That is absolutely shocking that you have to deal with all this in the Houston area. Really hoping for the best for the Teas needmore and all you people too.

Yeah im sorry too what you all are dealing with!

I was outside checking my roses yesterday and I'm thrilled to see some greenish canes on most of them! It looks like Princess Charlene weathered -24F tho there will be a lot to prune off.

Update - Old Blush and Mutabilis look great. Almost no die back at all. Star of the Republic has literally no die back and is leafing out (other Pioneer roses from ARE also look good). Lady of Shalott and Molineux had to be cut back by about 2/3, but Pat Austin looks really good so far. I had to cut some Kordes back to 6-12 inches, which is surprising - South Africa, Fire Opal, Jolie Veranda, and Westerland (!!!). Tangerine Skies, Plum Perfect, and Savanah look better but will need a bit of cutting back. I am still waiting on the teas. I have acouple.of beds that I haven't even looked at yet. Kinda scared.

Alameda, Rekha, Needmoremulch and Friends,

No worries! Most of your roses and plants will all spring into rebirth after you prune them as long as you see healthy roots and even one green cane. Dead Lilly leaves is normal and the bulbs will grow all new leaves. and flowers.

My roses have some black canes but all green canes on lower parts. My lillies have all dead leaves. I will remove all dead canes and leaves in preparation for all new rebirth!

Check your roses and plants for what zone they are meant to live in. Many roses and plants like bulbs are zone 5 and 6 and they are created to weather temperatures of zero or less.

For spring gardening to bring on the new rebirth of your gardens... trim away all dead leaves, canes, flowers from your plants. Remove all dead leaves from the ground of garden beds, too. Clean up like I do every spring n NY on a warm day when you know there is no more chance of frost. .Then sprinkle new enriched compost, soil , mulch and some “normal amounts of fertilizer “on your rose and flower garden beds. Perfect!

If you watch a rose pruning video it usually shows pruning back to 6 inches or a foot with leaving only 4-6 canes. It will look like a bare root rose when you purchase them. Watch a video to do it properly. In Los Angeles , CA and Portland , OR where I used to live and garden roses, I used to prune all my roses back that far every fall. Now in NY after cold winter I do the spring pruning and clean all dead lilies and plants leaves out of garden. The bulbs in the ground (lillies and such) will grow all new leaves and flowers. It is nice to prune off all the dead canes to 6-12 inches because it sends up beautiful fresh new growth. It was a way of getting rid of “dried rose thorns on old canes and any growth I didn’t like.” Then it is like having “brand new roses each spring!” You will love your new plants and gardens as they flourish again.

However, you may wish to only prune back the canes of your rose that are black If you so desire. However, keep in mind that pruning is normal to roses in all climates and they love growing new canes!!! A rosarian in Hawaii prunes his roses back too as they grow very vigorously all year around. It is a way to control the growth of your roses and help them to send up new growth-normalcy. If I lived in Texas I would prune back heavily once each year, anyway.

After pruning and new preparation of your soil it will be a few weeks and you will see beautiful new red leaves and canes on your roses. New Leaves will be sprouting all over your gardens. In 1-2 months you will see spectacular new growth everywhere and your gardens will look more beautiful than ever!

Have fun! This is an exciting time for rebirth!

I am excited to hear how your pruning and how your clean up progresses. And share photos of your gardens as they grow with more vigor than ever into “all new garden’s this year!”

Thank you Kitty for your post! I visited a rose friend yesterday and his look as bad as mine - we are both despairing. I try not to look at them every day as its too depressing. We have had a couple of days of colder days, lows above freezing but I think now that has passed and we are going to have warmer temps so hopefully they will start growing. I think I may now start pruning and will just prune them way back like you suggested. I recall pruning a Knockout way back because it was in my way and it did grow back beautifully. I just dont see many green canes - they mostly look brown and dead. Some of the more viable looking canes are a dark brown color, but after reading your post, am just going to start pruning them and see what happens. I have Mills Magic Rose Mix, and use some other organics, and will top dress them and hope for the best. The Buck roses and, surprisingly to me, most of the David Austins have green canes.

Would watering with root stimulator help any? How about fish emulsion? I use alfalfa pellets also. I do feel I am going to lose some potted ones......but I put the ones I cannot replace in my greenhouse and they are fine. Trying to look at the bright side, when I buy roses this spring I can use the excuse I am replacing the ones that died, not just adding to the collection ha ha!

