Wow!! Carol, I'm happy for you. Heel to toe for 8 steps takes a lot of coordination, and YOU DID IT. When my kid was 4 years old, she would be so happy when I lost weight on the scale ... health for my friends cheer me up more than roses. I'm elated when I heard Garran home & healthy, and I'm happy about rain for Jess & no more thorns in her toe. I am happy when my daughter is happy. I'm sure that's how God, our Father in heaven, feels .. He's happy when His children (us) are happy. My kid has a friend came over today (same age). The friend was on Ensure (canned nutrition with soy milk) .. her skin was clean this past summer. I did research on soy milk and thyroid disorder, yes, there's a slight link, esp. with carrageenan added. So I e-mailed this teenager info., and her nutritionist switched this gal from Ensure (soy-based) to Kefir (fermented cow-milk). Fast forward today, this friend gets pimples on her face. I feel bad since the bad news about dairy didn't come out until this year. I google thoroughly when I switched my child from soy-milk to cow milk .. could not find a link between cow milk and acne until recently. But I learn something: always look at how many people are involved in any study. The thyroid & soy link are just a few personal testimonies, versus the below: " The famous Nurse's Health Study examining health habits of 47,000 nurses found that those who drank more milk as teenagers had much higher rates of severe acne than those who had little or no milk as teenagers. In other studies of over 10,000 boys and girls from 9 to 15 years old, there was a direct link between the amount of milk consumed and the severity of acne." Today I'm back to the diet that I was on when I was skinny: soy milk (new formula without carrageenan) & high fiber cereal ... I feel so much better & more energy. My kid loves her cereal & soy milk. She could NOT handle cow-milk either .. she's lactose-intolerant. I checked on soy milk again before I switch back: if the soy-protein is concentrated, like soy Isolate in faked meat, then it will screw up the thyroid. If the soy is concentrated and made on aluminum equipment, like tofu, then that will UP the risk of Alzheimer's. But soy milk in low dose with cereal, isn't bad ... at least it's freed of hormones, antibiotics, feces, and pus like in cow's milk. Soy milk is easier to digest, plus zero cholesterol. What I like the most is: it smells clean, NOT strong like cow-milk.

Sheila, Have you always planted with gopher cages? How large does the cage/bag need to be? Glad to hear Angry Juno is doing well, please post when it's blooming, it's so beautiful! I'm sorry your PL has RMV. I've had several people say it doesn't make a difference. but I have RMV on a grafted Golden Celebration, I received a replacement own root the next season and the own root is by far out growing and healthier than the RMV bush. Maybe it's just my garden. Kristine, my PL is probably behind yours, I don't fertilize the first year (though I'll probably change that this year). I hope your cane's come back thicker and maybe you will share some photos? :)

On my computer, I can see hints of a darker purple on some of your P.L. petals, Beth. My first blooms were dark burgundy with hints of purple, and then the next blooms, in May, were purple. My husband noticed the blooms from across the yard. I thought he was referring to Ebb Tide..until I walked over there. The color knocked me off my feet. I have not seen blooms on this rose since May. I am curious as to what the next batch will look like. Hopefully, I will still have this rose when it blooms again. I do not edit photos, but work to get a decent shot in terms of proper lighting etc. I remember grabbing my husband's camera to take the pic because it was on the kitchen table, has very little issue capturing purple, and is all around a better camera than mine. Your rose looks gorgeous as is, but maybe you are correct and as it matures you will get blooms that show the purple in "purple lodge". It would be weird if the inferno we experienced in May brought about the coloring. That heat caused so much trauma for my roses this year...

I've been meaning to update this since it started setting bud. This Rose seems to be a late bloomer due to its R. Moschata heritage. It took until mid June set bed while everything else had already finished its first flush. If it repeats this behaviour next year then I will know if that is the reason for sure or if it was the crazy spring weather with its late May freeze. It already had some nice buds by 6:21 as you can see in the pictures and was blooming less than a week later. It has not stopped blooming and has tons of flowers as I type. A great rose with a lovely fragrance that I highly recommend. It is a thorny monster and I have yet to figure out how to prune it. I do know if you cut it short it will send out numerous long canes from that point. I have not yet decided if I will cut out the small growth next year to try and have it grow as a more traditional climber. I think it would make a very nice large Bush if desired. There is a fair amount of black spot here and it does lose quite a few leaves. That is the main downside. However where I better with my watering and fertilizing routine I feel that might help correct it. Vigorous is the word I would most used to describe this Rose. It also has a lovely light fragrance that varies in intensity and tone.