jardineratx, If you want to try and save it, you might indeed trim a couple of the oldest looking canes all the way to the ground. Hopefully, that will force the place to produce some new canes. The following year, you can trim a couple more old canes to the ground, and the third year a couple more old canes to the ground. By that time you should have a nearly "new" plant, vigorously blooming. If it is any encouragement, I had a fairly old Buff Beauty that wasn't blooming as abundantly as in past years. A big branch from my neighbor's oak tree broke off in a storm and landed SPLAT! right in the middle of BB. There was so much serious damage that I had no choice but to cut most of BB to the ground. I crossed my fingers and waited to see what would happen. Lots of healthy new canes is what happened, and BB and I have been very happy ever since. : ) Kate

I have not ordered from Roses Unlimited, but inquired about some roses that I'd like to buy recently. They charge an additional $4.00 on top of their $17/$18 for EACH plant then $5.00 handling. Just seems expensive after the $4.00 addition adding up to $21 for each rose plant. I have ordered from other rose venders, but just would like to hear from others in re of their concern, if any, the addition all per plant. Patty

Hi Prairie_north: Very pretty bloom on your mini-rose. Thank you for the l info. that cracked corn changed from pink (acidic) to purple (neutral) fast. I'm happy with cracked corn in the planting hole (did that last year), so is Momscottagegarden (clay soil). I like what you wrote: "The bed around it was originally amended with peat moss, and has cedar shavings on top. Today I pushed the shavings away, dug up the soil around it, put down some sheep manure, and red lava rock." Peat moss mixed with clay becomes hardened a year later. Cedar shavings is acidic (pH 4) that would leak acid down when it rains (pH of rain is 5.6). Since mini-rose is own-root, the roots are nearer the surface, and is sensitive to acid leaching down. Own-roots do best with organic fertilizer, since it's nearer the surface ... some are wimpy like alfalfa sprouts, versus big-woody-bush-trunk Dr. Huey. Red lava rock is a strong buffer at pH 8. I mulched roses with that during our wet months .. kept roses clean. Blooming takes up lots of potassium & calcium to make those firm petals. After blooming, potassium and calcium are both depleted, plus rain leaches out potassium & calcium & trace elements. Red-lava rock in the planting hole, plus on top provide a continuous supply of potassium to prevent diseases, plus more blooms. Calcium is a strong buffer: I use that in many ways: as granular gypsum (calcium sulfate) to break up clay. If it rains a lot, I put gypsum on top of red-lava-rock. But for Dr. Huey-rootstock, I put dolomitic lime on top, since Dr. Huey likes it alkaline. Best ratio in hydroponics setting is equal nitrogen to potassium, 1/2 phosphorus, and 1/2 calcium. I burnt a few own-roots with either salty manure in hot weather, or high-phosphorus fertilizer like bone meal. My best result in hot weather is alfalfa hay for nitrogen. Timothy hay is much softer, easier to mulch .. that's what I plan to test next. I got amazing result mulching with alfalfa hay in hot weather, best nitrogen-source ever, which beat anything I tested: blood meal, compost, Milorganite, alfalfa pellets, alfalfa meal, corn meal. The problem with alfalfa in smaller particles: they gunk up on top, either souring, or hardening clay further. Alfalfa hay is fluffy, which cools and shade the roots in hot sun, plus it's a strong buffer: neutralize both acidic rain, and alkaline tap water.

I figure out why compost is known as "high phosphorus". The release of nutrients for green materials like grass clippings, chicken manure, veggies & fruits scraps is immediately. 90% of nitrogen is released from grass clippings within the 1st month of being cut. When these GREEN matter break down, they enrich THE SOIL BELOW. Nitrogen mobility is a 10, rain moves that down to the soil BELOW THE COMPOST PILE. Potassium mobility is a 3, takes a bit longer to move down, but that move down into the soil below the compost pile. Phosphorus mobility is a 1, that stays put in the decayed materials above the soil. When people scrap off the compost pile to fertilize, what's in decayed matter is mostly phosphorus, plus carbon (brown) matter like bark, plus cellulose component of leaves. The soil BELOW the compost pile is richest in nutrients, esp. in nitrogen, potassium, plus earthworms. I checked my compost pile: the compost itself has no earthworms, but there's tons of earthworms in the soil BELOW the compost pile during the summer. In my garden of heavy clay, where it's high in magnesium & very compact & alkaline ... there's zero earthworm. So I dug that up to break up heavy clay with organic matter like leaves, alfalfa hay, or cracked corn, plus gypsum. Less than a month later, I came back to the hole, and there's tons earthworms. When I researched on earthworms, it listed manure and organic matter as food that earthworms like, plus wetness. I tested topping soil with various materials, and here's what I found after I dug below the topping, either through moving roses, or digging for better drainage: Almond solids leads the pack in creating tons of earthworms below. There's a spot in my garden that many roses failed, due to rock-hard-clay. I left that spot alone for 1 year. Then broke up the clay with expensive Charlie's compost (organic chicken manure & corn stalk, zero antibiotics), cracked corn, and gypsum. Planted Sweet Promise rose. Water still can't soak down fast enough. Too lazy to dig that up, so I topped the rose with layers of almond solids plus soil. Two months later, after Thanksgiving, I dug up Sweet Promise, there's tons of earthworms (at least 10) on the top 6", enriched with almond solids. Earthworms went up there despite the cold snow. Cocoa mulch is 2nd place for creating earthworm below, also high in potassium & magnesium like Almond solids. Alfalfa hay is 3rd place for creating earthworms below. There's a dirt path between raised beds which get muddy, so I "carpet" the entire path with alfalfa-hay-squares. It rained lots, when I pulled up a clump of half-composted alfalfa-hay, below were the biggest Mommy worm, plus 3 babies. NPK of alfalfa hay 3-1-2, with higher nitrogen than alfalfa meal. Greens like grass clippings, tomato leaves are 4th place for creating earthworms below. NPK of Green clippings 0.66/ 0 .19 / 0.71 The higher the nutrients that leach down, the more earthworms. NPK of cocoa mulch is 2.5-1-3, much higher in potassium than alfalfa hay, thus attracting more earthworms. Leaves are 5th place for creating earthworms. NPK of leaves like red maple is 0.52 / 0.09 / 0.04, with 4.7 pH. I put fresh leaves on my tomato bed. After 2 weeks, I raked the leaves into the soil, there's lots of earthworms where previously none. The release of nutrients downward is also immediately for leaves. Leaves seals moisture well, and earthworms like moist soil. Brown, or carbon-component such as wood chips hold the last place for creating earthworms below, due to zero nutrients, plus inferior to leaves in holding moisture. http://gardening.yardener.com/Material-For-Composting NPK Percentage Value of Leaves In Compost Nitrogen Phosphorous Potassium pH Red Maple 0.52 0.09 0.04 4.7 Sugar Maple 0.67 0.11 0.75 4.3 American Beech 0.67 0.10 0.65 5.1 White Ash 0.63 0.15 0.54 6.8 White Oak 0.65 0.13 0.52 4.4 East. Hemlock 1.05 0.07 0.27 5.5 Balsam Fir 1.25 0.09 0.12 5.5