Question
QUESTION: Some of my Flower Carpet roses had clusters of very small buds at the end of each stem last year, didn't open very well, quite unlike the "normal" buds. Is this normal? Are they grafted, ie are these suckers? I garden in UK.

ANSWER: If you got a nasty frost which lasted for a couple of days, then that would freeze the new flower buds and distort them. Because they were damaged, the buds would not be normal. If the flowers were the same normal colour even though they were smaller and a different shape, then again they would have just be damaged flowers.The other possibility is that an insect damaged them by laying it's eggs in them. You could have checked and seen if that was the case by looking for a tiny pin hole at the base of the buds. If a rose is budded, then the under stock usually has single white flowers and the canes would grow to about 3 feet or taller.

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QUESTION: Thanks. I forgot to say that the leaves at the ends of the shoots were also not normal - long shoots, leaves very thin, rather spiky - and they're coming the same this spring, not on all the plants, just some. Any ideas?

Answer
Yes, you are right, it is the under stock that is now growing instead of the Flower Carpet. If you think there are any canes still remaining of the Flower Carpet rose, then get rid of the understock canes buy either yanking down on them to tear them off or cut them very close to the base where they are growing from. Keep in mind that the understock rose will have more stamina than the top modern rose, so you may have the same problem again.