Is it possible to get my roses to come back?

I moved into this house last august and was told that the 5 rose bushes have gone wild and will never flower. I live in zone 5. Is there something I can do (fertilize, prune, ect.) to get them back?

Is it possible to get my roses to come back?
If this was a grafted rose and the rose died back to the ground over winter or the graft failed, you could be seeing growth from the root stock, generally a much hardier, vigorous but otherwise not garden worthy rose.





"Grafted roses, commonly referred to as budded plants, are plants where the desired rose is grafted or budded onto a rootstock of a different type. The point where the desired variety and the rootstock meet is called the bud union.





Own-root roses may be recommended for those in very cold climates. This is because an own-root rose that dies back to the ground during the winter can grow back the next year from the roots. If a grafted rose dies back to the ground, what will come up next Spring is the rootstock variety, usually an undesireable variety of rose."





When a rose "goes wild" that is dies back below the graft, the wild growth looks every bit like a rose....thorns and all, but usually blooms with small white flowers.


If you live in zones 5 and north you need to remember to plant a grafted rose with the graft 4 inches below the ground level.
Reply:Honey, roses are more hearty than you think. You do have to fertilize it (a bit of rose fertilizer--buy it in the garden center) in spring and every month or two, but if it's getting huge and isn't flowering it's because you haven't pruned it. Some roses are continuous bloom and some are just a once-of-year. Go check out a book from your library on roses, and determine the type. While you're at the garden center grab a pair of pruners and have at it. Cut back to the first group of 5 leaves you see (the closest to the tip, not to the base) and you're gonig to be getting them in the droves. All roses are wild by nature, it's humans who tame them. Water it every other day. Good luck. Let me know how it goes.





Trilli
Reply:All roses bloom, even wild ones. Go ahead and prune them back. If the growth is coming from above the graft they have not gone wild. if the growth is below the graft they have and the grafted part has died. Wild roses usually have more flowers but they usually only have 5 petals as opposed to the hybrid tea or floribunda types. But they are just as attractive IMHO. Feed them with a balanced fettilizer. You may be surprised at the results.
Reply:try all of things you mentioned and see what happens...





good luck...
Reply:Absolutely. Prune very hard, preferably in the spring. Dig in some bonemeal around the roots.





And if you deadhead after the blooms have faded you will get more flushes.
Reply:use Bayer systemic rose food or any brand that is "systemic " It will feed the plants but also protect them from diseases and bugs....there is a great link and you can search for whatever help you need with your roses