How do I deal with this rose?

Question

I have a standard rose (in garden long before I owned house). It has small red floribunda flowers (masses of them). However it keeps putting out extremely long stems as if it wants to be supported by a trellis or something. I didn't think standard roses did that. Can anyone help me as to what it is and how to look after it properly. Thanks

Answer 1

All roses will put out stems to grow, as that's how they support themselves.  If yours is throwing out very long stems it could be because either

1) it's a climber in disguise!

2) environmental factors are influencing its growth - plenty of food, water and sunshine might be persuading it to reach out and grow as large as it can while times are good.  

3) large numbers of small flowers can mean that the rose is closer to wild roses than the roses with very large flowers.  As you no doubt know, wild roses are prolific climbers.  It could be that your standard rose is naturally more disposed to climbing because of its genetics being closer to wild roses than other standard roses.

Without looking at it, I can't tell which is the case.  However, as it seems to want to climb I would let it have its way and put up a trellis.  If you're in the south east UK and have a clay soil, then I expect your roses are undergoing a growth spurt like mine have this year - conditions are just right for them at the moment.  You might find that it's not quite so prolific next year if the conditions are different, so make the most of it!

Answer 2

Standard roses need to be pruned to keep their shape. The long stems you refer to are the plant trying to grow to its full potential. Are these stems coming from the ground or out of the main area? If they are the ground level the rose is reverting back to its root stock which in 99% of cases is a graft from a climber. (Much hardier to graft onto) If not then you just need to prune back about a 1/3 of the length of the stems to enjoy a lovely bush full of roses!

Answer 3

check those long stems carefully..... are they the same as the rest of the rose plant?.... or are the thorns bigger(or smaller or more or less numerous?) are the leaves the same size, coloration, style?... lots of 'teeth' on the leaves or are they smoother than the main plant?.... is there a lot more space between sets of leaves on this long stem than on the main plant?..... if it's different, track it back to the base of the plant... does it come from above or below the 'knot' on the base?.....

that 'knot' is the graft.... the 'good' rose grows above it... below it, is a 'rootstock' rose.... usually very hardy, and a rampant grower..... if the long stem comes from below the graft, it's to be removed as soon as it's found(unless you're going to wait for it to bloom to be sure!!).... left to grow, it will take the food and water from the 'real' rose and eventually take it over.....it and the other long canes that will come along, too.....

if the long cane doesn't come from below the graft, then it must be part of the real rose and it's looking to be a climber!........ some floribundas 'ramble', too.....which I'd expect if it's putting out large clusters.... in order to support them

the truest test is to wait for those long canes to show bloom... if it does, and the flowers are different , that's the rootstock... (could be a long time, as some rootstock roses are one-time bloomers!)   ....if the flowers are the same, you've got a rambler/climber......

the next to last pic on this website shows a rootstock rose that killed off the white Iceberg that it 'used' to be.....

http://fairegarden.blogspot.com/2007_12_...

Answer 4

Although floribunda or HT roses are the more common varieties grown as standards,many rambler roses are also grown in this way.

An example is "Dorothy Perkins",which may be the one described.Ramblers are designed to be grown as weeping standards,the flexible stems should be tied in to an "Umbrella" frame,obtainable from specialist rose firms.

They can be left loose,to naturally form a weeping head,but this risks wind damage.

Answer 5

How do you know it's a standard rose? I would try putting a trellis up and seeing what happens. Maybe those stems are just quicker growing than the others.

Answer 6

If you believe the rose is a Floribunda, then you may be looking at suckers, which grow tall and hearty, but never bloom.  If there are blooms at the end of these stems, then you are looking at a climber.  However, whenever there is not enough energy (water or food), suckers come up and you need to cut them down to get the plant all the energy it needs. No bloom bud, cut the stems down.

Maria