Thank you for the replies. Poet's jasmine is Jasminum officinale, and is a vigorous plant. That's a good point about reducing air circulation. I think what I will do is plant the jasmine and see how it does in my situation. That way I can get a feel for it. What a wonderful picture of the banksia! And the doubles are fragrant? Hmm. The idea to run a cylinder around the tree I like, spikes in the tree were worrying me a bit, even though I think it's big enough to handle some injury, there's always a risk. Douglas firs tend to have kind of a starfish pattern to their roots, I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to dig between the roots fairly far out and have reasonable moisture. I've notice that our ground tends to stay moister in the summer under the trees than way outside them; perhaps because I have sandy soil? I don't know. I was actually more worried that the water for the rose would be too much for the tree's roots! I'll have to go dig some holes to make sure there's room for the roses; but I don't anticipate a problem, I planted some Japanese Maple seedlings on the other (slightly shadier north) side of it, and the roots didn't interfere there. I'll take a look at Treasure Trove, what a wonderful name; and the Gardenia thread makes it sound promising too. Plus, the amusement value of telling unsuspecting people that I have a Gardenia growing into a tree is immense!

Note that if the rose you wish to root is 'Laguna' the Kordes climber, it was int. 1995, and is still in patent -- so should not be propagated. If your Laguna is one of the older editions, and is out of patent, there are a TON of ways to start roses from cuttings. All are good. Some work better with some roses, not as well with others. My friend Barbara Oliva said: "If you've tried to propagate a rose, and you've failed, you may be using the wrong method, or at the wrong time, for that rose." Under "ARTICLES" on the website of the Gold Coast Heritage Roses Group (see below) you'll find information on methods. You should also GOOGLE "Starting Roses From Cuttings" or "Rooting Rose Cuttings" -- which will give you a plethora of methods. Jeri Here is a link that might be useful: Gold Coast Heritage Roses Group

All them "official" books were written in England -- and they just don't speak to the way things grow in the American South and SouWest. You'll have a lot better luck with the "Tea Bags" book -- "TEA ROSES: Old Roses for Warm Gardens." (Authors, the "Tea Bags" -- Lynne Chapman, Noelene Drage, Di Durston, Jenny Jones, Hillary Merrifield, and Billy West) This is the book we wished for, for years. The ladies from Oz did a great job. And their Australian conditions are more like what we're used to. Also, check Mike Shoup's books: Landscaping With Antique Roses, and The Empress Of The Garden. Some things I know -- Coastal SoCal -- far cooler than you are, and foggy much of the year. Occasionally (as today) hot and desert-dry. Ducher *** A friend in NoCal found a white rose near an old Chapel, because it blooms mightily through the winter, she SN it "White Christmas." But it's Ducher, right enough. It seems to grow slowly at first, and she said for a long time it was about 4-ft. THEN, she put a fence behind it, and it shot up to 8 ft.! Louis Phillippe -- Mine is 8-ft. tall, and wider than it is tall. Jeri

For those of you who grow crowded roses you may want to look into getting you an extendable pruner tool. I have one that extends out to almost 10 feet. At one end is the squeeze thingie and at the center is a sliding handhold. The sliding handhold makes it very easy to direct the cutting blade. On one side of the cutting bade is a grab bar that holds anything on that side of the cutter until you release the squeeze thingie. It allows you to pull what you cut off out of the bush. (Cut-an-Hold) You can adjust the length of the tool by pressing a release button. Mine adjusts in about 6 inch increments. Ain't cheap but worth it's weight in gold!!! (Well maybe not at today's prices..... lol