ok... with those extra photos - thank you for that - I can see better what's happened there... if there was an original rose in place, or still is, it has been taken over by the rootstock.. all those hips are from the rootstock rose.. rosa corymbifera 'laxa'...
It doesn't look as though there is any of the original rose left, if there ever was one, but this rose isn't usually planted, but if the first rose got dug up or died, then the rootstock can grow back and appear as though it's the only rose growing there... all those long canes are from the rootstock..and is typical growth pattern for this rose...
Lovely hips, some of the best for culinary purposes if you want them... but that's what you've got in my opinion...the foliage, the few thorns spaced out...the hips..the mostly smooth green canes, all say this to me... The shape and colour of the hips too.. very 'laxa'...
I'm not sure there's any of the original rose left, sabeeha will know next year when she sees some blooms on the rose, she may notice different types of blooms on different canes... The question mark I still put is whether I've got the wrong rootstock, as I can see quite a few thorns on some canes, and foliage which resembles rosa canina the dog rose more than laxa, which is closely related but a little different.. the hips are almost identical...
I shall check my local hedgerow later but if anyone has the dog rose in their garden perhaps they could compare..?.. hips and foliage..
Thank you Dovefromabove, Hostafan1 for all your comments!
Treehugger I will have another nosey at the base to see whats happening. I didn't water it at all actually!
Marlorena so basically, if I understand you correctly - the original rose that was there has gone, and the bush that I have consists of older growth from 'suckers' from the rootstock which have been pruned over the years to look like a bush - and new suckers,which have lighter green stems as they are new growth.
@sabeeha ...yes that's what I'm thinking, and it seems other members generally agree on that... what I don't know for sure if there was ever another rose there in the first place, or if such a rose is still there, with a cane or two, but has been swamped by the wild rose... You will know for sure next summer when you get flowers... If the flowers are a single white rose with just 5 petals, then it's likely to be the common rootstock used now, if they are pinker, like a blush pink, it would be more like the native dog rose, that used to be used as rootstock... if you get larger flowers that look more like a modern rose on some canes, then that is the original variety that is still hanging in there, somehow..
Whatever, you can cut those canes back, so you can manage it better, so prune by all means, I would cut those long canes back to the level of the rest of the plant, as it's quite unruly as it is, and see what it does next year... get back to us on this please, it will be good to see what happens...
Hi @sabeeha I’ve got a lovely rose bush, and just a couple of feet away from it it pretty much exactly the same thing. Two huge stems , so I left them all spring and summer to see if anything happened - no flowers, no hips, no branching.
I figure they are just suckers and lost patience, so I trimmed them back to old wood. I’ve got nothing else to put in so they’ll have another chance next year - they were just getting in the way!
Posts
ok... with those extra photos - thank you for that - I can see better what's happened there... if there was an original rose in place, or still is, it has been taken over by the rootstock.. all those hips are from the rootstock rose.. rosa corymbifera 'laxa'...
It doesn't look as though there is any of the original rose left, if there ever was one, but this rose isn't usually planted, but if the first rose got dug up or died, then the rootstock can grow back and appear as though it's the only rose growing there... all those long canes are from the rootstock..and is typical growth pattern for this rose...
Lovely hips, some of the best for culinary purposes if you want them... but that's what you've got in my opinion...the foliage, the few thorns spaced out...the hips..the mostly smooth green canes, all say this to me...
The shape and colour of the hips too.. very 'laxa'...
I know a bit about roses ... she knows a lot ... a great deal more than I do
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The question mark I still put is whether I've got the wrong rootstock, as I can see quite a few thorns on some canes, and foliage which resembles rosa canina the dog rose more than laxa, which is closely related but a little different.. the hips are almost identical...
I shall check my local hedgerow later but if anyone has the dog rose in their garden perhaps they could compare..?.. hips and foliage..
Treehugger I will have another nosey at the base to see whats happening. I didn't water it at all actually!
Marlorena so basically, if I understand you correctly - the original rose that was there has gone, and the bush that I have consists of older growth from 'suckers' from the rootstock which have been pruned over the years to look like a bush - and new suckers,which have lighter green stems as they are new growth.
So I can then just prune them?
...yes that's what I'm thinking, and it seems other members generally agree on that... what I don't know for sure if there was ever another rose there in the first place, or if such a rose is still there, with a cane or two, but has been swamped by the wild rose...
You will know for sure next summer when you get flowers... If the flowers are a single white rose with just 5 petals, then it's likely to be the common rootstock used now, if they are pinker, like a blush pink, it would be more like the native dog rose, that used to be used as rootstock... if you get larger flowers that look more like a modern rose on some canes, then that is the original variety that is still hanging in there, somehow..
Whatever, you can cut those canes back, so you can manage it better, so prune by all means, I would cut those long canes back to the level of the rest of the plant, as it's quite unruly as it is, and see what it does next year... get back to us on this please, it will be good to see what happens...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
& Dovefromabove... Will be sure to update!
I'm quite interested to see what happens too!
I figure they are just suckers and lost patience, so I trimmed them back to old wood. I’ve got nothing else to put in so they’ll have another chance next year - they were just getting in the way!