My rosebush doesn't bloom?

Question

I have a rosebush I planted a few years back. It's a hybrid tea type, but I forget the specific breed. It bloomed beautiful, large blossoms the first couple of years I had it. After that it bloomed one year as though it were a floribunda type. In the two years since it hasn't bloomed at all, just grown to ridiculous heights. Anybody know why it's not blooming?

Thanks alot for all the input, guys. I think the problem is that the rootstock overcame the grafted plant. It did indeed take a hard hit from a particularly harsh winter, but right when I was going to dig it up I noticed canes still growing. I did check now and they appear to be growing from the roots, so I guess it probably won't bloom again, if the rootstock was a one-time only thing. Oh well... I guess I'll dig it up and try again.

I guess I should add that the rose gets plenty of sun, so that's not the problem, and I don't use pesticides or chemical fertilizers at all. I try not to get my plants addicted to drugs. The blooms that happened after the change were Dr. Huey blooms, from the sounds of it. They were deep red and semi-doubled. Oh well, I'm just going to dig it up then. At least I still have my double delights to please the girls with.

Answer 1

For the most part, hybrid teas are grafted onto a root stock. This root stock is usually an old fashioned climbing rose called Dr. Huey. Dr. Huey is red, and blooms in clusters in the spring. I don't think that it reblooms.

Any growth that comes up from the roots on any grafted rose should be pruned out. These shoots will quite literally steal water and nutrients from the desired 'hybrid' rose. If you pruned your rose very 'hard', you could have been the culprit too. Most likely what happened, is that the rose took a strong kill back a couple winters ago, but a few canes remained 'good', so you thought it would grow back, some of these shoots came up from the ground, and suddenly your rose looked terrific, so you thought it would be okay. Eventually most or all of the hybrid tea died out, and left you only dear old Dr. Huey.

Regardless of how it came to be, Dr. Huey is never worth the trouble. I'd dig him out, and try again with another rose. If you want to try a carefree rose, consider a salt spray rose (Rosa rugosa), they are very easy to grow, rarely are grafted and are practically pest free.

I hope that this helped
Good luck-

Answer 2

Roses need a minimum of 6 hours direct sunlight 8 hours is better. One possibility is other plants have grown so your rose gets to little light. This would force your rose to reach towards sunlight. This would explain the heights but not the flower change from single to cluster. Plants do produce sports but that is usually just a color or height change. A white iceburg producing red flowers or the shrub form producing climbing length canes. But going to cluster blossoming I haven't heard of.
However you now have no flowers.

Hybrid teas are grafted so it is possible the root stock over whelmed the graft. The one problem with this being the sole answer, that is that even if it is rootstock why isn't it blooming. The reason they are rootstock is they are very strong plants. They should be still producing some blossoms unless there are other problems.


Do you prune it? If you prune it in the fall and it is a once blooming rootstock, like Dr Huey or Rosa multiflora, you have cut off any chance of it blooming in the spring.
Graft stock is often Rosa multiflora or Dr. Huey in the US.
Rosa Multiflora is a species rose with single white or pink flowers in large coryms (groups) on canes to 10 feet.
Dr. Huey throws long climber canes with dark crimson, semi-double blooms with yellow centers. The canes would come from below the lump that is the grafting union.
Does this sound like what you saw appear the one time it did bloom? Did you not prune it that year?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiflora_Rose
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/64595/
http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=1550
If you are in CA or Ore. Edmund's roses uses Burr's Multiflora or Manetti.
http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=15373
While Rosa Fortuniana is used as a Southern climate rootstock.http://hortiplex.gardenweb.com/plants/p1/gw1085722.html
http://www.pswdistrict.org/text/articles/rosaFortunianaRootstock.html
Griffith Buck developed a cold hardy rootstock "069", so it could still be an overgrown graft even if you are in zone 4 or 5.

Answer 3

If a Tea Rose starts blooming like a Floribunda, you have pruned it too severely and have killed the grafted plant. So, what you have now is just the original rootstock of some rose that is hardy but doesn't bloom much. I suggest you replace the plant and take a look on the new one and locate the grafting point. If you cut below that point, you will have the same experience again. Best of luck-----

Answer 4

I don't know anything about roses, really, but my bush is happy, so I'll tell you what I do.

I trim away anything that looks dead (this is a climbing rose) and as soon as a bloom wilts, I trim that off too. I do no major pruning otherwise, because this is a climbing rose bush. I have it in sun except in late afternoon.

I fertilize with rose fertilizer, and pour in pickle juice whenever the pickles get used up. Oh, and when I'm fertilizing all the rest of the plants with Miracle Gro, I do that one too.

I don't water it unless it's been a while since it rained--we've had so much rain in TX I've hardly had to water anything. We haven't even turned our sprinklers on!

That's about all I know about growing roses, if you want some tips about arranging cut ones, let me know.

Amateur Floral Arranger

Answer 5

Most hybrid tea roses only bloom on NEW cane. You have to dead head and prune them regularly. It is best to buy a book about roses and follow the directions.
Hybrid tea roses are the most beautiful roses in my opinion,but high maintenance. Just like woman!

Answer 6

Have you used pesticides? The "annoying" ants you may have seen crawling around actually aid your roses in blooming. If this is the case, try cutting back on the bug spray next season and things may turn out better.

Answer 7

try pruning it down to smaller size before digging up. this weather has been crazy on all plants not enough rain in some places too much in others it may come back if any green in it.good luck

Answer 8

Is it getting tall because it's stretching for more light? Is another plant shading it?

That would be my first guess. Roses need tons of light.

Connor G's answer looks likely, very interesting...

Answer 9

Often ose don't bloom if there are growing horizontal.Try to train them to grow vertical and fertlize often and water well