I hope this helps you out Jackie. From Jackie, SoCal... My poor Fortune's Double Yellow has had a lot of things to overcome in its life. I rooted it from a mature FDY growing in a park in a nearby town. Then, I planted it at the very base of an 80 foot tall Scarlet Oak tree in our front garden (the reason was that I hoped it would grow up the oak, which was big enough to handle it). Despite being in heavy shade from the deciduous oak 6 months of the year, and in light shade the rest of the year, in 5 years it had achieved about 7 feet of vertical growth up the trunk of the tree, and was producing blooms (albeit smaller than usual) every Spring. Then, there was a tragedy - the 80 year old oak got a fungus rot 20 feet up its main trunk, and we had to have it taken down (the arborists dug into the section that was rotten after they had cut it up, and it turned out that 3/4 of the diameter of the trunk was rot, so it was the correct decision). So, my DH dug up the FDY, and we cut it way down and moved it to a clearing in a basically wild part of our garden, near a mature privet tree and an old rose trellis which our original ancient Anna Olivier used to grow on before it died last year (we have two mature cloned offspring of that old AO). Hoping it will grow up the privet - it gets more light in the clearing than it did under the oak. Then, just as it was recuperating from being transplanted and was even putting out some new growth, a deer completely shredded it. So, I put a deer cage around it, and spoke to it softly. It has now recuperated again, and has put out another layer of new leaves. No new canes yet, but I'll bet we see some in the next few months. Below are pictures of its saga: Pic of the parent plant growing in the canopy of several trees & large bushes: Rooted cuttings (FDY is on the left) planted at the base of the oak tree: A few years later, FDY blooming one Spring: Stump of the oak tree - my DH is going to construct a large trellis thingy behind and above it, and yes, I am going to grow climbing roses over and on and around and above the stump. However, FDY is too large to do that with it here, so we moved it. Old trellis that used to have AO on it, next to the transplanted FDY (in deer cage to the left): Trunk of the mature privet next to the old trellis - you can see FDY in the foreground: In the background you can see the canopy of mature privet & bushes seen from the driveway - I have hopes of seeing it crowned with FDY in a few years: Last, my FDY taken from above today, growing roots and planning its takeover of this part of our garden: Sorry this post is so long, but having this rose in my garden has been such long held desire of mine, and now it might actually be able to grow to its full potential here - we will see. Jackie

Thanks, guys. Kim, THREE plants of FDY in one two gallon can? I'm surprised the can has not exploded! Of course understand what you mean about waiting for cooler weather to separate them. I am glad that they are in good hands. What are you going to do with three FDYs? Just wondering... Nik - whenever mine blooms, I hope the blooms are bigger than they were when it was in shade (I was determined to grow it up that oak tree - bad idea). I will definitely post pics of the blooms when they arrive. My plant is in an area of our garden where our frequently visiting doe and her new fawn and her yearling doe from last year like to hang out, so I have explained to my FDY that the only solution to the deer issue is to get very tall very fast. It seems to have comprehended that. Jackie

Yes, that old huge one is still growing (with no "care" from humans whatever) in a little park next to a bike path. It is the one in Ross from which I got my cutting. That is an old pic, but right now it is just coming into full bloom, so I will take my camera on Monday when we go for our next bike ride. I am so glad I have my rose - unfortunately that huge one, and most of the trees, are planned to be taken out by the town. There has been serious awful flooding in Ross in the past (in the winter of 2001 the entire downtown was literally under 3-4 feet of water!), and the little park is right next to the creek. The Corps of Engineers built a concrete channel for that part of the creek decades ago. It has been a disaster - very bad for wildlife, and they have determined that it makes the flooding worse! So, they are going to take away the concrete channel next to the park, and make the park into a "flood plain" for the water to expand into if there are super heavy rains. This, for some reason, entails taking out the trees in the park, along with the rose. However, mine is not the only plant taken from that rose. We ran into the head of the Public Works Dept for Ross on our bike ride one day, and he told me the story about how he planted that rose 20 something years ago, after taking cuttings from the really old one growing where the 19th century mansion (and I do mean a real mansion) was. He said he offered rooted cuttings to anyone who wanted them, and that rose is now growing in gardens all over the town. He planted one on the grounds of the Police/Fire station. That one is interesting - it is pruned into a bush form, and seems happy that way - about 6-7 feet high and wide. It is also just coming into full bloom - I will try and take a pic of it tomorrow - I did not know you could do that with FDY! Jackie

Paul - I laughed when I read your comment that Pink Phoenix "has vigor!". Perhaps its parent FDY does not get huge in your climate, but in a warm climate (like mine) the unpruned clone from which I got the cutting that grew into my plant of FDY was very vigorous indeed! Here is a photo I took of it in full bloom. This is why I am slightly nervous about how big it is going to get in my garden. If you leave your plant of Pink Phoenix in a warm greenhouse for 2-4 years, you might find out exactly how big it can get - who knows how big that would be? At least then you could take that potential into consideration in your future breeding with it. Just a thought... Jackie Here is the FDY in our local tiny sort of "parklet" next to a bike path. It gets NO CARE whatever - that is all one plant, and as I recall it had traveled further to the right than would fit into this photo. It also went all the way to the top of the tree on the far left. The fat looking tree in the center right is over 20 feet tall.