Marie - I have a few Duchess of Albany (only because they are so very easy to propagate by just laying down a new, supple stem) and they're all growing on hydrangea Tardiva. Princess Diana grows on a Japanese maple, Scolopendrifolium.
Here the old stems do not regenerate and just look like old, gray, stems and can easily be removed. New growth springs up from the good earth in very early spring.
