Right now I’m wondering about my own root Chrysler Imperial. I bought it from Roses Unlimited and planted it in June of 2021 so it’s had 3 growing seasons. Never has grown well, although it did show some signs of better growth late in 2023. In about a week, I will be planting a grafted Chrysler Imperial next to the own root bush. We’ll see if there’s a difference. Although it’s hard to be certain because every plant is different, even if it’s the same variety.
I agree that HTs tend to be better grafted in most climates. OTOH, it is my opinion that many of the old garden roses, albas in particular do not need to be grafted. Albas I think should not be grafted. Possibly one might want grafted Gallicas to avoid having the Gallica take over your yard. Portland roses tend to have gorgeous blooms and foliage which dries up and lingers on the bush. I don’t know if a different, grafted on rootstock would help with that.
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Our own root roses also come from RU as Bill Patterson is a friend and member of our rose society. We grow them in a container for the first season in a good potting mixture. It is amazing how quickly they grow! we have plants which are three or more feet tall after the first season. When we lived in Va, we ordered roses from RU and were amazed at how well they were packaged for their journey. The container could have been dropped from a cliff and not suffered any damage.
I am also interested in your reason for growing your roses in a green house. Our native soil in Western South Carolina is almost pure clay so we do a great deal of amending. We have found that some of our roses do better in pots permanently, as well, but they are grown outside. Some of the more tender varieties are put in the greenhouse over the winter but not during the growing season.
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My roses tend to do much better in the soil - even if that means lots of amendments. Plus in my zone 5 garden, growing roses in containers translates into a bit more work come winter time, as they cannot be left outside without some very special care. The ARS has a webinar on growing roses in containers scheduled for the end of July - I am sure I will learn how to be more successful in containers!
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You would need to build a greenhouse over the entire container garden considering your winters! Containers, do in some ways, require a bit more care even in summer. They need far more watering and fertilizing. We have lost a few to late spring freezes but not more than some (less winter hardy) ground roses. We have found that growing them in containers for the first season, even if they are going in the ground, has given them a good head start. Those that are not thriving in the ground go into the containers and have done much better. The downside is that putting the non-performers in pots instead of “shovel pruning” as most rosarians do, has caused us to have many more roses than we planned to grow.
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Diane - I always seem to have a couple of bushes still in Pots at the end of the growing season. I just move them to the unheated (but attached) garage. They start waking up in early March (almost too early) - and I do the same for my two 36" standards. Not too much work for just a few. Has done wonders for two grafted Ring of Fire bushes that spent one season outside in a 5-gallon plastic pot and then overwintered in the garage. They were both planted outside in early Spring. Those two bushes are doing better than the other 8 own-root ROF bushes I have.
so it is possible to take a cutting from a matured grafted rose, and make that cutting into an own root? (assuming all goes well, lol) i tried searching to see if this was possible on the internet and it was necessarily telling me YES. lol
Yes - by taking a cutting off a rose you will grow the same variety and it will be own root. Again - caution - you should only do this on unpatented or out of patent roses,
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ah yes, of course, its my bareroot roses. they are all grafted. so i wanted to cut a portion of the rose off from the bush and grow it. sometimes i cant find my roses as OWN ROOT, or cant buy it in timne before it sells out. thank you so much!
Grafted roses usually take off faster and give you those big, showy blooms early on, which is great if you’re impatient like me. But in tougher winters or challenging soil, I’ve had own-root roses bounce back better—they seem hardier in the long run.
I’ve found that own-root roses benefit from extra patience and a light hand with fertilizers in the first year. Overfeeding can stress those younger roots. I’ve also started adding things like crushed dry rose petals to my compost mix—it’s my little way of recycling and adding organic matter to the soil.
Welcome ChristinMay.
Hi Jill … I am in Roswell/NE Cobb … I can’t speak to own-root vs. grafted accept that my grafted peace rose that I’ve had since 1990 (located at my mom’s house here in NE Cobb) has seen serious neglect and when I moved back from Florida, I fertilized it with worm castings (that I got from Autumn Hill) only once or twice and it has been a speedy recovery but has not died from any serious hard freezes in the last 36 years. Other roses that I had in pots, which I believe were also grafted, did not survive but it might’ve been more about neglect. Considering all the possibilities of death to these beauties, bare-root vs. own-root is probably not as much an issue here in the southeast vs. the Northern USA. I do have some insight into the considerations you may make regarding climate differences. My dad retired ATC from McCarran/LAS airport and he had a beautiful, magical, glorious rose garden in Henderson, NV which he gave minimal attention to as they were already established. I was heartbroken to see him leave them behind. I grew up just east of where you are now, in Kennesaw. Unfortunately, roses love Las Vegas more than the humid and buggy Georgia. You will have to water less than in Vegas, and early in the morning to avoid black spot because, of course, the water spray will not dry as quickly on the leaves, as they would in Vegas environment. You will want to plant in open areas to try to keep your crowns dry (where as my dad’s roses received some shade from olive trees in Vegas) and fertilizing is discretionary, depending on any issues you may be having. Of course, rose type and personally, I find some are pickier about location then others … they may be a treetop/canopy issue which wouldn’t be such a huge factor in Vegas unless you were up near Mt. Charleston, I guess. I just purchased Outta the Blue and Hot Cocoa bare-root … I have them in pots on the deck because, while aphids are the arch nemesis to our roses here in GA, I am finding that the deer are an immediate death to my new buds. I do have a rose shrub on the side of the house that I did not plant that is doing well … the deer do not seem to like that one … so basically it’s trial and error whereas, I am not sure you had a lot of bud-munchers in Vegas. I sure did love those gorgeous roses in my dad’s courtyard. Unfortunately, what grows in Vegas stays in Vegas. 
LOL
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