Hi Klk,

Probably the best place to ask question about Roses is the Rose Forum, I am fairly new to gardening in the MW and they have been a fount of knowledge for me.

As far as food "well rotted horse manure" is always a good bet, if you have access to a stable they are more often than not happy to get rid of it

Power to your trowel

Steve the UKtransplant

P.S. I have bought two GS Roses this year and am training them up a fence with a trellis on top. Hoping I do not need a body bag.

Is there a way you can put it in a large container with a decorative trellis, or trained up an obelisk etc? And would you possibly have room to leave the canes up over the winter? Bare roses can look beautiful in winter, especially when they are trained on something attractive (like a copper obelisk or a bent willow tepee (both of which you can make yourself.)

The thing is, I don't recommend cutting this completely down each season. Even though Golden Showers can bloom some on new wood, I think you're going to have a tough time of getting much bloom that way in Chicago, and maybe not even enough to justify calling it a climber.

Have you thought about a Polyantha rose like The Fairy or Little White Pet? They're beautiful, they're literally covered with dozens or on a mature plant hundreds of blooms at once (much more floriferous than most other roses except maybe some of the once-blooming OGRs), even the foliage is dark and glossy, they're very very disease resistant, they thrive on neglect - and their size is perfect for balconies and containers. They're dwarf but not too dwarf, and they have a nice spreading habit - some, like the Fairy, are more prostrate/weeping, and some are mannerly mini-climbers. Not all of them are hardy in 5b, but some, like the Fairy, is hardy here with no protection. (The Fairy's only drawback is that it has no scent - but some of the other polyanthas are very fragrant also!

...In any case, they're likely to stay enough in bounds so that you don't have to chop 'em when you store your pots for the winter. :)

that's my unsolicited $0.02 anyway.