Yeah, that's what I thought too. For several years the thing flopped around and needed to lean against something or be tied up. I de-potted it a couple of times to check the roots but they were always ok. The stem was firm like a hose under pressure and no mushy spots but it would bend so much it could be potted up but bent over and running along the floor. Now it's bound to a pole and almost touches the ceiling, I guess I'll have to give it the chop one of these days.

Let us know if any change. if you think it could be a deficiency the best way is a soil sample to your local extension, and tell them you want to grow raspberries. they will tell you what you need. If you want to just cover all bases. use Holly Tone or any complete balanced organic fertilizer. Dr Earth is also excellent. Many exist. You could add azomite, rock phosphate, also use kelp. This will supply all trace minerals and such. Iron is good too, like Iron-Tone. In the photo I see a small leaf with tip burn. That is usually too much nitrogen. Possible you have a leaf spot of some kind. If not many leaves are like this remove them. You can use copper, sulfur, lime sulfur as a preventative. All organic fungicides. I don't have any fungal problems here, but do use a preventative, as I need it for fruit trees, I hit the brambles while I'm spraying the trees.Usually early in the season before any flowers or berries. I use nothing once flowers form.

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 me musing: Learning by trial and error is one way to learn, but it's about the slowest and most difficult in terms of its potential for frustration and disappointment. If you learn all you can, and then use your practical experience to validate (prove true) what you learned instead of plodding along trying this & that and then trying to make associations between what causes had what effects, you'll be better for the choice of direction. I've witnessed in hundreds of others (thousands?) as well as in my own growing experience, people who consistently failed year after year at maintaining healthy, eye-appealing plants, learn how to correct limitations due to a few basic needs that weren't being met and in doing so turn their growing experience into something that provides rewards and satisfaction where formerly misadventures ruled. Al