Rose Rootstock

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Some roses are very well behaved. (picture above)

Most of my roses are grafted on to a hardy rootstock. This method of propagation assures that the rose will be hardy in the winter freeze-thaw cycles in Pennsylvania. Also, that the roses I buy will be true to type. (Picture left shows two different types of rose on the 'Don Juan' climber.)

From C. Colston Burrell, M.S. http://home.howstuffworks.com/tips-for-growing-roses.htm , “Many hybrid tea and floribunda roses are grafted on the extra-vigorous and disease-resistant roots of other species such as multiflora or rugosa roses.”

Two of my roses have sent up shoots from below the graft. The climber ‘Don Juan’ is a tangled mess. I’ve trimmed it a bit but it is full of roses on canes that are coming from below the graft. I saw this happening the last few years. I did nothing. This year I see only one cane of the original rose.

According to Kevin C, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070809060835AAKj0qC who is, “By day, … a mild-mannered landscape consultant and horticulturist...” “Keep cutting those 'suckers' down. They can eventually kill the graft if you don't.”

It may be too late for my ‘Don Juan’.

If you’re going to do it, do it right away – as soon as you see the rootstock sprout. Or you will most likely end up with a tangled mess like mine – or worse.

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