Congratulations! I'm glad you were able to save them to remember your grandmother by. Yes, the once flowering red rose is Dr. Huey, the root stock used to bud the rose she bought and you want, on. From the looks of the flowers, they appear to be relatively recent varieties, meaning probably since the 1980's. Definitely not much older. You're going to need to keep the root stock suckers from growing if you want any of the yellow rose to grow much, it at all. The best thing to do is to uncover where they grow from the plant, then rip them out so you get the main cane and any side or guard buds attached. Cutting them off is simply "pruning" and that will encourage them to grow more. Good luck! They look pretty darn good!

Thank you very much for your help! So, the rootstock is growing from half of the plant and doesn't pop up from underground. So I guess the only thing I can do is trim the 'bad side' of the wood (above the graft) down and I'll always have to prune any other that grow from the graft, right? The other side of the plant actually did well and put out some big, beautiful flowers last year. I've included better pictures.... the purple circle being the rootstock rose, and the blue circle being the yellow rose. =)

The other (more balanced looking plant) has big strong canes (?) coming from the base (but not underground) which put out healthy, happy looking flowers last year. I think my Grandma would be thrilled that someone is taking care of her roses again. She had a beautiful garden.

Thank you again!!!

You're welcome! No ma'am, the suckers originate beneath the bud union, which is where the two roses are joined and have grown together. Eventually, once the stock has grown long enough, it can appear that half the plant is stock, but originally, all suckers arise from BELOW the bud union; from under ground.

Gotcha. Thanks again!

You're welcome!

I am of no help identifying these roses but just wanted to say I'm glad you saved them. You definitely inherited your grandmother's Green Thumb!

You may need to dig a bit to find out where the rootstock rose is coming from - below the bud union, as roseseek says. You may need to remove some dirt on that side until you can see where it originates. Then cut it off flush with the thing that looks like a vertical stem or trunk below the bud union, so none of the rootstock growth coming out there is left at all, then fill the dirt back in. If you see any shoots sprouting up there in the future, and you dig down and realize they are coming from below the bud union, you will have to do that again, but it will be easier because the rootstock growth will be small. If you do not get rid of the rootstock growth, it can kill the "real" rose by hogging all of the nutrients and water, etc. Good luck!

Jackie

Thank you, Jackie!

There isn't actually any rootstock coming from below the dirt. They actually come from old wood on half of the plant. Maybe they first appeared long ago after my grandmother passed away (2003) and were never removed and grew into what now looks like old wooded growth. I've removed some of that but will probably take more off. Is the bud union underground also? It definitely looks like there is a union above ground, too. I really enjoy learning about this! Thanks for your help! (purple circle is the red rose, blue circle is the yellow rose)

Cathy

Here are pictures...

In researching which roses these may be, I think I've narrowed it down to Oregold (originated in Germany) for the yellow. It would make sense, since my grandmother was German. As for the pink... it has all of the characteristics as Thomas Affleck, but is super thorny! Anyway, it's been something fun to do while staying at home!

Thomas Affleck is something she would have had to have purchased from the Antique Rose Emporium by mail. My guess is, she would more likely have bought them locally as either bare roots or bud and bloom canned plants. That would narrow the potential selection to what J&P , Star Roses and/or Weeks was offering to nurseries and big box stores. From the color and flower shape, your pink one looks more like Fame! , a 1998 Keith Zary grandiflora introduced through J&P and sold pretty much everywhere for quite a few years.

Hi Jackie, thanks once again!

I actually brought these home summer before last so I did have a really good opportunity to see exactly where the red wild-looking rose grows from. And you're right, it seems to be almost exactly half of the base of the plant. I remember when I dug them up, I was so afraid and couldn't quite believe that I could cut through roots that were about 1 1/4 - 2" in diameter without killing the plant. But I was assured that it would be ok, and of course it was. So, to saw through the whole base.... I completely believe you but I have the same feeling, haha. Should I seal it with anything? It makes complete sense, though. I am seeing beautiful new healthy strong canes (1 on this plant, 3 on my other plant) which have come up from the base. Anyway, yes, they are a little behind flowering because I pruned them probably 2 weeks later than I should have. The flowering pics are from last fall. I think I took a picture of the red side awhile back... I'll look.

Thanks again!

Cathy

No, I would not seal it with anything - that seems to no longer be something good to do. Of course, the best advice is from someone local who can come and look at the rose.

Jackie