I have a few Roses that have no green canes...these are the new grafted Roses planted in the fall. Most of my own root look ok, dead canes but some green lower.

Sometimes the roots are good where they meet at the stem that is hardened over brown all the time. I would wait a month after pruning and even if needed prune back to the stem. They may send out all new canes-the ones with no green canes May sprout anew.

If it’s any consolation, I started 7 new rose gardens in my life. Each time I just moved and didn’t bother to take them with me. Each garden was 30-50 roses. And now starting over on my 7th property with all new roses-it’s like a very long Christmas celebration!!! I seem to order a lot of new kinds of roses each time-great excuses to enjoy new roses. It’s been sooooo much fun!! And now I have the best roses I have ever had! My favorites!

For ordering roses... start looking now if you can as tgey are selling out at nurseries. However, local nurseries may just start selling them. And.....

HEIRLOOM ROSES sells them all year around.

And NORTHERN ROSARIUM will have a whole new stock of roses they told me to sell from MAY-OCT.

If you are hunting for a favorite rose , CALL ALL THE NURSERIES, they may have it and put it back in stock just for you. I do that sometime.

Alameda,

Your ideas to use fish E. or root hormones may work. Normal fertilizers and not over fertilizing works best. I definitely would give the garden new enriched soil (cow manure, or compost or organic Miracle Gro soil is what I do. put new soil at least around the roses... it really boasts growth!

I have not tried root hormone.

vaporvac, what do you think?

It was a beautiful day today, sunny and 66. I started looking at roses, I can now start seeing some green leaves! It was disheartening to have to cut back to 2-3" and these pruned roses look like nubs BUT there is life!! I had thought High Sheriff from Heirloom was gone, but there is green - also on others that had looked dead. I didnt remotely get to everything and I think there are going to be some potted hybrid teas, like Scentuous that I pruned, that look totally dead, no sign of life, but I can get that rose again at Chamblees [and I WILL be going!] so think if anything is totally dead [Chicago Peace doesnt look good at all, but this is easy to get] I think I can get back what I lose. I was thankfully smart enough to put small ones in pots that I cant replace [Cl. Houston Levee, a mini apricot climber, Marie Curie, The Prince/that I have babied from Freedom Gardens, etc.] in the greenhouse and they are doing great.

It is just hard for me to comprehend that these roses I have cut back to the nub even though they show green, that they will grow and become "real" roses again, but I am taking Kitty's word for it and have hope. My much loved Palatine climber Barock had to be cut back to a few inches, but its alive. So sad, it had huge thick canes and it was due to "leap" this year. Guess we will have to regress to the "creep" stage this y ear. Auguste Luise is cut down but its alive, matter of fact, all my Palatine roses appear to still be alive. Was happy to see most of the Austins are putting out. Mary Rose appeared especially hardy. Alychemist and Vielchenblau didnt miss a beat but I am worried about my big teas like Mrs. BR Cant, Mme. Berkeley, Mon. Tillier. But I can replace.....

Things look pretty sad.......I look at my raised bed by my garden cottage and can barely see the roses.......but am taking heart that with warm sun, some rain, some organics and mulch that I will start seeing some growth. Noticed my bridal wreath has tiny green leaves......I so appreciate all the words of encouragement from northern rose growers....

The last of the really cold temps look to be gone now......so can look forward to the start of spring and rejuvenation!

Judith

Judith, hang in there. I lived in Alaska 33 years and am familiar with cold. Things may regrow from the roots for you through March I am sure. Give them another month. So sad they have to grow new tops. Here, some of mine have a top but no roots because of the gophers.

You will be happily surprised I hope. I am especially pulling for your Teas.

Judith, and Friends,

Ok... we need some rejuvenation of spirits! ! Get our your batteries and charge them up to move forward with exquisite garden hopes and plans! Grateful for every green form of life bursting from the ground! How many live plants can you be grateful for?

When you are given a bunch of lemons make lemonade!

Start making your wish list for new roses. I always keep a wish list to look at and photos to give me something to look forward to!

When my garden is pruned and looks all barren I grow bulbs all around them or flowers until the roses grow. What could you put in your garden’s to give it new zest while it rejuvenates itself? Garden decorations???

