As Mad said, it depends and it's a matter of what you're looking for. Grafted roses are generally more vigorous so they mature faster and are larger plants. That can sometimes be an asset in winter survival providing the graft survives the winter intact. Own root plants, on the other hand, can sometimes survive better over bad winters because if everything dies back to the soil they can come back true to variety from the roots. But they do mature at a much slower rate. With grafted roses, unless you plant your grafts well below ground to protect them, if they die back and kill the graft chances are the root stock will grow back and not your variety of rose. I think it's a matter of experimentation in your garden and what your preference is.

It also varies by the type of rose, as well as location. Some roses are notoriously weak on own roots (like most of the lavender and russet HTs) while some are ridiculously strong and don't need the boost of the graft. After about 10 years of growing roses, I'm starting to find the grafts failing on some early roses I bought even those that are perfectly hardy. In my zone, I tend to lean toward own root roses unless there's a compelling reason to want grafted. Plus, grafted bare roots are more of a pain to plant and I'm already pretty slammed in spring planting season (smile). In the east, as you are, MadGallica's advice may be more pertinent.

What you might do is post a list of the roses you're pondering and we can give a guess at whether the grafted boost looks to be recommended or not for those roses in your zone. Again, the feedback will differ between those of us in the midwest and those on the east, so take that into account.

Cynthia

Mike,

Your question, one would think, should be an easy one to answer, pretty straight forward, right? Not exactly.

If all classes of roses and even specific varieties within classes exhibited the same: winter hardiness, vigor, disease resistance, etc., the answer to your question would be broadly applicable to all of them. Obviously, this is not the case, going by the far ranging cultural requirements found among varying roses.

Here are some OBSERVATIONS I HAVE MADE regarding the own root or grafted question, pertaining to roses specifically growing in YOUR CULTURAL ZONE, a zone roughly equivalent to mine.

Remember, my observations are relevant only to your specific conditions, not to roses grown in Texas, Florida, or California.

Grafted roses outperform own root roses in almost all categories: flower production, flower size, bush size, foliage size, disease resistance, winter hardiness; cane length, strength, and diameter, EXCEPT FOR BUSH LONGEVITY.

Grafted roses on multiflora rootstocks do better than roses on Dr. Huey.

Grafted roses with their bud unions planted down 4" do the best.

In your zone, tip hardy roses do even better grafted than on their own roots.

Tender roses, such as most hybrid teas, thrive on grafts whereas they limp along on their own roots.

Grafted roses on short rootstalk shanks (no more than 2" distance on the shank between the bud union and rootstalk anchor root inception zone), do better than grafted roses on longer shanks...the longer the shank is, the worse they grow.

One ADVANTAGE own root roses have over grafted roses is that the graft union can restrict the formation of a broad crown as a rose bush matures, especially on long rootstock shanked grafted roses.

By the rootstock limiting the width of the scion's crown it makes it difficult for the crown to produce fresh basal growth (the life blood of a bush). As a bush matures, and the crown becomes more woody and dense, tightly grafted crowns produce fewer and fewer basal canes. The bush grows backwards, getting smaller and smaller each year. This negative phenomenon is less likely to occur on own root rose crowns. Own root roses usually have a longer life than a grafted rose.

I can think of no other own root rose advantage.

Planting the graft 4" down preserves the bud bud unions life. However, this may encouraging root production of the scion material above the graft, which I believe is not desirable. The scion roots are not as vigorous as the rootstock's roots, and may actually weaken the bush, reducing its potential.

All your success is also contingent on winter protection of the tender scion varieties, as so many hybrid teas are (which winter protection you do wisely provide), in order to have as many long and viable canes survive the winter as possible.

All in all, a multiflora grafted rose planted properly, in the balances, should do the best for you.

Moses

Hey Mike I'm not sure if I'm reading your post correctly - are you think of planting roses in the fall, or ordering in the fall? My zone is colder, but I wouldn't plant in the fall, but you can bet when Palatine starts taking orders this fall, i will be ordering :).

I don't know about that Dingo, I'm in Op's zone and the 3 roses that I planted in fall in mid October a week before our first snow were the three that had by far the best winter survival and exploded once I uncovered them in the spring. . . Compared to the 14 I planted last spring, about half own root, half grafted. Sorry, not trying to hijack the discussion, maybe I just got lucky!

JoAnn Edwards, an own root exhibition HT I bought from Roses Unlimited in 2011. It likes its new full sun location----I moved it here this past Spring--if midge didn't get the third cane I'm sure it would have three blooms right now.

erin I think it depends on what variety you are planting and how big it is - like a band vs 3 gal. - and your zone. I have planted in the fall, but hardy stuff that was on the bigger side has done the best. Someone posted earlier about putting bare roots out in the fall, and pretty much everyone said that was not a good idea, I haven't tried it here and probably won't.

Mike

I'll be happy to throw another monkey wrench in the discussion. Dr. Huey root stock does not even survive where I live. Multiflora root stock does pretty well here. Generally speaking if my rose is on multiflora I must anticipate a rose at least double the stated size.

The only general observation I have is that for the roses I grow in my soil/climate/etc., own root plants seem to perform more consistently, as in, if I have 6 of something they all grow and bloom about the same whereas among 6 grafted plants some will be fantastic, others so-so,, and one will probably decide to die for no apparent reason.

That's very true, ebharvey. It has a lot to do with who did the grafting and how well it was done. Obviously the better nurseries do a better job of it than the cheap mass producers do. Whereas the own roots are more consistent to the variety of rose. If the variety is a good grower own root they all should be the same. If it's a poor grower own root they will all be poor.