I have a couple of rose bushes. Years ago I had a red one and pink one. The red one died off a couple seasons ago. I also have what I call a "tea rose" bush in the same area. That one is pink, and has very small flowers.

This year the pink rose bush is sprouting RED flowers. The dead red rose bush did not mysteriously return, and I'm positive the flowers on this rose bush were pink last year. Has anyone ever heard of this?

 

Were they grafted? If so you may be seeing growth from below the graft. Dig into the soil and check where your feeder canes are sprouting from.

 

I didn't do any grafting, but maybe the place we bought it from did? We've had it several years already......weird, or maybe I'm

 

Usually a nursery will graft a rose onto good root stock. Most all roses are grafted. Probably whats happened with yours is the feeders are coming from below the graft this year.

 

Almost all roses are grafted onto rootstock. The rose plant has a very poor root system so growers graft them onto a strong root system. This is the "bulge" you see at the junction of the canes and root system. Your change in color can happen if the root stock actually starts go grow its own canes.
If any of you have a Little Gem Magnola this you can get some very strange growth as this is also grafted onto root stock.
I know that hydrangeas can be forced to change color if you vary the chemical compositon of the soil. I have not seen that happen with roses.

 

Thanks.

 

Lainey, I had a Mr. Lincoln, a red hybrid tea rose put out dark pink flowers for a few months last spring (2009). Then it went back to red. This never happened in Acton, where it's very dry, so I thought maybe the humidity here had something to do with it. And yes, the "suckers" that sprout up from the root stock can make very different, and usually ugly, roses. I always dug down in the dirt to cut them off so they wouldn't grow.

 

[QUOTE=Kyras,Jun 8 2010, 01:59 PM] Lainey, I had a Mr. Lincoln, a red hybrid tea rose put out dark pink flowers for a few months last spring (2009).

 

if it gets cold enough it can kill the graft section.
if that happens just dig it up and start over.
I don't think that we got all that cold this winter though.

 

Sure they can




Went to brown no problem...