Never had Roses Before!!

[rodriguezpoultry]

We found a rose bush (poor thing) in our yard of the house we're buying. It has buds on it, a dark shade of Pink...Magenta? Anyway, it's been pruned to heck and alot of it is rotted through and dead-looking. I've weeded around it, fertilized it and have put some potting soil on it. I found a tiny plant next to it that looked similar to the rose bush. It's now in a pot where nobody can weed-whack it.

Anyway, is there a way to bring the bug rose bush/twigs around? There is little to no leaf development and much of the stems are brown and brittle. I can take pics tomorrow if that will help??

Any advice for the little plant in the pot?

 

[vfem]

I suggest you transplant it where you want to keep it permanently in Feburary next year and really trim in down as much as you can. Give it a good feeding in mid-March and I think it may come back. Don't do too much to it now, just pamper it and try not to move it too much any more this year. Wait until its dormant again.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Sothe little plant..does it need to be transplanted ASAP or can it be overwintered indoors to keep it from becoming deer chow until it's bigger? The size of the small plant is literally no larger than two baby spinach leaves together.

 

[digitS']

Rodriquez, I have propagated roses but in a special chamber for that sort of thing - in a greenhouse setting. Using cuttings, perlite and a misting system - it was really quite easy.

Anyway, I'm sure that growing new bushes from your plants is a possibility - if you'd like to preserve what you have that way.

There is a risk that the one you are working with - besides being in rather serious straights - was grafted onto a rootstock and your new little plant is a shoot from that root. It may be nothing like what you are hoping for. Still, it's worth a try and its small size now indicates that it may actually be an ornamental variety.

Steve

 

[vfem]

Don't bring it in for winter, it needs those cold months to go dormant and be in a 'deep' sleep so when you transplant in the late winter and prune it it's like going under for a doctor when it needs the surgery!

Steve is right, that rose may be a root stock so it may not be the rose you want if you try to grow another bush from cuttings. Same goes for many fruit trees!

 

[lesa]

I have a very old climbing rose, that sent up another small bush. I really didn't think it would transplant, or be true to its mother plant. But, of course, I tried it anyway. It took right off- and blooms exactly like the original! If I had been optimistic enough, I would have planted it in a better spot- but I really didn't think it would survive. I would just put that little plant in the ground- in a safe place and let nature take its course!

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Does it being from a root mean that it won't flower at all? I'm not particular about colors...just want something pretty to look at.

Should I continue feeding/fertilizing the big plant or leave it alone? How do I prune? What parts do I prune off? At the moment, I've already given it some Miracle Grow all purpose plant food (water soluble) and put potting soil around the base. I've pruned off most of the dead roots but left the big ones that the plant grew from. Anything else I can do for it? Oh! I noticed several holes in the leaves so I've put Sevin dust on it.

 

[digitS']

It seems that sometimes the rootstock just never blooms but I've only been faced with this a few times. For someone who used to tend 1,000's of roses, I have very few and very poor luck growing them. Greenhouse culture is quite different from outdoors.

Probably just removing the dead material is enuf for this year! Keep it watered and see what it looks like in 2012.

. . . best I can think of.

Steve

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Can anyone post a photo of what a small rose seedling/sprout looks like?? I'm afraid I might have inadvertently picked up poison ivy....

 

[silkiechicken]

A small rose plant popping up from the roots will look exactly like the parent plant... at least mine do, and I trim them all off if they are root off shoots b/c the few I have are grafted hybrid teas. Hope it wasn't poison ivy!

As for dead branches... If it is dead dead, I just cut mine off, in the winter after it goes dormant, I tend to whack the bushes down to maybe 18 inch long canes if they are healthy, or cut them off near the crown/base area. Usually for the winter, rose bushes at home look like 3-4 sticks poking out of the ground. Spring rolls around and from these 3-4 thorny sticks, emerges new canes.