Kat....If you don't get the "Optional Link Url" box, try typing the photo link into the body of your message like this: Type it in replacing the first red text with your photo URL and the second red text with something like "Photo Two" or whatever words you want to use as the clickable link. Sharon

Defoliating a huge climbing rose is indeed a daunting prospect. However this year's cold snap in February (late for here) seems to have done it for me,and it does seem that both Clbg. Old Blush and Souv. de Mme. L. Viennot derived health benefits from losing those "zombie leaves". I could indeed see trying to find a way to defoliate especially Clbg Old Blush in the future, becuase i so love this rose's early spring flush, but the aftermath is always rather ghastly for a time as the rose drops everything in exhaustion , and tends to be covered in rather sever p-mildew. Paul Zimmerman's idea is good, but I do wonder: since I would be wanting to defoliate in winter, would the sun be strong enough to burn off the zombie leaves? And, no, I guess would not want to kill off new budeyes -or would I? because Clbg. OB IS a China. In my climate I suspect that, since it can't rest completely during winter by going dormant,it just is exhausted by June. It is too big to defoliate manually...

Thank you for all of the nice comments. As far as "have it all well under control", that is funny. We sort of do things when absolutely necessary - like pruning the huge climbers when they threaten to fall off the house, or completely obscure some of the windows. Our climate is so rose friendly that we really don't have to do much, except love the way they look when left to their own devices, instead of insisting they be neat and tidy all of the time. I have found that as long as I stick to old roses, the color combinations when they intertwine are lovely, especially when (most of the time) I did not plan them! Here are 2 pics I just took with blooms of Lavender Lassie and Mme Caroline Testout blooming alongside banksie lutea blooms, which hardly ever happens. Jackie

The hips are beautiful in winter r. Glauca has beautiful grey foliage Fall foliage and hips of r.Mulliganii Tiny foliage of Bergundian Rose Complicata hip Beautiful foliage of Edmond Proust