Dr. Huey suckers showing up

14 years ago

I thought I was the only one plagued with these suckers trying to take over. Rent to a fairly unkept rental house today and in the front had three veery large rose bushes doing very well in full bloom but out of each right from the base was al large, lots of branches Dr. Huey and all of the same deep wine color. I have two that I've just pulled out of the ground hopefully so they won't take over. Have one that has been growing for years tons of gorgeous roses, huge bush but after it finishes blooming I'm going to get it out of that garden too. Just not worth all the trouble for one amazing bloom out and than poof nothing..

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Comments (8)

buford
14 years ago
I have a lot this year too. I think it's all the rain. I now know what roses tend to do this alot and make sure to check underneath them, especially when I see a new straight can pop up almost over night.
maele
14 years ago
I heard you have to scrape them off, otherwise they feel like you pruned them and grow back healthier like your regular roses. I've never tried it though, because the old bushes I've seen are a tangled mess of Dr. Huey and I think replacing them is easier. You should still be ok if it's only a couple of suckers.
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Kmama, yes Huey can be as difficult to eradicate as any other rose suitable for root stock use. That's one reason why they were used as stocks...they're seemingly immortal. You probably won't find a "stump" like your multiflora, but individual plants, each coming from individual roots left in the ground after the removal of the plant. Round Up WILL kill Dr. Huey. It can be painted on with a regular old paint brush if you're concerned about spray drift. Using a brush, you only have to worry about dripping on other plants. If the canes are long enough and pliable enough on both plants, you may mix a bucket full (whatever size bucket you feel is appropriate to contain the quantity and size of growth), gently bend the canes over and insert them into the Round Up mixture in the bucket. Secure them with something to keep them submerged in the liquid and let them suck it up! This requires being able to bend them without kinking them. It may be the easiest method of killing off the multiflora if you have sufficiently long, supple enough material to work with. You'll probably need a couple of weeks to make sure the stuff has worked its magic to the fullest, but you should see dramatic results from the Round Up within a couple of days. The longer you let it sit, the more fully the chemical travels throughout the entire plant, all the way to the root tips, hence the more complete the "kill". If you don't wish to use an herbacide, you may just get down and start digging. Expect regrowth from many root pieces of each left in the soil. That's what they do. Kim
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Dr. Huey IS the rootstock. Once Dr. Huey starts to sucker, you have to dig down under the soil, find the source of the sucker and tear off the sucker at the base. Otherwise, you will wind up with plants of Dr. Huey and not your original rose. Which is what you have now. Just cutting down the suckers does not help, you are just pruning Huey. If you can't get down to tear off the suckers, and if there are too many now, your original grafted plant is a goner, as Dr. Huey is very vigorous. Unless you can save cuttings of your grafted plant, you will have to dig up the Dr. Hueys and start over. You can try to avoid the suckering by burying the graft union underground, but as Paul said, in some places Dr. Huey is just bound to take over.
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My 400 square foot garden has 11 shrubs and 24 roses of various kinds. Besides the 3 Dr. Hueys and the 5 "unknown" roses, I've positively identified 16 roses (by their tags and by members of gardenweb). Because the roses were planted "willy-nilly", the roses are too close to one another and there are several empty areas. I am also waiting for the results of a soil test to tell me what I need to do to make my garden's soil better. This past weekend, I drew up a new design for my garden which will require moving most of the roses so they will be more evenly spaced. As soon the 5 "unknown" roses are identified and I determine if anything remains of the grafted portions of the Dr. Hueys, I'll start working in the garden.
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The main downside of the good Doctor is he's a martyr to blackspot, and in some gardens mildew, as well. I've heard tales of people whose DH didn't defoliate yearly, but I think those tales are in the same category as unicorn sightings. HERE, even sprayed he comes down with a good case of BS by mid-summer. Defoliation is his lot in life. I've found the only way to mitigate it (notice I didn't say *prevent*), is to cut him back nearly to the ground after he blooms, (spray) then pray the new growth outgrows BS the rest of the year. He'll bloom the next Spring on however much new growth he puts on in the current year, but he may be smaller and bushier. Your mileage may vary. I happen to love his color. (yes, I have two) John PS. DH isn't "invasive" as such. He merely outlives many a grafted scion, or the desired original rose that was bought. He doesn't spread or sucker, unless you do like I did and leave a potted, grafted rose sitting in one place for too long. When you move the pot, DH will have sent roots into the ground and he WILL sprout, lol.
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mashamcl
14 years ago
I see so much Dr. Huey around here, that I once thought of taking a series of pictures of "the many faces of Dr. Huey". Lots of people have it here either around a dying HT or on its own (after the HT died presumably). I am very vigilant in my yard especially around the older roses. However, once you have to fight suckers around a certain rose continuously, I think it is time to replace that rose.

Masha
buford
14 years ago
I have Dr. Huey in my yard blooming now. I dug up a rose to move it and I guess I left enough root for it to grow. As long as you don't let the suckers get too big and bloom, they don't really affect the rest of the plant.
jerijen
14 years ago
I once thought of taking a series of pictures of "the many faces of Dr. Huey".

*** A terrific piece of photojournalism.
Be sure to make a trip to Las Vegas, some time in April, to see the remarkable Huey's there.

Jeri
mashamcl
14 years ago
Jeri, do I really need to?:-)
karl_bapst_rosenut
14 years ago
maele;
When Dr Huey is suspect, I gently dig down to the point of origin below the bud union and then I dig down a little farther. I then grasp the sucker firmly and pull down. This rips the sucker loose plus a little bit of the tissue where it grew from the root stock. This removes all the sucker. It doesn't guarantee the root stock won't sucker elsewhere but it does eliminate any branching and prevents regrowth from that point.
jerijen
14 years ago
Jeri, do I really need to?:-)

*** ONLY if you want to see the world's greatest concentration of Dr. Huey Roses. :-)
If you think you can live without that treat, you can probably avoid the trip.

Jeri

Dr. Huey suckers showing up

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buford

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