Hi Ken, I heard that too--I think it was mentioned in an ARS article a few years ago. So, I've pruned our bush very lightly--its latest flush of blooms was at 5+ feet. Not only that, but an inch of rain and cool weather didn't stop the blooms from opening--so they filled with water... So, I made a bouquet last night after shaking out the water and cleaning the fungicide residue off the petals. The stems were stiff enough that only a few flopped over. Ours had around a dozen stems with buds/blooms before cutting. Foliage was nearly perfect--only one leaf needed trimming (leafcutter bee) and I didn't see any fungal disease--wish all my roses looked that good.

Thanks everyone! Jan - I think I will move it at the end of the summer so it gets less afternoon shade. I'm thinking I'm going to have to do that with Red Volunteer also... we'll see. Nancy - You will have to post pictures of yours when it does bloom so we can compare. Juliet - It makes me so excited to go out there every morning and see how she's looking today! Jean - I have a lot of purple daylies, which I didn't really realize until I started seeing them all bloom! This morning Siloam Plum Tree, Grand Patriarch, and Star of India are blooming. Derrick Cane is about to bloom for the first time - probably tomorrow. And I have more that are not blooming yet! I think red is the next favorite in my garden. Christine

I really like the before version on the second one but the after is nice too! Isn't it thrilling to see your seedling bloom, especially for the first year? Good jo Linda...Ellie

We just went with Morgan county seeds which is actually masterblend. Their hydroponic tomato nute and cal nitrate each at 5 pound bag is right at 30.00 delivered. I was paying 15.00 for 1 pound pre mixed so this is much cheaper! I am following the u tube directions. I will know in a few weeks how it works. I do believe it is the same as the urban hydroponics mix. I think the issue I was having with the urban hydroponics mix is the cal nitrate and masterblend were pre mixed. The problem is they are diffrent consistancies. The cal nitrate is little pebbles and the masterblend is fine almost powder. They don't stay mixed well. I like being able to put them in seprately.