Hedge Tea and Tea Rose Hybrid Truths

Question: I have been told that when the field hedge rose was planted near a hybrid tea rose that the hybrid tea blossoms reverted back to a single wild rose in form, but retained their hybrid color. Could this happen? RG, Wisconsin

Answer: Your hybrid tea rose will not be changed in any manner by its proximity to other roses. Often a grafted rose sends up shoots from below the graft. These shoots are very vigorous and soon kill out the part of the rose that is above the graft. Then all you have is a wild rose of the sort used for grafting the hybrid tea. Always watch for shoots appearing below the graft and remove them promptly. They are easily identified since their foliage and stems are quite distinct from the growth above the graft and since they develop from below the surface of the soil.

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