Common Rootstocks

Own Root

Own-root roses are commonly rooted from cuttings of the desired variety.  They typically take less time and skill to produce when compared to budded and grafted plants.  Some feel that own-root plants tend to live longer than budded and grafted plants in a soil to which they are well adapted.  In addition, if an own-root plant freezes to the ground, it will usually sprout back out from below the soil surface with the original variety in tact.   

Dr. Huey

Dr. Huey, introduced in 1914, is a once blooming climber with dark red blooms that have roughly 15 petals.  It is by far the most commonly used rootstock in the rose industry today, as it is used almost exclusively by the large nurseries that have fields in southern California .  Dr. Huey generally adapts to a wide range of climates.   

Multiflora

Multiflora rose is a shrub with arching stems.  The blooms are small with white petals.  It is widespread throughout the United States and can often be found along roadsides, fields, pastures and edges of forests.  It is recognized to have a hardy root system, thus it is recognized as a good rootstock, especially for less hardy rose species.  Multiflora is especially popular as a rootstock in Texas , Canada , and parts of the northeastern U.S.  

Fortuniana

Fortuniana, also known as "Double Cherokee," is currently the most popular rootstock in Florida and gaining recognition throughout the southeast.  Fortuniana is labeled as semitropical and it is said that it can be badly injured in a freeze.  Fortuniana is also the most nematode resistant of all our rootstocks, which is a particular problem in Florida .  Plants on Fortuniana are sometimes slower growing during the first few months after planting, than plants on some other stocks, but once established, they quickly catch up with and may even surpass the growth of plants on any other root system. Fortuniana makes a very far-reaching root system, extending out many feet from the bush.  It is more drought-tolerant than any of our other common stocks, and it is able to extract fertilizer nutrients from a wide variety of soils. With any grafted plant, it is important to watch for suckers (stems growing out from the rootstock portion of the plant) below the graft.  A convenient aspect of Fortuniana is that its leaves are drastically different from those of most other roses, so suckers are easily recognized in the garden, even when quite small.