How can we spice up these Texas gardens, people? Add some statues, fake flower arrangements, lawn furniture, plastic bows, blooming bulbs, blooming bushes? What is sold right now at the grocery store floral section or garden centers right now? Some new pots? It’s a wonderland of possibilities!

My garden has 70ish brown and green roses w/ canes w/ dead leaves. Not lovely! All flowers look dead (they are dormant) next to the roses. My new grass is matted and a little discolored due to snow pushing it down. Talk about dreary! It was all brand new before winter. But I have BIG PLANS! And IM EXCITED! Can’t wait to prune them, clean up, and put out new amended soil . And newly plant 40 roses I ordered. Then weed/feed/seed my lawn so it will all look brand new again. And I have lots of new plans... a new cherry tree, clematis to plant, veg gardening.... oh, I can’t wait. In one month after clean up it should start looking lovely! Thete is nothing more wonderful than a NEW GARDEN!!!!!

Your garden will look lovely too! ....You are creative and an amazing Gsrdener. You will find ways to make it beautiful! Go fo it!

Please give them time. They took a shock and now need some down time to recover. Don't be in any rush to prune anything until you start to see some new growth out there. That may take a couple of weeks for them. We cold climaters go through this every year. Many times a rose looks dead but then with time starts to grow. But it takes a longer period of warm weather than just a few days to a week. Patience is all that's needed now.

I would not suggest root stimulator or fertilizer at this point. If the roots are still a bit inactive from the cold it could burn them. And they won't be able to use it yet anyway. Once they begin to grow you know you have active roots and you can feed them tehn.

Thanks , Sell. Great advise.

it is 40 degrees in my area daily now and in 20s at night. In April it will be in 60s and finally no freezing nights. Shall I wait to see growth before pruning , also?

I have lived in NY for a few years but I am only this year learning better how to care fir my roses.

Started tackling some of the worst cases today. Here's Mrs. Dudley Cross - before about 8 x 10, after just stubs. But there is new growth from the base. I will be doing this for the next month probably. Lots of damaged teas. The chinas fared better for the most part. I have a giant Cl. Cramoisi Superieur on an arbor that is going to be a bear to tackle. My Lady Banks (have both white and yellow) look sad. Time will tell.

I love seeing the new growth, needmore. Feeling for you and your roses.

I just started my pruning yesterday. Just made a post in Antique Roses asking about my Lady Banksias [have a driveway lined with arching mature ones, fabulous in spring] and sounds like they may live but going to have to be cut to the ground. I am finding green at the bottom of many more than I expected to, but they are having to be cut down to just nubs. A few climbers are much better than expected. Surprised to find all but one David Austin has green canes that wont have to be cut way back - didnt think of them as being that cold hardy.

I am having a hard time visualizing these pathetic roses coming back from 1" of green nub to becoming green shrubs with blooms. Is this possible or will they limp along all year struggling to make leaves? I normally have blooms by April but dont see how that can happen. In 2011, we had a drought and 105 degrees for a month and it didnt do this much damage. Still waiting to prune my big teas like Mrs. BR Cant, Mon. Tillier, Mme. Berkeley, Duchesse de Brabant.

Judith

I am so sorry you all are going through this. I am glad you are all seeing signs of growth and life on your roses. It may take time to achieve their formal glory, but glad they atleast have the chance.

Hi, Judith and Needmoremulch,

I am sorry for your loss of canes but am glad to hear of the new growth. I am so happy for you that you can soon prune and clean as you are experiencing warm weather now.

This year for first time ever, only on my front yard hill, my knock out roses are somewhat needing pruned back to one inch canes and some nubs. They didn’t seem to do well even though I mulched mounds around them in fall for winter. However, next door to them all my other roses did well with long green canes. My DA weathered winter very well! Yea! DA seem to be hardy esp my zone 5 roses. Other roses did well on the hill, too. I treated them all the same. Not sure why this happened because my knock outs usually are thec best. They were heavily blooming all the way to Dec and I think they just didn’t go dormant when it first froze. Also, they are at the top of a hill, maybe exposed to most cold? Next year I may put out burlap over the entire front hill rose gardens as well as mulch.

The new roses I planted in fall and all other roses have done well this winter. Many new roses were in and still in burlap bags, but I peaked and they all look lovely green! Yea!

