Thank you, good! I haven't wrapped any whips for standards this year. I still have seven, nearly four foot whips I wrapped last year, growing in five gallon cans I will bud this summer. They are all long canes from some of my more vigorous seedlings, so they are also RMV free. I only use Miracle Gro Moisture Control Potting Soil. Though it can be foggy and damp, when the sun comes out and the winds blow, everything dries completely out in a day. The moisture control potting soil helps carry them through between waterings. I added a great deal of perlite to the potting soil to pot the bands so they can't rot. It may not be best for other areas, but for here, it's the best.

Ooh, that is so exciting. Those are some really nice looking canes. Did you make those cuts further up the canes, or are they callusing where you removed thorns?

In the budding instructions I've read, they only bud one scion node per rootstock. I'm not sure if I'm asking this right but...out of curiosity, do you ever graft more than one scion bud (2-3 of the same variety) on a rootstock? If so, do you graft them staggered or all around at the same height? I read that the standard (tree) roses have more than one grafted scion for a rounded look.

Wow! I am constantly impressed with what others accomplish..makes me want to try it! I think its above my skill level at this point, but I will continue to follow your successes! Lady Banks is a huge glorious beast in our neck of the woods. Good choice.

Hi, Mad, thank you! I removed prickles and I did scarify (scrape through the bark to expose cambium) them in hopes of increasing callus and rooting. With these, that worked. It hasn't previously. Yes, traditionally they use one scion per stock for bushes. Often standards do have two, sometimes three buds so it more easily creates a balanced, rounded head. I've not had much success in budding multiple buds all at the same height and getting them tied in properly, so mine are usually staggered. I've written before about a Baby Faurax standard I budded back in 1994 on a three foot whip of Cardinal Hume. I inserted four buds and all four took. That was a pretty standard! I gave it to a rose friend in Santa Clarita when I moved three years ago and she still grows it. The maximum number of buds I have put into a whip is 17. I had one whip available and buds of something I wanted became available, so I budded them every inch and a half or so, in hopes several would take. Unfortunately, the material wasn't sent properly (literal mud in the bag instead of damp paper) and none took, but it is possible to bud along a cane, separate and root the individual sections once the buds take. Ralph Moore did it all the time and it can work, particularly under mist.

Thanks, Gagalzone8! I think you might surprise yourself! It takes far less "skill" than "practice"!

That's amazing Roseseek, thanks for explaining the multi-scion grafting. I haven't tried grafting yet, but I have a couple extra rooted climber cuttings I might try budding on, just to see if takes.

I look forward to your updates on this project!

This is fascinating... thanks for posting.

You're welcome! I'm glad they are of interest and "inspiration"!

Update?

They rooted and have been trapped in gallon cans. I budded very few of them for a variety of reasons. We had almost no heat to make anything push. My "get up and go, got up and went", so no "projects" were accomplished and little else happened. We shall see how 2020 goes. Thanks for asking, though and happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks for the quick reply and Happy Thanksgiving to you!!! I'm going to borrow that expression in the future! : )) I do have another quick question, however that I asked in another thread,but didn't really get any answer. I read about it on the Hybridizers forum so I'm curious. How do you ensure roots once you have callus? Do you put more Rootone on them before planting. I've had poor success at this point of the game, especially as the weather cooled down. I'm not actually using the Burrito method at the moment, but am referring to cuttings that callous. Sometimes I go to repot as they look rooted, but I find only callous. Should I just stick them back in or apply more stimulant? What about those that have incipient roots?

Thank you and you're welcome! Be my guest. I believe that's an old southern expression, at least I remember hearing all the "old southerners" of my childhood repeating it. I don't know of an easy, sure-fire answer to your question. Some cuttings are destined to simply hit that callus stage and remain there until they die. Others seem to push past it with more heat. I don't think more rooting hormone would help because that is what is supposed to stimulate it to form what it has formed. You can't get roots without callus. My best suggestion is just to keep the cutting happy until it does something. Perhaps, if you can, supply the 70 F bottom heat from the heating cables used in rooting set ups? That seems logical to me at this moment. I've had more of them hit that terminal callus stage here where there is MUCH less heat than I did back where the heat was year-round. Perhaps that bottom heat is the answer? It would be nice having an answer for SOMETHING, wouldn't it? Good luck!

It's always impressed me how many good traits can be inherited from 'Blue For You', one may think that the odd coloring would come with some compromises, but it really seems to be that one-in-a-million variety!