Just in looking at the pictures on HMF, it looks like the blooms on Cardinal Song are fuller, but it's hard to know for sure. The guy at the nursery saidit will spread and it won't get very tall, although it will get taller than Ralph's Creeper. Does anyone have Red Carpet Rose? I'm even wondering if it could be that. I have two Drift roses, which I think of being similar to Carpet Roses and the blooms on this are much bigger than the Drift or the Ralph's Creeper.

I'd probably hesitate a moment or two if the rose name evoked a negative reaction. And the marketers are aware of this. They don't want to have a namesake which most people would avoid. For example, years ago there was a cute lil' rose bush named after someone in the royal British family. "Fergie" to be exact. Welllll, soon after the introduction of that rose the real Fergie was photographed poolside while having her toes sucked by someone (not her husband). Needless to say this created a hubbub in the news and a somewhat negative association with the rose shrub. The marketers quickly changed the name of the shrub to "Sunseeker". That cracks me up every time I think of it. But while we have grown accustomed to the names of our roses, non-rose fanatics are simply unaware and my friends find it wildly amusing when I say something like, "That's George Burns! Isn't he looking good this year?" What IS in a name anyway? My last name is Butcher and it's prevented me from seeking employment as a baby sitter, veterinarian or even a medical examiner. But it is a great name for a hockey player.

Do you know the name of the rose that the sucker came from? If it came from a grafted rose, and it is a variety used as rootstock, the most common rootstock is Dr. Huey, a once-blooming climber. You wouldn't see buds on it this year because it blooms on the previous year's growth (meaning, the growth you see this year won't set buds until next year). You should treat it like a cutting, search some of the threads for "cutting".

I just reread the last part of what you wrote. I'm getting old with ya. You probably don't remember the blooms because the rose was grafted. The grafted variety died leaving the root stock Dr. Huey to grow. Then when you have pruned it your taking off the wood for next years blooms. Don't prune at all this time until it blooms in 2017. Then when it's done blooming prune some it you wish or let it grow for another year.