I am excited to see new growth when all our roses bounce back and I will wait until April or warm weather and our freezes gone to prune, still.

As soon as we see new little green growth then it’s time to prune, compost and mulch so our roses may grow and flourish again! Woohoo!

Hi, Texas Friends,

Paul Zimmerman, at Jackson & Perkin’s Roses has wonderful videos on rose care. This video shows how and when to prune roses.. when the Forsythia blooms and roses start growing a few green leaves. I am brushing up on my roses skills looking at all the rose videos and seeing what new things I can learn. (Thank you Seil for pointing out to not prune too early-be patient. Good lesson for me.) So I decided I needed to learn more and found this great video!

Paul Zimmerman encourages all of us to prune our roses and shows a few amazing simple steps in this wonderful video! Love it!

FERTILIZING?

Vaporvac or Friends,

I used to use a time release fertilizer and that was it for all my roses Spring to fall. However, in watching another Paul Zimmerman video he suggests a 3 step fertilizer program and I thought I may try it. I am wondering about what Paul Z recommends in his video?

Pail says start with the @time release product...then later every 3 weeks do the fish emulsion ... then late summer do @Rose Tone, “. I never fertilized so much before....It seems interesting... I may try it.

What do you think?

Judith, you know your Lady Banks Spring bloom may be lost this year because it blooms on old wood. Don't despair, because your other roses will bloom. So sorry you have to see this.

Your Teas will bloom hopefully.

Thank you for your words of comfort Sheila! I was in Nacogdoches, a town near where I live today, where really gorgeous azaleas grow [they love that soil]. I saw some really huge ones that looked like burned toast. They arent as cold tolerant as roses.......this is really going to be sad. The town has a yearly azalea trail......doubt there will be anything to see this year. As I said before, - I am going to look for potted Lady Banksias with buds and plant those beside the old ones just to see some of the gorgeous primrose yellow blooms - they can intermingle with the old ones that hopefully will still be alive and start growing. All my gardening friends are in the same boat - misery loves company so we are commiserating together. Going to see what my teas are doing this weekend.........I have sort of left things alone at first, waiting to see how far down the dead growth is, and seeing if the warm weather will encourage a bit of green.

Judith

Judith,

I am sorry as Texas florals were not expecting that deep freeze. The whole state needs regeneration now.

However, it must be wonderful to be able to enjoy the warmth you have now.... it was freezing here today...still! Soon you may prune and start a new. I’d like to look in the grocery stores to see what pretty plants they are selling? Maybe something blooming for the front porch to perk up your spirits? Wish I could send you a new couple of potted flowers to boast your spirits For by your front door

I just love browsing the floral department and buying those mini roses in small pots or new azaleas and lillies at the grocery store? And even buy a rose arrangement? Time to propagate roses from canes from floral arrangements or new roses you have delivered? Be careful of patents. What exciting floral projects can you start on for your garden’s in Texas? Planting any new roses?

in April I am starting growing roses from seeds. I have the seeds, vermiculite and soil already-just waiting for warm weather!

My first David Austin order arrived yesterday, as did my Palatine order with the David Austins I got in their online sale! So....tomorrow is planting day and going to be sunny and though a bit cool, will not be freezing - we are done with that!! Our "tent nursery" that opens yearly at the mall just set up and will be receiving plants this week. Nurseries are getting in their spring blooms - how can spirits be down with the coming of spring - AND the time changes a week from tomorrow! I hope I will not have to mourn too many of my roses, but have new ones to plant so will concentrate on all this and hope for the best for the ones who got zapped. Our house burned to the ground in 1994 so am familiar with loss........life goes on, I have things now that I love and treasure. Each new day brings something to be glad about. Just takes awhile to bemoan the lost roses and it was such a shock to a Southerner like me who has never seen this kind of cold - was traumatized at seeing the damage. I am blessed - the house didnt flood, though we had to redo all the PVC in the horse barn but nothing flooded. Sweet peas I planted before Snowmageddon are coming up - we are all healthy. And I wont have to feel guilty about buying new roses! All is well! I hope everyone else is OK - during these times you realize that simple things are the most important - health, heat and habitat intact.

Judith

Judith,

Oh how lovely! Beng grateful for health, heat and habitat! I am so happy for you!

