Maurizio, very interesting discussion. I just wonder, though, what proof we have that either of these roses is a "pure" anything. We have no knowledge of the hybridization that went into the breeding of these roses, and what crosses were made. The speculation at least for Mutabilis is that it's not a wild rose. We don't have any idea about how old Mutabilis is, so what can we say about how it was created, and what went into the making of that creation? I'm not a rosarian, so this is not in any way a learned speculation on my part. I just wondered whether we needed to take into consideration that either or both roses have mixed parentage. Ingrid

You're talking about Rouletii? I love it! I lost it last year to canker, but I will replace it. It was very disease-resistant for me here -- tho I cannot speak to blackspot resistance. We rarely see blackspot at all. Jeri

I don't imagine you will have a problem transplanting them -- though keep in mind that THEY WILL NOT BE DORMANT. Since these are small plants, I would urge you to avoid cutting off a lot of growth. Roses of this sort store their energy in their twiggy growth, and the more of it you cut away, the greater the impact on the plant. But, most of all, I would urge you to reconsider the location in front of windows. I have seen bigger ones, but in my conditions, Mutabilis easily rizes to 7 ft. In your Z-9 conditions, I think you will have a constant fight to keep the plants from growing taller than you want them to. And, to do so, you are going to have to mercilessly whack off a lot of new growth and bloom. Consider, instead, finding some Polyahthas for your location below windows. Those, too, should be continuous-blooming, and they will fit the space nicely. And there is a big selection of cultivars to select from, in a wide range of colors. Place Mutabilis where you can see it as the big, bountiful, beauty it was meant to be. Jeri Coastal Ventura County, Southern California

Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon) cuttings readily root in water or in dirt if the cut area is woody. I've never heard of people taking cuttings of the herbaceous hardy types as the they're usually from seeds or root divisions. The tropical Rosa-Seninsus types are grown from woody cutting but not in water and are also tissue-cultured. The Texas Star hibiscus (H. coccineus) can be grown from woody cuttings but I don't know about in water. They can be readily seed grown. The first time I ever saw one was before it flowered and I thought it was a marijuana plant because of the unique leaf shape! Here is a link that might be useful: