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Help with what looks like a dying 40 yr old rose bush

valerie thorrnton

last year

My neighbor has a rose bush that her mother has planted maybe close to 40 yrs ago, the leaves are dark brown and brittle looking and the tree like part just broke off right in her hand!!!Theirs one long thorny branch that looks maybe ok on it!! I want to help her save it, she's 72 and loves it dearly!! Please help!!

Comments (14)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
Need to see photos!! Otherwise, we are just guessing at any problems and how to fix.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
The long thorny branch sounds like a sucker. Photos definitely required to opine.
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It sounds like the understock, or rootstock, is taking over. Usually the only effective way to remove canes from the understock, or suckers, is to clean away the soil down to where the suckers join the root and rip them off, not prune them. The ripping removes the eyes from where other suckers might come. Pruning allows the eyes to sprout new canes. It may take a few trials, but you will win. Steve
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Well, 40 years is a long run for your Hoya. When I lose an old plant, my mom always says, "Well, I'm sure plants die of old age, too!" Probably true, but the key is to take cuttings so that a part of that plant lives on. I have a feeling you're right - you waited too long to repot. They can live a long, long time in the same pot, mind you, and I have some that are just way too big to repot now and will have to live out their "lives" in the pot they're in, but if you can repot a large Hoya every 5 years or so, it's a good idea to do so. Short of that, all you can do is "top dress" them with some fresh soil every year or two, which is what I do with the big ones. It may or may not make it, but at this point, I would remove several of the most hydrated stems to restart it so you have a good sized potful if it does die. Just keep your new cuttings relatively moist until they're well rooted, which is signaled by new growth. And IMO, it's always ok to repot a Hoya - I know back when I started growing them 35 years ago, I read articles that said not to repot often. However, in my experience, it's ok to repot them if you're a little careful with the roots, taking care not to mess with the rootball too much. I repot mine pretty much annually until they're too big to practically move up any more. And as for trimming, I actually find pruning greatly encourages new growth. If I have one that's being stubborn about growing, I just take a cutting or two and **BAM**... it starts growing! Denise in Omaha
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
what an appropriate name for a rose question...

pix.. and post it in the rose forum if you fail to get help here.. which i doubt ..

ALL roses should be pruned every few years.. it is not a big deal if a very old cane broke ..

ken
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
That's a bit simplistic. If the only living cane is from the rootsock the original rose is gone.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
last year
It is very unlikely it is rootstock. In general, for obvious reasons, growers prefer to use thornless rootstock. One of the very, very few things we do know about this rose, is that the cane in question in thorny.

For real help, we need pictures and a location. Variety name would also help, but that may be lost in the mists of time.
valerie thorrnton
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Thank you so much for trying to help!! I had taken pictures but something went wrong trying to upload them!! Iwill take them again TomtomorrowTomorTomorrow
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
If the rose is as old as the OP says I'm pretty sure it could have had a thorny root stock. R canina or Rosa laxa, for example. Or even a seedling. I am not familiar with Dr Huey but I believe that too is thorny. And was the original, now dead, rose also thorny? If it wasn't I would still suspect the long growth of being something different.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
load one pic.. and wait until to clears or focuses before you hit send.. it helps to already be signed in.. before you start ...

ken
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
last year
The thorniest rootstock I know is Manetti, and that is only lightly thorned. Dr. Huey is considered thornless. As far as the species understocks are concerned, there are thornless variants, and those are the ones that are preferred.

It isn't uncommon in my part of the world for roses to become what are called 'one cane wonders'. All the rose's strength is put into producing one cane, which looks strong and healthy, but there is only ever the one cane. Since here, the source of the stress is winter, it isn't something considered fixable. Without knowing where this rose lives, it is impossible to determine what the source of its stress is, to come up with ideas on how to fix it.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
I can't speak to the damage to roses that may be caused by a zone 5 winter but a 'one cane wonder' should most certainly be fixable! Regular applications of alfalfa tea or the use of alfalfa meal in your fertilizing program can make all the difference. Alfalfa contains a natural plant growth hormone, triacontanol, which has the specific effect on roses of encouraging basal breaks or more canes developing from the bud union. Consistent usage should eliminate any one cane wonders!!
partim
last year
last modified: last year
Does your neighbour have any pictures of it in bloom or can she describe the flowers?

If the thorns on the live branch look different from the thorns on the dead branches, it is more likely to be a sucker. So also take close photos of the live branch and a few dead branches so we can see if the thorns are a different size, more curved, pointier, closer together etc.
valerie thorrnton
Original Author
last year
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
i dont understand the pix at all..

can you give us a pic of the whole plant ...
mojavemaria
last year
Is the live cane coming from under the ground? is the thorn type different than on other canes? This could mean its just the rootstock still alive and heres pic of Dr Huey, looks like thorns.

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