Hi everyone! I haven't been here in a month of Sundays--lots of family/personal illness, life, etc...., but I have keep reading from time to time. I used to have 20+ roses, mostly antiques, but due to 'life' am now down to only 2 -- Mme Alfred Carriere and Don Juan. Really it's a story of survival of the fittest. These 2 have outlasted all the others through their sheer will to survive here in zone 8, with minimal to no care from me for the last few years.

Anyway, last week I put coffee grounds, epsom salts, and a little Miracle Grow on both. Lo and behold, this morning I was presented with 3 new canes on the Madame and 2 on Don--this after not presenting any canes in years! How cool is that? Life is looking up. Thank goodness for roses!

I don't know which thing encouraged the canes, but I'm going to keep doing all three. Just as an aside, the Mme and Don have bloomed themselves silly this season. I do so love them! They make my heart sing.

Thanks for being here, yall. You make a differences sometimes when you don't even know it. You certainly did for me.

Vicki