42 Rose Gardening: own-root roses:
Description
This article is from the Rose Gardening FAQ, by Bill Chandler chandler@austin.ibm.com, Jolene Adams jolene@cchem.berkeley.edu, Brent C. Dickerson odinthor@csulf.edu, Karen Baldwin kbaldwin@veribest.com, and many contributors
42 Rose Gardening: own-root roses:
An own-root rose is a plant whose rootstock (the roots) is the same variety
as the top of the plant.
Grafted roses, commonly referred to as budded plants, are plants where the
desired rose is grafted or budded onto a rootstock of a different type. The
point where the desired variety and the rootstock meet is called the bud
union.
Own-root roses are usually recommended for those in very cold climates. This
is because an own-root rose that dies back to the ground during the winter
can grow back the next year from the roots. If a grafted rose dies back to
the ground, what will come up next Spring is the rootstock variety, usually
an undesireable variety of rose.
Even if a rose doesn't die back to the ground. Sometimes a shoot will emerge
from the rootstock. If the rose is grafted, this shoot is called a sucker,
and will be the same variety of the rootstock, not the desired plant. When
this happens with own-root roses, the shoot will be of the desired variety.
New canes can emerge each year from the bud union of grafted roses. After
many years, the bud union of grafted roses can become large and knobby and
eventually run out of places for new canes to emerge from. This is not a
problem for own-root roses, since they lack the knobby bud union of grafted
roses. Therefore, grafted roses may not last as long as own-root roses.
Most roses are sold as grafted plants, since it is more economical than
selling own-root plants. A common rootstock is "Dr. Huey", used by J&P and
Roses of Yesterday and Today and other nurseries in the western US. It does
well in alkaline soils. "Dr. Huey" has a dark red bloom about 2 1/2 inches
in diameter. R. multiflora is commonly is in the eastern US. It prefers acid
soil. Wayside uses "Manetti" rootstock.
There has recently been some discussion about R. fortuniana rootstock. It is
primarily used in Florida where its root knot nematode resistance is
important. Its fine, spreading root network is good for sandy soils. It is
not considered to be freeze hardy, so it is only recommended for mild
climates.
Don't confuse own-root roses with bare-root roses, the terms refer to
different things. Roses are usually sold either bare-root (no soil around
the roots) or potted in containers. Bare-root roses can be either own-root
or grafted. Bare-root roses tend to be less expensive than potted roses.
Since they are lighter (no soil) than potted roses, most mail-order roses
are bare-root.
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