Hello. I am not regular here, and I am also quite inexperienced when it
comes to roses. Can someone explain the following?

Two years ago I planted a rose - Mr. Lincoln. It grew normally, had
beautiful flowers, and towards the Fall it sprouted a strange looking twig
with small leaves on it. I left it alone, curious about what was
transpiring.

This Spring, the strange looking twig is covered with buds that are about to
bloom. It looks like a climbing rose.....
The rest of the rosebush is also full of buds.

Can anybody explain what happened to Mr. Lincoln? Why half of the rosebush
is climbing rose, and the other half remained just a rosebush? What exactly
IS going on?

I am glad that it grows by the fence. If it decides to be all climbing rose,
it will have something to cling to. Nevertheless, it is weird...

When you see the buds on this "new" thing they are likely to be single
form blooms of a red color. That is if the "sprout" you talk about came
out below the Bud Union (the bump where the rose grows away from the
roots. If it is what I described you have a sucker growing from your
root stock. Dig out below the bud union and pull down on the sucker to
remove it. That removes the growing portion of the sucker that has
sprung from the roses roots.

If you don't live in Florida you probably have Dr. Huey as your root
stock and Mr. Lincoln as the desired rose. Some areas of the deep south
use a different root stock due to the nematodes. I don't remember the
color of that root stock bloom.


Maggie's Mom wrote:
Hello. I am not regular here, and I am also quite inexperienced when it
comes to roses. Can someone explain the following?

Two years ago I planted a rose - Mr. Lincoln. It grew normally, had
beautiful flowers, and towards the Fall it sprouted a strange looking twig
with small leaves on it. I left it alone, curious about what was
transpiring.

This Spring, the strange looking twig is covered with buds that are about to
bloom. It looks like a climbing rose.....
The rest of the rosebush is also full of buds.

Can anybody explain what happened to Mr. Lincoln? Why half of the rosebush
is climbing rose, and the other half remained just a rosebush? What exactly
IS going on?

I am glad that it grows by the fence. If it decides to be all climbing rose,
it will have something to cling to. Nevertheless, it is weird...

"Maggie's Mom" wrote:
Two years ago I planted a rose - Mr. Lincoln. It grew
normally, had beautiful flowers, and towards the Fall
it sprouted a strange looking twig with small leaves on it.
I left it alone, curious about what was transpiring.
[...]

If the odd twig came from the base of the rose, particularly
from below the graft union (almost all commercial roses
are grafted), it's sprung from the rootstock, which is probably
of a rose called "Dr. Huey," aka "Shafter." That's sort of
a climber, blooms only once a year, and has red flowers,
not fully double, lighter in hue I think than those of
"Mr. Lincoln."

It's just barely possible that it's a sport, a branch that acts
like a climber, sprung from a mutated cell in a bud of
"Mr. Lincoln." Occasionally such a somatic mutation will
result in a climbing branch on a non-climbing rose, from
which one can take cuttings and propagate what's considered
a new variety. It's not likely but it does happen occasionally.
If memory serves, the climbing form of "Mr. Lincoln" in
commerce showed up in India some years ago.

See where this oddball branch comes from, and what sort of
flowers it bears. If they're "Dr. Huey" flowers you're best
off pruning the thing away. If it's not from the base and the
flowers look like "Mr. Lincoln" flowers, you probably
have a climbing sport -- but again, such things are rare.

Mark.

Thank you so much for the advice. I had no idea what was going on. I will
check where this strange climbing branch originates, and will follow your
advice.

I will also keep you posted on this new development.

Again, big thanks to all of you. - Maggie's Mom.

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=1550

Maggie's Mom wrote:

Thank you so much for the advice. I had no idea what was going on. I will
check where this strange climbing branch originates, and will follow your
advice.

I will also keep you posted on this new development.

Again, big thanks to all of you. - Maggie's Mom.

OK, so it IS a sucker.... it blooms something gorgeous, though. Does not
smell at all, or at least not that I can detect.
Why a "sucker"?
What would happen if I just left it alone on Mr Lincoln? Would it kill the
rose? Alter it somehow? Has anybody had a first hand experience with a
"sucker"?

Shame it is not a mutation... (

"Maggie's Mom" wrote in
message news:tT9sc.100134$536.18185832@attbi_s03...
OK, so it IS a sucker.... it blooms something gorgeous,
though. Does not
smell at all, or at least not that I can detect.
Why a "sucker"?
What would happen if I just left it alone on Mr Lincoln?
Would it kill the
rose? Alter it somehow? Has anybody had a first hand
experience with a
"sucker"?

Shame it is not a mutation... (

Sorry I can't find your earlier post so I may
be off base here about the conditions you're
describing.

Canes that grow from *below* the bud union
are growing from the rootstock - often Dr.
Huey (red blooms in spring, little/no scent).
The rootstock will take over Mr. Lincoln
and kill Mr. Lincoln. It's called "reversion".

I lost several roses that way before I realized
what was happening.

Some people prefer "own root" roses since
reversion can't happen, but not all roses do
well as own roots. I have both types (grafted
and own root) and can't assert that one
necessarily does better than the other. Other
rosarians might have different experiences.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8

"Maggie's Mom" wrote in
message news:qSbsc.13675$af3.754336@attbi_s51...

"Gail Futoran" wrote in
message

...

[snips]

I lost several roses that way before I realized
what was happening.

Have you tried to plant the "sucker" by itself? Will it
grow if I do?

Wow, I don't know. Worth trying, I guess.
If it's a long cane, you can cut it about 8" down
from the tip, strip off the bottom set or two of
leaves, stick it in some potting soil & spray with
water daily (or make a plastic bag or jar "tent"
to keep moisture in) until you see new growth.
Keep out of direct sun. Dappled sun ok.
Different people have different methods. That
one tends to work for me.
www.ars.org probably has some articles on
propagating roses.

The one Dr. Huey I allowed to grow had
completely taken over whatever it was the
rootstock for. I transplanted it and it did
just great in the new location.

Thank you for the warning, I will just wait long enough
for it to bloom out
(it is beautiful) and then I will remove it.

All the way to where it attaches to the main
root.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8