thanks, i am new to roses, I grow roses only for a second season, so it was helpful.

Hi there, thanks for the responses. I am feeling better hoovb thank you! Just "normal" stuff pregnant women deal with I guess! So its not cane borers, and I do prune with my bottle of Elmers :) Learned that the hard way... But there isn't a hole through the cane just the middle is a brown color. The canes are thick--they must have started growing around mid summer. They are almost 1" thick or so? They shot up and topped off with tons of blooms through fall. The interiors are pretty and white just that small light brown mark on the very middle. Reading your posts I guess I should keep lopping back to white?? I was just so pleased with the new growth...I loathe cutting it back like this.

It's an ownroot from Ashdown, that's why I'm a little surprised that it doesn't seem to be more vigorous then it is. I know it takes at least the first 3 years to see some more growth, but I wonder sometimes about whether I actually have William Baffin! When he blooms soon I'll take a pic or two. Maybe I'm just being impatient again? He was only planted last year afterall. But, I wonder because even my Westerland has lots more growth on and that was planted only a week earlier than WB. My Westerland though was purchased at Heirloom roses.

One of the older conventions of rose care is to cut way back on a one-cane wonder to force more new canes. It doesn't work. It's kinda like beating a sick child to make it stronger, IMHO. If you really want the rose to get stronger, what I do is dig it up and pot it in good potting soil and in a pot that is not too big for the root system (otherwise they're susceptible to root rot if the pot is too big). Then I baby it along and see if I can get it to revitalize. If it's only got one cane, it's because it's weak and not growing well. Pruning off what little top growth it has will only weaken it more. Vigorous plants respond to heavy pruning by growing more, but weak plants die. I'd wait til normal spring pruning time to prune back Mr. L. I find that fall pruning in my climate, at least, results in increased cane canker from exposing cut wood to wet winter weather. Yes wind whipping can be a problem but it's better to stake and tie in most cases. You can indeed prune into old gray wood, so long as you see a bud. I'd only do a third or half the canes that way at one pruning and wait for the next year to do the others. I have revitalized old improperly pruned roses that way, but that was in mild California with long growing seasons and gentle winters. I haven't tried it here.