Many of mine do that every year. If you've planted the bud union below the soil surface that growth may be from it or portions of cane below the soil surface. Many of my roses pruned so far this year had to be pruned down to the soil surface. Further inspection shows they've all survived and none are root stock. When I come upon one that appears dead, I cut it back to three or four inches and wait until mid May. If nothing is showing by then, chances are it's dead. If fast growing long canes with small leave grow on the few budded roses I have, I search for the source. If below below the bud union, it's root stock, If above it, it's good growth. All may not be lost yet. Wait a while to see what happens and don't disturb the plants. Digging them up often stresses the new growth and causes the bush to die.

Yes Jeri, the leaves are sort of odd, early on I thought there might be a problem or disease. Maybe I should try pruning harder than I do, like karl, I tend to let most of my plants for for broke. True, mine are quite tall, I guess for Sharifas, but I've learned that Austins just tend to do that where I am. I don't mind if I have them staked it actually makes it easier to get around my small garden. I'm glad other people have the same experience, I am keeping mine, I can put up with the funky leaves and the thorns for the sake of those peachy pink puffy blooms - was one of the first to bloom this spring, too!

Yes, the gardening bug has bitten me, and that was before the holidays! So I'm muscle-sore and fire-ant-bitten today. The last two days I've been outside rearranging, expanding, and filling my raised beds, almost half of which are framed by cinderblock. Fire ants are in one of the beds! They bite/sting even in January, though they're more sluggish than in hot weather. Gotta get rid of those suckers! With all this physical labor, still haven't fit in a trip to collect some BioBlend from Cobb County, but probably will next week after I get the other frames in place. I'll go ahead and plant peas and lettuce today or tomorrow and go hunting for some okra seeds, the only vegetable I've planned for but don't have the seeds yet. Most of Georgia has very acidic soil, 58% with a pH of less than 6.0. Gotta buy lime, bonemeal, greensand, and some more bloodmeal to keep things balanced, along with hydrolized fish fertilizer and seaweed additive. This is one of the "in between years" when I've run out of a lot of plant fertilizers and nutrients, and since I can't afford to replenish everything all at once, I'm having to plan and juggle everything very carefully. But it keeps me from chomping at the bit about getting started, since in a way I am! Good luck to all, and no fire ants!!!!!

I had it at one point and it grew for a year then didn't survive the winter in an average zone 5 spot. I replaced it in 2015 in my warmer zone 6 location and it has survived since then so far. My plant is still quite small - no more than knee height and only a bloom at a time - but that's not unusual for own-root roses that are not really supposed to be hardy in my zone anyway. It might get bigger as it ages, and I do like the Barni roses in general. Here's a photo from last year - I don't think I caught any blooms for this year yet. It's got nice double lemon yellow blooms, but probably wants to be in a warmer zone than mine. I get cream tones from the rose when it ages, but I've never seen anything remotely amber or apricot from it around here. Lemon yellow is as dark as it gets for me. Cynthia