Thanks everyone! I do understand what seil means about being able to tell which canes are alive and which are not. I went out and looked at this bush the other day, and there were a couple of canes that I really couldn't tell. So, I will take his and all of your advice, and wait until it STARTS to leaf out (probably March). Meanwhile, my DH is going to build me (having a DH who was a general contractor is heaven) something to start propping it up with a bit from the left. Then I will just proceed very slowly. Rosefolly, I have my eye on that thick old cane too, but I do think it is alive & producing new growth - I will make sure. When we took out the corpse of the old LV 100% of it was growing from 2 ancient trunk canes that were each 6 inches in diameter, so I do not immediately suspect old canes of being a problem. Anita - yes, both of the old old LVs died together. One was a tip root of the other, but they were still connected by a live cane. By the time I realized that, both of them were dying. I think almost 100 years is a good lifetime for a rose bush, so I did not get upset. I have a baby LV which I rooted from the old ones almost as big that is only 10 feet away from where the old ones were. Thanks again - I will let you know what happens in March, and hopefully can post some pictures of this DdB when it is in its full Spring flush. Jackie

What I've noticed with own-root roses is that what you see upon arrival will continue to grow as if it was still back on the mother rose before the propagator snipped it for rooting. So since this usually means a terminal branch was used for propagation, growth from it will continue as though it was a terminal branch. But in the meantime, it's feeding the roots. And when the roots get enough food to generate a new shoot, that new shoot will be more like what you'll see on the mature rose. And, as Jeri said, don't worry about planting an own-root rose too deeply. When I started my garden, I planted them in the native soil, then built raised beds around them. The result was that 6-8" of cane was buried. After a year or so, I started seeing roots being generated along these canes just a few inches below the raised surface. Roses aren't like many other shrubs or trees in that they will adjust to being planted deeply -- by generating roots further up. At this point, fiddling with it may cause more harm than good. Just maintain whatever depth you have. I know others say not to keep mulch at the bases of roses because this will invite disease, but I don't think this is the same thing as burying canes in soil permanently. Mulch will certainly keep things moist, but perhaps isn't "soil-like enough" for roots to form. Here, roots formed on the buried portions of cane only after I added composted manure and used coffee grounds to the mulch layer, in effect creating a "mulch" of soil-like compost with the texture of potting soil. :-) ~Christopher

Everyone was so helpful that I just wanted to give a quick update on the Duchesse's progress. As many of you suggested, I didn't prune her and made sure that she had plenty of water. I also gave her a dose of alfalfa tea (thanks gagalzone8! Jeri, unfortunately no horse manure around here). After four months of almost no growth, she has really taken off over the past week or so. She still has a long way to go to reach her past glory, but this is very encouraging. Many thanks to all. Here she is now.

Thanks for the lovely compliments, Jin and Comtesse! Sorry about jumping into your thread without mentioning how lovely your Duchesse de Brabant is, Caflowerluver. Jin, yours is looking fabulous too. It’s grown so much, and is blooming like gang busters! I had AT&T here all afternoon yesterday, installing my Direct TV. They sent over another man, who was “here to go over my plan” with me. He managed to talk me into switching my wireless phone over over. I was very hesitant, but he pretty much had me when he said the new IPhone XR had a way better camera and had 4 times the storage capacity as my current phone. I’m always filling my phone with rose and flower pictures. lol I also managed to get him to agree to set everything up on the new phone, and make sure I was comfortable with it before I agreed. As soon as I had it in my hands, I insisted on posting a picture to the forum to see if it worked properly. Caflowerluver, your ‘Duchesse de Brabant’ post was the first one I could find that I knew I had a recent, appropriate picture for, in my photo library. I quickly posted the picture, but didn’t have time to write much else, with him looking over my shoulder. She’s been a great bloomer for me, in spite of a powdery mildew problem. I would have planted her in some afternoon shade, had I known she’d appreciate it. Nevertheless, she’s lovely, and I wouldn’t be without her. Lisa