I missed a bunch here...I worked late last night.
Ken- thanks for posting the pics..I did see the post and using the big can as a reference...its hard to tell from pix sometimes the size ...thats why a I put a golf ball in some of my pix. So your plants goes a ways into answering my question about the advantage of a mid-section rooting. To me they should be better because you will get a larger root ball quicker because of the circumference of the base. The roots start from the outer edge skin, and so does limb growth. I think of the white inner part as the pipeline that feeds the moisture and nutrients up through the plant. I think the large pipeline should be better at making a bigger healthier plant than a 1" diameter branch. Time well tell. Thanks for posting Ken
Gigi- Beautiful blooms on your J23, awesome. I love Hausten Whites, but I have only seen them in pictures.Yours looks to be an awesome plant...5 new stems off a bloom is incredible. Our best grower is what we used to think was a Sally Morange, but we finally realized we didnt get it from a Sally, we just thought it was because it looked like the pictures. Today we call De Luna Madre until we can sort it out. (She is pic of the big rootball growing at the first of this thread). She grows fast, blooms to the max, is almost disease resistant (we get rust around here and she will be in the middle of others with it, and she gets nothing) and she is the best at being resistant to freezes. We have purchased many plants whose blooms we loved, but they were terrible growers....we are starting to work with the growers and drop the problem children! lol
I also agree short is better, we feel fortunate we were forced to cut as ours, as last summer..I was dragging around an 8' ladder just to take pictures. Debbi doesn't like ladders, so she misses out on the smells. Now everything is the perfect height and we can do our evening strolls looking for new crowns and enjoying the blooms without a neck ache. Plus we have more plants!
Cheryl- I am excited to see you enthused about your new love. I agree to let it bloom the way it is, then to do what Gigi did with hers. Debbi is TERRIBLE about cutting up our babies...she is getting better, but it is hard thing today. Read up and get advice when you are ready. You will end up with a better plant you can enjoy!
Hetty- Thanks for the levity in pointing out what a tree is! lol. Most of the time I talk about size in reference to what I have. I would love to go to Dean Conklin Gardens in Hawaii to see real trees!
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/f...
Since we never go more than 4 years without debilitating freezes, ours only get so big before the reset button is hit. I am really anxious to see how my mature root balls do with their re-birth. I know in 2010 when Sally was frozen back, she re-bounded soooo fast growing from a twig in May to being 5ft and 8 ft wide and crowned 3 times by Sept 1. She is twice as big this year as she was in 2010..she has been in the ground in this location for 10 years...the others for 4 years and they aren't growing near as fast.
Thanks everyone!
