Great pics, ceterum. What an enthusiastic grower! I just got a baby Crepuscule but I am planning on putting it down at the bottom of the yard to grow wild across the wood pile- along w/ 2 Super Dorothy's I was given. Hope to dress up a drab area. Brandy

When I got bands last year, a few had this "odd" look -- and as I think of it now, all of those were of roses that grow as climbers. If you think about how the outer tips of climbers look, you'll recognize that brown piece as coming from 1-2 year old wood, perhaps from a lateral. It's like rooting cuttings of a tree -- you'll be using the outer tips rather than any thick stems from further down. And on a climber, those "outer tips" will seem far "twiggier" than the ends of an often-pruned shrub. When it starts to grow, it's as though the cells are still "programmed" to grow the way they would at the tips of the climber. Those thin bits of new growth will feed the plant, and then when it has the reserves to do so, it will push a new, thick cane from the roots, looking more like the substantial growth at the base that you expect to see. THEN it will look like a baby climber, and by next year, you can trim off those thin "feeder stems. If you're accustomed to bands of shrubbier roses, keep in mind that when they're pruned for cuttings, they'll often be pruning canes. Repeat-blooming climbers, on the other hand, usually have most of their canes left alone, and just their laterals or the tips of the canes trimmed -- and those are the pieces which will be used for cuttings. At least, that's what I noticed with non-climber bands from Heirloom -- and RVR and Long Ago Roses and Vintage Gardens. Most of those bands appeared to have been rooted from cane cuttings, rather than lateral cuttings. Unfortunately, my 'Jaune Desprez' didn't make it through the crazy Winter we had, but I do still have some pics to show you how mine grew. Here it is the day it arrived, just after I repotted it, April 26, 2013. Doesn't it look like it was a rooted lateral? Here it is again June 2, 2013. I put some tree twigs in the pot for support, but you can still see the original part of the rose. It sprouted a few more leaves, but didn't really grow longer. But those leaves fed the plant, and on the left side you can see a thick, new shoot coming from the roots. Here it is again June 13, 2013. Note that the original piece hasn't grown much, but that thick new shoot sure has. July 8, 2013 -- that new shoot just kept growing, and started branching. The original piece, however, mostly just sat there and fed the plant. When I planted it and trained it onto a tree (August 10, 2013), all the substantial growth continued from that new thick cane. You can see the original stems did grow a little more, but gradually it faded away. September 6, 2013 -- that thick new cane continued to branch and grow... September 28, 2013 My 'Orfeo' and 'Nouveau Monde' grew about the same way -- thin, twiggy original cuttings simply fed the plant, and then new, thick canes shot from the base. If you put a nice mix of organic nutrients into your potting soil, and give your baby plenty of sun and water, you'll soon see more of what you expect as "normal" growth starting fresh from the roots. Good luck! I wish I still had my 'Jaune Desprez' but I think expecting a newly-planted Tea-Noisette to survive one of the worst Winters in years in an area that was already on the edge of its hardiness was just asking too much. I've since replaced it with 'Baltimore Belle' in the same spot -- which, incidentally, is starting a second flush of flowers now. :-) ~Christopher

I like experimenting with some of the var. of morning glories. They do well for me in a fair bit of shade. Sunrise Serenade is a double red and it is a much less aggressive grower than the wild morning glories. New this year, I have Cameo Elegance on a part shade trellis. It has a beautiful variegated leaf and a magenta colored bloom.

We have an arch over our tub. Here are a couple of pictures: