Robert, I've had that happen with a couple that I sp'd. I had one Folksinger too many so dug it up. Even though I took the crown, it came back from a piece of root. Same with Compte de Chambord. I had a huge holly that I cut down and it is always trying to come back. I think because roots still want to grow taking root cuttings might be just as productive as taking stem cuttings. One time I propagated a brugmansia from a root cutting.
Linda

Robert, it's so good to read your post. I have made a couple of bad mistakes with my Mme. Antoine Mari, and she has gone from looking really wonderful to looking really pitiful. I tell myself that it's because it's Winter, but I fear that it's really my ignorance. Now I feel heartened and will just bide my time until Spring!
Laura

Robert, when the voles got some of my roses, I tried to bring them back, but after a season they were weak and simiply not as good as the original.

I hope you keep us posted on these roses -- it would be very interesting to me to see if you can fully revive them, and how long it takes for them to get to the state where they were when you originally purchased them.

Sammy

I'm hoping my Mlle Jeanne Philippe will be a Phoenix. She got laid low by some crummy potting soil at the end of summer, so I put her struggling little body in the ground to try to save her, washing her root ball pretty good. I was heartened by one tiny little leaflet that sprouted, then accidently turned the hose on her and knocked it off :((

Two weekends ago I put her back in a pot and saw that she had some short white roots. When I cleaned her up, I saw I had planted her originally real low so most of the stem was buried. This time I left the stem exposed. Now everything showing is black. I keep watering in hopes that those white roots will perform a miracle, and I'll see some green. I sure hope so. This was a Vintage band that I hate to lose. Am I correct in assuming that black roots are dead? She had a lot of those but only a few white ones.

Sherry

Roses under stress shut down in the following order:
1 they stop flowering,
2 they defoliate,
3 the twigs and canes die back,
4 and last, the roots die.

If a rose dies back to the ground, it may still come back from the roots, especially if it's an established plant. This is also true for other woody shrubs. I always give a plant a year before I give up on it. A rose that succumbs to a fatal disease may not follow this pattern, of course, but you see it in roses under drought stress, for example, or badly shocked by transplanting. If the rose is grafted, it's the root stock that resprouts.

Robert---thanks for the uplifting post today---

Florence

I think it depends on the rose also. I had potted roses buried in wood chip berms for over 3 years and in time the roots grew out of the pots. I dug up my William Baffins and American Pillar and had to chop off the roots that were extending out of the pots into the wood chips. Within a month, they started growing back from the roots and this year grew like gangbusters. I gave these to Robert who had to dig them up; healthy as could be. Verdun has also resprouted from the roots and I have potted the rootlings up. Just amazing; of course these were all own root.
Jim

I am keeping the faith for my Garnet Crest. I planted it this fall along with 6 other teas and it is the only one to have gone completely brown. I hope I see it again in spring, even though it is a new plant.

Robert,
That is great! I love GdD, but have had many set backs with it, too.
-Stephanie

Stephanie,

It's soooooooo good to hear from you again. Where have you been? How's school going? We NEED to get together.

Robert

Oh my goodness Stephanie! I have missed you. I hope you will find time to "hang out" in the forums. I agree with Robert, we NEED to get together.

Kathy

Add me to the cheering crowd. Welcome back, Stephanie!!

Connie

Aw, thanks for the warm welcome back Robert, Connie and Kathy. I have so missed my friends from the forum. Dial up at home is so painfully slow and I don't think they will ever bring broadband to us. I'm trying to talk DH into using clearwire or something similar.
School has been keeping me really busy. I love teaching but I've never had a job so constantly changing and so demanding of my personal time and money. The kids are great though and I've made some wonderful new friends (a few of them gardeners - hurray!!!)
My garden is starting to look pretty mature. I build two of Robert's rebar teepees to support some found roses that turned out to be BIG climbers. I finally erected a sort of rose allee beside the drive and we've added lots more boxwoods to neaten things up. I'm so negligent about weeding and pruning and tying up climbers. I thought I'd get so much done with summer off, but I spent most of it at the pool - hee, hee. Now that Daphne is a little bigger, I can get in a little more gardening while she plays with Nathan. She is slightly less attached to my hip. ;)
I'm sorry I missed your garden Connie. I bet it looked splendid. I was looking forward to seeing your house renovation, too. I do hope we can all get together soon. If not sooner, there are all the May events - Tufton, Robert's and my open gardens. I can't wait to see how much bigger Robert's Teas are. They make me envy your steady supply of fertilizer ;)
-Stephanie

Stephanie,

I'm glad you're enjoying teaching. It does get MUCH easier as you get more experience and have a full "bag of tricks" and materials from previous years.

Some of my Teas are really adding some bulk. I am definitely excited about them. I'm also very encouraged at the success of some of my climbing Tea-Noisettes (Reve d'Or, Crepuscule, E. Veyrat Hermanos, etc.)

I've got a new "source" for rebar arches...about .5 miles from my house. I'm excited about this.

Well, I hope we see you soon.

Robert