Stanc, It really depends whether or not you need to do this for grooming purposes, more than anything. Most of the Gallicas form very handsome arching shrubs by about year four without any human intervention. I do not groom my Gallicas at all; I prefer their natural shape. Some of the "purebred" cultivars like 'Rosa Mundi' and 'Superb Tuscan' generally do not make very long canes but form 4 foot tall thickets whose canes tend to be quite upright. I doubt that pegging the canes will do anything but create a tangle of old and new canes that you will spend more and more time struggling to manage. Now, there are a few exceptions: the China influenced varieties like 'Duchesse de Montebello', 'Hippolyte' and the more modern Hybrid Gallicas like 'Chianti' and 'Constance Spry' which can produce canes up to 8 feet tall, perhaps even taller in shadier spots. These do tend to bloom towards the tips and these canes would definitely produce more bloom if pegged. The key here is knowing which ones are suitable for pegging and which ones are not. Regards, Paul

Dave - I use bay leaves all the time. I tend not to cook by recipe and I just put in whatever I think of at the time. In the winter I put bay leaves in any casserole or stew. It's kind of automatic like always starting with garlic and onions. Also in pasta sauces - meat, tomato matriciana - everything practically. They go well with sweet dishes too - anything with egg or milk such as custards and rice pudding. Also with stewed fruit or in an apple pie. I stick them inside chicken, duck etc when roasting and in the stock pot when I boil up bones. Suffused in the milk for bread sauce. Likewise for white sauces like bechamel or cheese sauce. Place a couple on chops under the grill (broiler??)Chuck branches on the barbecue. There's no end to their uses. I think my family's taste buds are so shot to pieces by my cavalier attitude to recipes we can barely taste any thing which doesn't have at least 6 cloves of garlic and 4 or 5 bayleaves in it. Often with a branch of rosemary in there too. As for winter hardiness - bay in the ground can survive temps below freezing for a while - it gets them where I live. In a pot it might need a bit more protection. (I'm like Daisy - I can't work out what 15 degrees might feel like.) Last winter my potted bay took minus 5 C a few times with a bit of leaf browning but the ones in the ground didn't bat an eyelid. I would suggets leaving it outside but keeping an eye on the forecast and putting it under cover if a big freeze is coming.

Welcome to OGRs, Magpie!!! 🎉🎉🎉 I am SO excited for you and your new rose acquisitions! OGRs just get better every year. I look forward to hearing about your garden as it matures and seeing photos of all those beautiful blooms. The forum has yet to invent scented posts and replies, darn it! I need to contact Burling today so I can join our Erinnerung an Brod Trio and so I can start growing that luscious purpleness ASAP and fill my very empty and impatiently waiting trellised arch. EanB is going to be a centerpiece in one of my beds. Gallicas are my passion, and a few years ago I began posting an annual Gallica entry. If my life isn’t too crazy and no one else has posted one, I usually start an Alba thread and a Damask thread, too. I grow a few mosses and sometimes throw those into the mix somewhere. I think KS started a Centifolia thread this year. Sometimes someone starts other threads like Bourbon, Tea and Hybrid Musk. Carol

@Mischievous Magpie (CO 5b) Wm Lobb is a wonderful old Moss! A thorny guy but VERY fragrant, rich and royal and velvety in color and a true classic. I think you will enjoy him, and he is going to look stunning next to Maiden's Blush--a brilliant combo! I have no business growing WL in a pot, but I desperately want him in my life again for awhile. If you wish to try another purple Gallica, I'd boldly recommend Hippolyte even though mine is still young. Francis' photo is charming! I adore my Ellen Tofflemire, too! Such a kaleidoscope of deep pink-mauve-violet! Both of these Gallicas are mannerly to my knowledge/in my experience. Tuscany Superb is very lightly fragrant but still my favorite rose ever. I swoon at its feet every spring. :-) Carol