(At same time-I have to super chuckle-SnowMeggadon! )Who uncovered the glacier and let the extinct SnowMeggaddon out?

I am glad you can now enjoy planting anew!

Another Snowmageddon aftermath update. Things are faring both better and worse than I expected. Some roses have continued to die back (mostly moderns). None are dead though. My teas are all going to survive, I think. The only one I'm worried about still is Mme Antoine Mari, surprisingly. No new growth yet. I have been pleasantly surprised at the French "found" teas, Laujuzan and Bassoues. I thought I'd have to cut them all the way back like a few other, but they have new growth almost everywhere! So I will have to more selectively prune. The ones that were dead almost to the snowline were almost a relief as it was cathartic to just chop them down at the base rather than have to carefully cut out the dead stuff :) Anna Jung has a ton of green cane as well. Mrs. B. R. Cant and Monsieur Tillier came through with flying colors, as did all my noisettes (including the tea-noisette Mme. E Souffrain). Perle des Jardins has surprised me with a bunch of new basals already, and Alliance Franco-Russe also looks pretty good. I thought these yellows might be the worst, but nope, they are raring to go. Le Vesuve was the most unpleasant to prune. A lot of damage - she is such a great performer I will continue to tolerate those truly nasty thorns.

Old Blush is just unbelievable. I literally just had to tidy her up a bit and she is already covered in new growth. The other chinas needed a bit more pruning, but nothing too serious. The Lady Banks are alive. They are young so I was concerned. The white looks worse, but it is also in a very exposed location.

So my Cl. Cramoisi S (Agrippina) has growth all the way up on top of the arbor, but is intermixed with a lot of dead stuff. I think we are going to take this opportunity to replace it with a less thorny option, even though it has been truly fabulous, since we have to do so much chopping anyway. We're not getting any younger. I'm thinking maybe Mme. Alfred Carriere?

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear about everything growing back so well ;)

A few comments on hmf said Bassoues tea looked like Mme Lombard, do you find that true?

Needmore, when does MAM usually bloom for you? Is she an early season bloomer or does she wait a while? You will find that the roses that normally bloom the first for you will be the first to start to show growth. Those that tend to have their bloom a little later will not begin to show growth until a little later in the spring. You will find that is true for most plants. My peonies are are already up and growing because they bloom in early June. My hollyhocks and hibiscus are no where to be seen because they don't bloom until July. Fruit trees are the same. Cherries bloom first because they ripen in July. Apples always bloom last because they do not ripen until September. Some things just need a longer period of warmth before they wake up and get started in the spring.

Alana, I have grown Mme. Lombard before, and I would say no. Bassoues is much less thorny, and has a more graceful habit, imo. I think Mme Lombard blooms were somewhat larger, iirc. Definitely a similar, classic tea variable bloom coloration. Both worthwhile.

Seil, MAM is usually an early bloomer for me. :( I though she had a reputation as one of the hardier teas, which is another reason I am surprised. Not digging her up yet, though. I will wait another month.

As for pruning, don't be fooled by some early leaf growth. That growth is coming from the stored energy in the canes from last season. If you do not see other plants in your area, like the forsythia, growing and blooming then the soil has not warmed up sufficiently for the plants and roots to begin active growth. Until that happens the rose can not support itself. It will use up what ever energy it has stored and then die off if the roots are not able to take up nutrients to continue to feed the plant. Pruning only serves to make the plant want to grow more using more of that energy up. Not to mention that pruning will remove precious cane that has that energy storage. That's why I never prune in the fall and always wait until later to prune in the spring. I have pruned as late as May 1st here because it wasn't warm enough for long enough for the roses to really start to grow.

Seil, the redbuds, peaches, etc. are blooming. Before the freeze hit, I had a few roses that were almost ready to be in full bloom. Few were dormant - another reason it hit some of them so hard I expect.

Hi, Seil,

I am so grateful you know so much about roses.

Thank you for your ideas on pruning and waitibg for the forsythia. That is tough. I don’t know when that will happen... mid-April or May, here In NY. I guess I will wait. I am do new snd learning to deal with this NY climate after 4 years. This forum is finally helping me to do it right.

