additional watering until after germination.. if there is moisture on the inside of the lid there is enough water in there. Raise the lid for an hour or so each day to let fresh air in. 5) Is growing in my garage not advisable for any reason? We're getting a late start to the spring here in the Northeast and its not exactly warm in my garage but not exactly freezing cold. Most of us construct some sort of small enclosure so you don't have to heat the whole area. A simple plastic tent works well and can raise the temp inside the enclosed area by 20 degrees. 6) I will be out of town for four days next week. Do I need to ask someone to care for them in my absence? Yes because if they germinate they will need to be removed from under the lid ASAP. You apparently have mixed multiple varieties within the same tray but they will have different germination times. One the plant breaks the soil surface it has to be out from under the lid. One reason why many never use covers. 7) Do I need to monitor the temperature of the heating mat and/or get a timer for it? If it has no thermostat (an optional purchase) it is set to keep soil temp 10-20 degrees higher than the surrounding air temp. Another reason to build an enclosure. If it is 40 in the garage then the heat mat will have to run constantly just to keep the soil temp up to 60. If you review all the great FAQs here you'll find most of these questions are covered by them, not in detail true, but the basics are there. Some great discussions here too with even more details that the search will pull up on specific questions. Dave

How wonderful for you! Will be very interesting to see what it looks like next year as they can change so much. Pretty color too! CONGRATULATIONS! Nancy

In the FWIW department, a couple of years ago, I raised more than 60 seedlings from hips I rescued from a public garden (and a few other roses), and they stayed outside the whole time during a polar vortex winter (planted out after Thanksgiving 2014 with seedlings starting to show up in Jan/Feb 2015). I used my regular potting mix (compost, peat moss, plant-tone and sand), but I used extra sand (just regular all-purpose sand from Lowe's, not builder's sand, which is best for rooting cuttings). The sand promotes drainage, so no issues with damping off. No heat mats, no peroxide, no fungicides. By mid-February I had about 40 seedlings, but others showed up later on. My husband built what we call the squirrel cage (keeps the varmints out, not in) from hardware cloth and piping, and the seedlings stayed protected until they started to outgrow their shared pots and needed their own pots. I think the cage was covered with a tarp when we had freezes, but they didn't go inside or even onto the back porch. Once they achieved some size they were moved to a sheltered place on the ground under a large oak. Dappled shade evidently was sufficient light. More than 60 seedlings was too many, so I let most die through a tough love/attrition process, so theoretically, the surviving 15-20 roses are the toughest of the tough. Most have Noisette parents, but a few are clearly more modern. Here's my post from the propagation forum with a few photos of early blooms... Virginia