We're in kind of a gray area, Ellen. Your plant should be hardy there w/o protection if it slides into a normal dormancy, but temperature can trump the primary trigger for dormancy, which is lengthening of the dark period. The question in my mind is, will the plant go dormant if you expose it to cold but not freezing temperatures for a week or two, then put it outside, or has the onset of growth eliminated the plant's ability to withstand freezing temperatures. I tried to reach a friend who is the president of the MI Nurserymen's Assn, but couldn't get him. I did call another nursery and asked to speak with someone about a technical issue regarding plant physiology. She sounded sure of herself, but wasn't convincing, even though what we decided as best was what I suggested in my preceding post - keep it as cold as possible but don't let it freeze - safe side advice. I spend quite a bit of time working with the folks at a local botanic garden, but I'm not sure that the expertise of the arborist or horticulturists covers something like this, but I'll let you know if I come up with something more definitive. Al

Thanks all...first ...I checked the "stems" of the bush and they really are more like tree trunks.They are about 2 inches around at least.There are some new green stems growing that had a few flowers on them...do I leave these ones alone?They are kinda aiming to fill in the one side that is pretty empty.All the flowers are now brown so I think now is the time to do anything right?The roots of this bush are out into the grass pretty far, but I have been making sure that it gets at least two gallons of water unless it rains.I have'nt put any other stuff on the bush...should I and if so ...what?I dont have much experience gardening....this is our first house (and the last until the kids move out!)I never had a garden before or trees and shrubs so I am completely in the dark on these issues.The house was empty for about fifty years until we bought it so the bush had no help at all.I really love this bush and people actually stop to look at it,so I want to "fix" it if I can.Thanks for any help!

You say it could be 30 or more years old? Then I'd say you have no need to worry about saving it. It's proved it's a survivor! I have no idea what rose it is but it looks like a modern climber of some sort. You can prune off dead wood any time of year. To tell if a cane is alive or not snip a couple inches off the tip of the cane and look at the inside. If it's a greenish white color and looks moist it's alive. If it's brown or tan snip off a little further down and check. Keep doing this down the cane until you see that clear, healthy center. Clean up those broken canes at the base. You want clean cuts that you can seal with glue or nail polish so pests and diseases can't get in. Make your cuts at about a 45 degree angle just above a leaf node if possible. Otherwise I would not prune it any further now. Roses store their energy to come out of winter in the canes. Early spring is the best time to do any kind of hard pruning on a rose. When it comes out of dormancy it will be raring to grow and will fill back out quickly. When it blooms next spring get clear close up pictures of the buds, half open blooms and fully open blooms as well as the leaves, canes, thorns and whole bush. Then we might be able to ID it for you.

It would be helpful to know your approximate location/climate and the variety of blueberry bush (northern/southern, highbush, lowbush, rabbiteye ... variety name if you have it, but type is more important). How you have it planted (in ground (garden or wooded), raised bed, container) and pictures would also be great, if you have them. In general, summer is not an ideal time to do pruning unless it is dead or broken stuff. I prune my northern highbush blueberries at the end of winter/beginning of spring before they come out of dormancy but after the snow around them melts, but depending on your variety and zone, that might not be practical advice for you. I prune out things that are crossing, things that are broken, and I go for less than 10 canes, taking out weaker ones and ones that are no longer producing well (usually these are at least 5 years or older). I tend to be rather conservative when pruning, though ... others will prune out considerably more. On another note, if you don't already, having multiple blueberry bushes, particularly of different varieties, it will increase your yield from each bush considerably due to cross pollination.