-- I'm curious about your comment on pulling up the weeds will bring up more seeds to the surface? I am by no means an expert of any sort, but I am happy to share what I do know. Like many others here, I always thought pulling out the roots was the only way. Let me esplain. I think we (as gardeners) have much to learn about weeds, how they grow, and can out compete the plants we nurture - seemingly with little moisture, nutrients, or care. How & why is that? I do NOT have those answers but certainly find it fascinating to say the least. First of all, there are weeds that are annuals or perennials. Also worth noting is there are many weeds which can be eaten, some which provide more nutrients than the plants we do nurture and decide to eat. I have much to learn in this area - if I am not mistaken one such weed is purslane which I have heard contains more (is it) Omega 3? than fish oils? I have not mastered the weed ID thing myself but am told any weed worth eating will of course be pleasing to the taste. I am approaching this weed eating thing with caution and by no means am I recommending it for everyone. But I am told it is not at all like knowing which mushrooms to eat. In any case, I was lucky enuff to sit in on a presentation by a UConn Professor/Scientist who says that some weed seeds can lie dormant in the soil for up to 40 years (read that as forty years). Do we have vegetable seeds that will last that long? Not many if we do. He claimed that it is believed that all these seeds need to trigger is a flash of sunlight, to know they are close enuff to the surface to germinate. Which is yet another reason NOT to till the soil. And that pulling weeds out will pull up more weed seeds to continue the cycle. Learning this, I have begun to just carry a pair of scissors with me an just snip off the weed at soil level. Further that depriving weeds of moisture and/or sun will limit their germination. This is why mulches work to keep weeds down. Of course mulches include newspapers, cardboard, leaves, or generally any organic matter or something to block the light, it could be a ground cover (a living mulch). Whether those weeds will sprout again depends on if they are annuals or perennials. But I think it does help to bring many under control. I had a very bad infestation of bindweed last year, likely brought in by using OPL's but learned to identify the young seedlings, and have made a huge improvement this year by simply yanking (or snipping) them in early spring, when they first sprout. Each year I hope to be able to identify a few more weeds, working towards also learning which ones are edible and worth letting grow. I have, for years now, been removing most any weeds BEFORE they went to seed and with the use of mulches have many under control. When I first began composting, I refused to put any weed seeds in my compost in fear of just spreading more of their seeds. I think the main focus of lasagna gardening is weed suppression by smothering any existing weeds and never turning the soil to disturb buried weed seeds, leading to "fewer" weeds. Perhaps reading during this heat wave will be time well spent. ps. It's 52 degree here right now - too cold to garden ;-) I have been of the opinion that if you do NOT want to weed - do NOT garden, buy your veggies at the store ;-) Now I am thinking they may be useful nutrients for the table. HTH in some small way, Gumby_CT - who wishes he had known about Lasagana gardening many years ago.

Roses are good in that they take well to pruning most anytime. Cutting back old and very thick canes will lead to new younger growth. Next spring you may want to consider moving Willie to a spot where he can spread out without blocking any paths. Otherwise keeping him in bounds will be a repeat thing.

As long as the old stems (canes) are alive they will send out new growth. A hard freeze will kill back mature stems but a frost will only kill back soft new growth. I'd prune away dead stems after a hard freeze but would just leave them be after a frost. The dead tips will usually just dry up and drop on their own. If there's more living plant when the temps warm up it's likely that you'll get blooms sooner.

Fertilizer choice won't have any effect on fungus gnats, just the plants. I disagree about using wilt as an indicator of when to water or as an attempt to get rid of FG's. About to wilt = healthy, actually wilted = extreme distress. As plants grow, they will use more moisture so the pot will dry more quickly, so a set schedule is rarely ideal. Drying at the top really won't help since the gnats will just use the moist soil at the bottom of, and within the center of the pot, especially if they are able to access the drain holes as mentioned. (Assuming your pots have drain holes. Do they?) The only bone of contention I have, a very minor one, with the excellent advice here would be that I wouldn't call a potting mix crappy if the only reason for that label is that it is able to support fungus gnat larvae. They need organic matter, so although it's certainly possible to have/make/(buy?) a potting mix without such, many people are perfectly happy with potting mixes containing such, either store-bought or home-made. Since fungus gnats are so easy to defeat/control/avoid, I don't find this one feature, seeing a few fungus gnats in small enough amounts that they do not bother plants or people, a significant enough detriment to call a potting mix crappy. (Please don't interpret this as arguing that FG's can damage plants, not saying that, just that a few seem harmless.) Some don't tolerate any fungus gnats, and I respect that, and support their efforts to get rid of them. Some may create a mix that does have organics but not of a type/texture that harbors FG's. As you learn, you can do the best possible job with what you can get and afford. Instead of overwatering, think under-drying and excessive moisture within the "soil" as the issue. I water many plants daily, if I feel like it, although they can go for a few days, some longer...