Thanks Terry. Are your cuttings s.a.c.? I searched the net alot and couldn't find an a-z way of doing this. Finaly I searched the british clem soc. And they had some info there. I didnt do everything they said as I was already done. I wondered about sealing plants in plastic bags. The Brits say to do it. I also read somewhere the younger the cuttings the more chance for rot. The brits also say that bottom heat and light are good. But bottom heat is not absolutly needed. So right now mine are in my shed in bags. If I see any mold I will Take them out. It seems to me that if you can water these any time you want, why the bags? I put a peace of marble on top of an electric heater set on low, and put the pots on them. It keeps the shed about 45f and warms the soil. Hope this works. Filix

Now is not an ideal time to prune. Colder weather later in the season could very well damage wood exposed by this late pruning and increase winter dieback. I'd wait until late winter/early spring after the worst weather has passed and examine for truly deadwood then and remove. Nikko Blue behaves rather idiosyncratically compared to most macs and will often produce blooms despite rather severe pruning. Regular fertilizing, as is necessary for any containerized plants, may encourage more flowers. As to the look of the plant from the photos, if these were taken any time recently, I am confused as to what you are worrying about. It looks great, all things considered. It is the first of November afterall and even here in the rather mild PNW, most hydrangeas are looking pretty crappy - even more so now that we have just experienced our first hard frost. The only ones that look the slightest bit decent are the oakleafs which are in full fall color and hold their leaves well in cold.

The ones leafing out and shiny tips are the ones I got from Aloha. They've been in the bottles for 4 weeks now. No visible roots yet, but I don't touch them or pick them up to see. I have them in 5 gallon pots, 4 bottles to pot. However, the ones I got from Derrick have only been in the bottles for a week---and I just ordered 12 more. LOL I'm figuring doing the heat mat for them. I have a room with sliding glass doors facing south so they would get sun daily (at least when the morning overcast clear up). Of course, here is SoCal we still have maybe a couple more months of 70 and 80 degree temps so they may just get started before having to bring them in. Trying to get a jump on next spring. :)

I think (and this is not based off any personal experience with rootstock suckering, just my guess from things I've read on here) that if you cut the blooms off of canes that the plant is now actively working on growing, it is just going to try to regrow more leaf/cane tissue where you pruned (idk about flowers, I think Dr. Huey is once blooming?) Anyways, I think the only way you're going to prevent Dr. Huey from trying to regrow over and over is if you get to this undertaking. Get in there and snap off the canes as far down as you can get to damage them, I've read that works better than clean cuts. The longer you let the rootstock go, the less energy is going to your Chrysler Imperial. I don't think the advice will change much from what you got on your last thread about this. Just rip that bandaid off and operate on the rose you want to save.