Zuzu - also, probably what was happening is that Steve suffered from what I suffer from: winterkill on the canes. My poor roses usually almost die 100% to the ground, or about 6" off the ground (or wherever the mulch is protecting them). That's why I have to do major major major pruning in the spring: to cut away the winterkill. The new canes that grow up are usually so much smaller than the original canes that were on the plant that I planted the year previously. That's why I'm shocked when some of my roses get bigger than 2-3'. That seems to be almost the max that most of them get for me.
