Martin Brown wrote:
On 07/07/2017 10:20, Dan S. MacAbre wrote:
I have some roses that I quite like, but they're rather old, too. I
wouldn't expect that to be a problem, and it mostly isn't. But some
have formed a large woody lump at the base (not suprising after years
of pruning), and the plants seem only able to make new shoots around
it, coming out horizontally, which doesn't help their habit. I can
cut bits of it away, although I'm not sure that helps; but does it
mean that something else is wrong? It occurred to me that it might be
happening because the plants aren't buried deeply enough (and so not
rotting away where they should)? Or is it time to replace them?

Pegging a stem down onto a pot of compost and burying the stem might
result in it rooting down wild rose style - much like brambles do.

Or air layering. Seems more likely to work than a simple cutting.


I'm usually pretty lucky with cuttings, but I hadn't even thought of
that. But I will try it now. I suppose I was wondering if the plant
seeming to be killed off by the woody/corky base lumps are just
something that happens with age, or if it was an indication of a problem
with the affected plants.