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My established Rosa de Rescht are turning into a thicket

Heather HarrisonHeather Harrison Posts: 5
in Problem solving
I have had these wonderful, vigorous old roses for over 10 years. During the last few years,  extra stems have arisen arisen further away from the parent plant. They are not just suckers though and have flowers that are true to type. I don't want a thicket developing though. They were planted with the root stock below the soil, as is current advice nowadays. Could it be this that's causing the unwanted extra stems?  Would it be feasible to dig them up in autumn and replant a bit higher with the rootstock at ground level instead?

Posts

  • JemulaJemula Posts: 196
    I have had this rose, also for around 10 - 12 years and I have the same problem.  I love Portland roses and also have Jacques Cartier, Comte de Chambord and Indigo.  RdeR is the only one that does this. I have had new ones coming up nearby - some poking up in the middle of other plants and even a couple in the gravel path - for a couple of years. I have dealt with it by digging the root back to near the parent plant (in late autumn or winter).  Alternatively I have potted a couple up.  Indigo is my favourite but I love them all. They are all really easy to propagate by hardwood cuttings in late autumn too - obviously I don't need to do this for RdeR!
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    'Rose de Rescht' is a noted suckerer for some people and not for others.  Yours has obviously put down its own roots and may have discarded the rootstock...    after 5 or 6 years this rose tends to start to sucker some distance from the plant and you can only dig these out at a convenient time.  You can also do as you suggest, that is dig up the rose and replant it, where it will behave for a few years before starting out all over again with the suckering - most likely... but you could also do what you thought and plant with the bud union a couple of inches above soil level, providing the rootstock is still in place and alive.. you will have to judge that when you dig it up....   I dug one up once and all the rootstock fell away leaving only the own roots...   which was quite a shock.... 

    See how you get on with that...

    East Anglia, England
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