Hi Faye!

Your rose is probably some left over root stock from a rose that was planted there and died. In your zone it's most likely to be Dr. Huey, a red, one bloom cycle per season rose. It's extremely hardy and vigorous which is why it has been used for grafting roses for many decades. Other varieties of roses that do not grow as strongly on their own roots will be grafted onto the roots of Dr. Huey so that they too will grow vigorously. If the grafted variety dies off the roots of DH will take over and grow. It can climb to great heights and get quite large if you let it. If you've ever seen old abandoned farms or houses with large red roses growing all over the place in the early summer that was probably the Doctor.

I lot of people will tell you to get rid of it and get something else. But for a beginner it's probably a good rose to start with because it is very vigorous and easy to grow. The rose itself is quite a pretty deep red color. The problem is that it is so vigorous that it can sometimes take over the other variety of rose that has been grafted on it. So a lot of rose people hate the stuff.

As for pruning, cut to the soil any canes that look black or dead. If some of the tips are brown snip them off and look at the center of the cane. If the inside (pith) is greenish white or creamy you're OK. If the inside looks brown cut a little further down. Keep doing this until you get to that white pith. Make your cuts just above (about a 1/4 inch) one of those red nodes on the sides of the cane. Those are called bud eyes and are where the new leaves and canes will come from.

I'm not sure it will bloom for you this year. Sometimes these once bloomers will take a few years to get the roots established enough to give you blooms. But once they are established that one bloom is usually very large and lasts for several weeks.

Oh, and check the spot you dug it out of. The good Dr. could be giving you some more shoots! Like I said, he's very strong!

In its day, 'Dr. Huey' was very highly regarded -- it came to be used as rootstock more or less accidentally, but I've known people who grew it for that remarkable spring flush of bloom, and it can really be a "wow."

Jeri

It's not Dr. Huey. It's seedling multiflora.

@ seil - Thank you for all the information! You don't think it's too small to trim? That was my biggest concern. I have no idea when the original plant may have been planted. I've only lived in this apartment (250+ year half a farmhouse) about two years and haven't seen any others before. That's why I saved it...seemed like I was meant to have it :)

As for the exact variety, I'm not so concerned with at this point :) I'm just happy to have a (hopefully!) blooming beauty one of these years.

Is there anything specific I should do? Should I put it in the ground or keep in the pot another season? Our soil is HORRID and I'm trying to amend it the best I can. And what about the aphids? they were fierce last summer...

Thanks everyone!
~jr

Oh! forgot to mention...In the WAY back end of my landlords 15 or so acres is a large mountain of a bush of wild roses. Can't get near 'em in the summer months for the damn bees but they are a middle pink color..some lighter some darker.
Could it possibly be some kind of leftover of that?

Fayecat, I think Seil would now agree with Mad gallica, your plant is probably a seedling multiflora.

I is a rose. It is paid for. It is in a pot. Prune it and enjoy it. If it is rootstock, well you could - down the line practice grafting or use it to grow more canes for grafting.
Attend a few rose shows and steal some cast offs or join a rose club and pick their brains.
Have fun regardless.
F.L.

If the blooms are pink and not red then it is most likely multiflora. Until your's blooms there is no way to know. In any case I agree with Iowa jade, contact a local rose society for more specific information on what to do when. But do grow it, learn from it and enjoy it!

Thanks everyone :)

Our library hosts a gardening get together in the Spring and Fall. People bring plants to trade and donate to the library gardens. Doing general outdoor maintenance for the building and such. It's a blast and I know that my little potted friend will be given a thorough once over.

Thank you again!

Warm spring wishes!
~jr