Thanks Ruth ann Both my very large brugs still have lots of flowers yet to bloom and the next in size as well. The two big one are planted in very large containers. I am afraid if I cut them down to that size will they still grow large next year. I'm a little worried. Glad

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Thank you so much for the info, I just was struck by the pinciples between both methods. I wonder if this is because Pop was born in 1906 to a farming (as in farm hands) family with a small tied cottage but good sized garden (by UK standards) he was the last of 11 children, so I suppose it was a matter of survival, and when he lived with us our garden provided most of our food and that of our two elderly neighbours Mrs Breeze and Mrs Chapman! amazing what you remember from 6!, which in the recession hit 70's in the UK was a good thing, bread and gas rationing ect was brought in, we also had a drought in 1976 and the garden kept going cos of Pop's system, I now after your comments feel even more proud of him if thats possible! he was an amazing man and I would be interested in the info and again thank you, Gardeners rock! by the way if your wondering we have all been late starters in getting a family, he was 29 his wife 35 (her parents where 42!) my dad 35, and me 34 my boys are 4 now, so when the press where trying to make me feel bad about having a family late, I can be smug in the fact that for 4 genertions I was the youngest to have my babies Yay! okay I massaged the figures but thats allowed...isn't it? nd it is first children. btw tied cottage belonged to your employer and depending on how nice they where or wheren't when you became ill, too infirm or died, your family was chucked out and homeless, that said many enployers where good as was my GGdads.

Elena, yes, paraffin wax is also used to seal off pruning with much success and well known among growers of roses. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/use-paraffin-wax-trimming-plants-28402.html The problem with heated wax is that it can run into nearby nodes, deactivating their potential to branch. Glue can seal them off just the same. One must be very careful when utilizing these methods. I've taken a few pictures to show the effects of pruning without sealing off and to demonstrate the effectiveness of using the above technique. Perhaps Rick or another forum member can provide a picture showing the clean finish sealing with glue provides. This is a 7 month old seedling pruned at 5 months of age. It began forming 4 branches immediately as a direct result of pruning and produced 3 additional lower natural branches. Total: 7 branches. .... These show the atrophy of the unsealed pruning cut on some of my plants. It is my understanding that these will eventually smoothe out and blend in as the tree grows and matures. These developed 3 to 7 branches as a result of pruning. These were freshly watered at the time the pictures were taken. Any black appearing on the pruned surfaces are just dampness. The surfaces are hard & firm, not soft. Now that I am seeing the effects of water on those surfaces, I will definitely seal them all off. These are outdoors permanently and I don't want to risk it. Here is a picture of the above plant 2 hours later and dry. The pruned areas are facing the back of the tree and are not at all visible from the front. .... This picture shows what happens when the cut is made where internodes are not tightly stacked. One long branch dominates and you're basically at square one, needing to prune again. Notice how the stacked nodes were low on the original branch. I should've cut there. If you noticed a caudex only on the first plant pictured, you have a keen eye. All, except for the first seedling pictured, are from rooted branch cuttings. Maria Elena