Question
Whacked rose
My teenagers had an extra week off for winter break, so one of the chores I gave them was to prune the rose bushes. I told them to take all bushes down to 8 inches at the base. I have two tall topiary rose bushes with the sticks at about 4 1/2 feet. I told them to prune them at the top. My daughter did not hear that and whacked them off 8 inches from the ground. I am in mourning! I tried to tape them (graft) back together but I don't think it is working. What do I do now? Can I retrain them to grow back like before? Thanks!
AnswerAlas it may be too late for the rose tree to be saved. Trees are made by growing a rugosa rose to about3 feet and then budding a modern rose on the top. The rose on the top needs the rugosa rose to supply it's water and food. If you now let the stem that is left grow, it will grow into a wild type of rugosa rose that is not really attractive in the garden. To join the a tall cane when it breaks, you need to clean and scrape off the break and make a slanted cut, literally right away and hope that no bacterial have got into the cut. Then you cut the other piece on a slant that will match the other and make it look like one piece of cane. Finally you bind it tightly with electrician's tape until the wound heals and that takes about a year to be sure it is strong. If you garden where the winter is still cold and the rose trees are still dormant, then you can try to join them as described. But they must be dormant with no growth at all to succeed. I would try it because it is going to die anyway.
