They sound like suckers niall1. Look at your rose and trace where they are coming from. If they are traced back to under the rootstock union then pull them off as cleanly as you can. Don't prune them or they just take over.
Thank you Dave Morgan - I have just looked at this and it isn't from the rootstock union - on the rose bush one of the branches shoots off in two directions, 1 has roses on and the other has lots of white flowers on them, no thorns and looks nothing like a Rose. I am at a loss!!
It sounds like a genetic reversion of some kind. Cut the branch with the white flowers off flush with the point it joins a normal branch/stem. Mutant growth like this can be more vigorous than normal and there is a danger of it taking over. Think of it as a rose cancer.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
Posts
They sound like suckers niall1. Look at your rose and trace where they are coming from. If they are traced back to under the rootstock union then pull them off as cleanly as you can. Don't prune them or they just take over.
Thank you Dave Morgan - I have just looked at this and it isn't from the rootstock union - on the rose bush one of the branches shoots off in two directions, 1 has roses on and the other has lots of white flowers on them, no thorns and looks nothing like a Rose. I am at a loss!!
It sounds like a genetic reversion of some kind. Cut the branch with the white flowers off flush with the point it joins a normal branch/stem. Mutant growth like this can be more vigorous than normal and there is a danger of it taking over. Think of it as a rose cancer.
Thanks Bob there is quite a lot of it so I'll have to start cutting!