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Random stems of roses growing very tall...

sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
in Plants
Hello,

I have a type of rose bush..i've noticed over the last month, a few rose stems shooting up around it..

They just seem to be just growing straight up in the air! and not stopping growing :neutral:

They don't look right on the front of the house...what shall/can I do? (I don't actually know what they are/type)

They're not from the same rose bush, although they come up just around the base of it.

Thank you!





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Posts

  • ZeroZero1ZeroZero1 Posts: 577
    Often a rose is grafted onto a root stock. My knowledge is old school, but they used to be six leaved, rather than five. If the growth comes from the root stock, just cut it down. 
  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344

  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    Thank you for your reply ZeroZero1

    Here is a photo of the base...actually, not sure if that photo makes things any clearer!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,130
    Looks to me like that green stem is coming up from below soil level so is likely to be a sucker from the rootstock.  It will be more vigorous than the rose variety and eventually take all the nutrients and water so remove it with a good, sharp pair of secateurs and below soil level if possible.

    The usual advice is just to pull them off at the root as this stops them re-growing but, in fact, I have always found that almost impossible on established roses so just keep cutting.  Less wear and tear on me too.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 83,826
    edited September 2018
    The thing about the number of leaflets indicating whether or not it's a sucker is a myth as many types of roses have more than five leaflets, depending on their ancestry, because lots of old shrub and specie roses have more and varying numbers of leaflets.

    That being said I'm wondering whether those long canes are sucker growth, or whether the roses are ramblers or climbers sending up new shoots from the base.  From all those lovely hips I'm thinking it may be a rambler ........ 

    @Marlorena is the person who would know ............ hopefully she'll see this  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 7,851
    I should like to know the name of the rose if you have it please..?
    Or any idea how long the rose has been in the ground for, how many years?
    Does it flower only in June/July or do you get later blooms?
    Are they white ?  

    All the canes on your rose have thorns, even those really tall ones... modern sucker rootstock generally doesn't have thorns, or very few... and the leafage is a bit different to what I'm seeing..

    After this hot summer, when so many roses went to sleep... I'm now seeing excessive growth on a number of my roses too, big long octopus shoots flying up everywhere... without seeing more close ups of foliage or knowing anything more about your rose, all I can suggest is that if you don't like those tall canes, then cut them out at the base, or at the height that you can manage, you don't have to keep all those canes..

    It's not possible to be more specific at this stage, without actually seeing or knowing a lot more about your rose there... 
    East Anglia, England
  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    Thank you everyone for your replies

    Marlorena, thank you, I don't know much about this rose bush as I have moved in recently.  I have seen on google street view that the bush has been there for at least 10 years.

    Here are some more photos:

    Closer look at base:



    Leaves of main rose bush



    Leaves of the side shoots that have appeared



    Don't know if that helps?

    Thank you
  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    edited September 2018
    The side shoots are distinctly a lighter green in colour than the main rose bush.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 83,826
    New shoots are often a lighter/brighter colour than the older ones.

    I don't think that one's a sucker at least.  I'd keep that and cut out the old darkest stem that it's coming from, right down low ... about an inch above the new cane.  That'll help rejuvenate the bush, replacing old stems with new ones.    I'd also try to train the new growth as close to horizontal as possible, if there's room ... that'll encourage it to produce lots of sideshoots next year and the side shoots produce the flowers.

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • sabeehasabeeha Posts: 344
    Thank you Dovefromabove!

    What I don't understand is that this new shoot is really long - if I were to take your advice and trim the old one off, then won't the rose bush lose its 'bush' shape? 

    I'll see how I can think about training it - just to see what happens - It is in front of a window so not sure how it would work.

    I think i need to seriously read up on roses  :#
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