Pink, yellow, red, or even white… rose bushes, with their captivating beauty and delicate scents, sure know how to keep us on our toes! But as lovely as they are, roses do present gardeners with quite a few problems. One such issue is rose suckers—those sneaky new shoots that don’t quite belong.
Not sure what they are? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! These pesky little rogues are stems growing from the plant’s rootstock, and they can steal the health and vigor right out of your rose bushes.
To maintain their good health and aesthetics, it’s essential to understand and remove these foodies that can sap their energy.
You might think, “I’ll just chop them off at the base!” But hold your gardening shears—it’s not that simple. Removing rose suckers requires a bit of finesse to ensure they don’t come back with a vengeance.
I’ll explain why it’s important to remove these vigorous suckers and how to do it correctly to ensure your rose bushes stay in tip-top shape.
What Are Suckers on a Rose Bush?
Suckers, are shoots that develop from the rootstock of a grafted rose bush, generally below the graft union. These stems are characterized by rapid and vigorous growth, often to the detriment of the main plant. Because they draw energy from the rootstock’s strong root system, these suckers can overpower the rose bush, reducing flowering and weakening the plant.
At first glance, suckers might look like regular growth, but don’t be fooled! Their stems often have a wild, unruly look, and their leaves might be a different shape or color. If you let these suckers hang around, they can divert resources and really mess with your rose’s flowering and overall health, and eventually kill it if they are not removed.
Why It’s Crucial to Remove Rose Suckers!
Leaving suckers on a rose bush can cause several problems. Not only do they divert nutrients and water from the grafted part, but they can also lead to an unbalanced plant that produces fewer flowers and becomes more susceptible to disease.
Worse still, if left unchecked, the rootstock can take over the scion, and you end up with a rose bush totally different from the one you chose! These hardy rootstock, often from Rosa multiflora or Rosa canina, are super vigorous. If left to their own devices, they’ll take over, leaving you with fewer blooms and a plant that’s more likely to catch a cold – okay, maybe not a cold, but definitely more diseases.
So, what’s a gardener to do? The trick is regular sucker patrol. Yank those party crashers out early and often. This way, all the nutrients and water go straight to your main rose plant, ensuring it stays healthy and blooms like a champ. Plus, a well-kept garden looks fabulous – and who doesn’t want a stunning garden that’s the envy of the neighborhood?
How to Identify Rose Suckers?
They typically sprout an inch or more from the base of the rose bush, rose suckers are pretty easy to identify once you know what to look for.
Here’s how you can distinguish rose suckers from the main plant:
- Color: Suckers often have a lighter hue than the mature growth of your rose bush. If you see some new growth that looks a bit pale, it’s likely a sucker.
- Structure: Suckers are usually more slender and taller, lacking the robust structure of the main plant. They look like they’re trying too hard to stand out!
- Thorns and Leaves: Compared to the main plant, suckers have fewer thorns. The leaves on suckers also differ in shape and size from those on the primary rose bush.
- Flowering: Here’s a dead giveaway – if these shoots do flower, the blossoms won’t look anything like the roses you originally planted. They rarely flower, but when they do, the blooms are a disappointment.
How To Easily Remove Rose Suckers From Your Rose Bush
First things first, let’s gather our tools. While most of these are optional, thick gardening gloves are a must-have when working with thorny roses.
What You’ll Need:
- Thick gardening gloves: To protect your hands from sharp thorns.
- Small shovel or trowel: Useful for moving dirt around.
- Pruning shears (optional): Handy but not necessary.
- Small paintbrush (optional): For applying sealant if you choose to.
- Rose sealant, clear nail polish, or white glue like Elmer’s (optional): For sealing wounds.
Once you have the right equipment for the job, removing rose sucker is a simple task:
Step 1: Locate the Sucker Use a garden trowel to scrape away the soil or compost from around the base of your rose bush. Carefully inspect the base of your rose bush looking for shoots extending from the rootstock, below the graft union. These shoots can sometimes be hidden under the foliage or start from the roots.
Step 2: Remove the Sucker Once you’ve found the base, it’s time to remove the sucker. Here are two methods you can use:
- By Hand: Grasp the sucker with a gloved hand and pull hard, tearing it off at the rootstock. This might feel a bit forceful, but it’s effective.
- With Pruners: Alternatively, you can use sharp pruners to cut each sucker as close to the main stem or ground as possible. Make a clean cut to avoid further injuring the rose bush.
Step 3: Skip the Sealant The old advice was to paint wound sealant onto the cut ends where the sucker grew. However, it’s now often recommended to let the wood heal naturally. So, no need to worry about sealants.
Step 4: Replace the Soil and Feed Your Rose After removing the sucker, replace the soil or compost you moved earlier. Give your rose a good feed with fertilizer to help it recover. Water the soil well to ensure the nutrients reach the roots.
Step 5: Mulch Finally, mulch around your rose bush with well-rotted homemade compost or farmyard manure. This will help retain moisture and keep your rose healthy.
Debunking Myths: Pulling vs. Cutting Off Rose Suckers
There’s a bit of a debate in the gardening world about whether pulling or cutting is better. Some gardeners argue that cutting might encourage more suckers to grow. Personally, I’ve found that pulling them off works pretty well, but if the sucker is particularly stubborn, a clean cut with pruners should do the trick.
Distinguishing Rose Suckers from Water Sprouts
Rose suckers grow from the rootstock, while water sprouts shoot up from the trunk or branches. Both need to go, but don’t confuse one for the other. Water sprouts are typically thin, unproductive, and can mess up the plant’s shape and airflow, making it more susceptible to disease.