Needmoremulch,

I am amazed to hear all the varieties of roses you have. Sounds like you have mainly Antique roses. Madame A Marle is a beautiful antique!!! Is there any green in the canes of Mme A Marle? It sounds like you have many extraordinary varieties. I am so sorry about your loss. I know how it feels to see my roses mainly black stemed such as mine on front top of hill. (They are fine on other parts of my property). But I am happy to hear much of your roses are growing!

Did you have the big 5 ft snow in Colorado? What is your weather usually like this time of year? You said your roses were getting ready to bloom? Wow, they must have been growing awhile? I hope it all warms for you now and you can recover and start enjoying the spring! Best Wishes!

Love to see photos of your (old garden) roses from last summer? It sounds like a very special rose garden!

I started pruning last year starting 3/20 which is when the forsythia started blooming. It took me into April to finish them all.

Vapor,

That is wonderful! It was warm in March last year. I hope it continues to warm this March so I could prune!!! Can’t wait to see the forsythia bloom! Thanks, Vapor for the tip!!!

We have another couple weeks of snowstorms predicted...the main snow cover is melted back enough to see that most of the roses have a good amount of green cane left so I will do a survival update when they start to leaf out.

Hooray! Mme Antoine Mari is growing new basals from the base. She has unusually dark brown canes naturally, which is why I couldn't really tell until I really started cutting back. I probably cut her back harder than ultimately needed, but at that point I was really tired of trying to discern good wood from bad, after pruning so many roses, so I just cut her back hard. This means I haven't lost a single rose yet (I realize I'm not out of the woods. Canker always looms after this kind of thing). Even my Banksias are putting on some blooms!

Vaporvac so glad to hear that your dad is doing better! Hope he continues to do well!

I have already pruned for nearly a week now here. No forsythia bloom yet, but everyone is budding and very actively here.
I decided to do it before I leave to visit my grandfather for vacation in a week and a half.
They'd be growing whether I pruned them or not is the main thing.

Even my super hardy gooseberry bushes (Ribes) are leafing out!

Here's a smattering of what's going on...

Vap, I somehow missed the post about your Dad. Im so glad that he is being released and feeling better. Prayers that he continues to recover quickly.

Great news, vap!

MIGreen, looking real good! I haven't started to prune yet here but things are starting to grow so it will be soon. I usually start the 1st of April so I will probably wait for that.

Vapor,

Im so happy your dad is better coming home! Yay! Blessings!

Hi, Greenthumb, Seil, Vapor,

Love to see your gardening now on the Spring Thread!

Vapor, Have you pruned your roses yet?

Seil, How are your gardens doing! Can’t wait to see your pruned rose photos.

Joey, I hope you are keeping warm and drinking lots of hot chocolate w/marshmallows! I just eat a lot of hot foods for breakfast/lunch and dinner and bake until the cold passes. tomorrow we make cookies! (It ranges in 50-60F now.... but cool in mornings, evenings. House is cool so I bake! Would you like some warm pancakes, sausage and baked fruit sauces? Or chocolate pancakes? Black berry pancakes are fun! Hot Mochachinos are good! Or what would you like? He, he! My mom and dad are from Wyoming. Wishing you warm thoughts to warm you and your roses!

Greenthumb, your daffodils are in full bloom and hyacinth, Woohoo! Lovely! Nice prune job on your roses-they look about same as my budding roses that I just pruned yesterday.. Oh, so cool-you have gooseberries. I once had gooseberry pie-yummy! How do you use the gooseberries?

Kitty, thank you for the kind words; these are quite sweet a wine red when fully ripe. I usually just eat them fresh off the bush!
My bush (which became two when I dug it) is my Grandmother's and was at her house ever since I can remember. After she passed, I made sure to get starts of as many of her plants I could.

Steven
Last year and some darn cute baby raccoons stripped my bushes bare before fruit was fully ripe. Dang it!

It's probably hard to be mad at baby raccoons. Even the grown ups are impossibly cute.

It is hard. They were so curious. I made the mistake of setting my coffee down one day (black with sugar). Of course they happened to find it and that was a hilarious scene. Only one kept trying it, but they were obviously bewildered by the hot, bittersweet liquid. You could almost see them saying "Yeck!"

Seil! I'm not sure about you, but the forsythia is beginning to bloom here!

Steven

Thanks Ya'll, had to order some gooseberries to try, lol!

My Forsythia have some fat buds but no blooms yet, Steven.

Seil, Steven,

Yea, Forsythia budding!