why did you post this in the GALLERY.. if you didnt put a picture in it.. perhaps you will get more replies on the DISCUSSIONS side of the annual forum good luck ken PS: though vinca is a perennial .... as far as i know ....

Audrey - be sure to let MIP build up well before you prune the laterals back to about 3 - leaves/eyes. That will produce new blooming laterals. It can become a huge rose - but I like to train it more - twisting the long canes around the about 24 inch in diameter metal support. It makes it produce many more blooming laterals - traning it this way. Growing naturally it will produce a big mound and it can send out 10 feet canes - first year these will only bloom at the tips - but next they will produce many blooming laterals/sideshoots. This is why I think that growing this rose with some kind of support - like training the long shoots horizontally on a trellis/fence/arbor produces the best results. Most freestanding MIPs I have seen look messy - huge thorny canes whipping all over - or the flowers are so high up that we can't smell them. The picture is 2 year old (plant 5 year old) and it only had a little mildew/very little rust at the time(I just sprayed and removed the infected leaves - and the summer pruning together with spraying kept it pretty clean. This year it has more rust and after picking the infected leaves/spraying it has lost about 20-25 percent of the leaves but looks pretty good now. Later in the season it also gets a little blackspot - but mildew and rust are worst here. So it is not an easy rose - but for those who are willing to put up with this work/care/spraying - they can choose if they think it is worth it. I love ultra fragrant roses - and will not live without it. I hope Nadia is up for a challenge. If all roses were this much work - I would not have time to grow many.

Just about any fertilizer works. I use a bloom booster (higher middle number) for my mature plants this time of year but many people use regular Miracle Grow and have good results. They are heavy feeders during the growing season and get fed weekly. You might want to consider giving your brug some epsom salts once a month (1 tbls/gal water) to help green it up. Another thing might be the exposure. Usually am sun with protection from the strongest afternoon rays is best but if your plant did well with afternoon exposure last year it might not be an issue. It's also common for the older lower leaves to yellow and drop.

I would think you could dig it all up in the winter after they've gone dormant and separate them and plant the beautyberry somewhere else. I've always thought of Flowering Almonds are relatively tough plants. You could also take some cuttings of it in the winter and get those rooted before you do the big dig, and use the rooted cuttings as backup in case the mama plant doesn't like have her roots disturbed. I remember them being easy from cuttings but slow growing.