Now that it's June, it's time to announce the finial results of the grafted
Vs own root battle for survival. And the results may or may not be
surprising.
As you may remember, I've been wondering witch type of rose would be more
likely to survive to 15 -20 degree below zero nights we had over the
winter.
The big companies, like J & P, say the grafted are hardier, as they use a
hardy root stock. Own rooters clam own root roses can tolerate die-back
to
the ground and still come back. I've often thought that each had other
agendas. Grafted roses come to market faster, own root is more cost
effective for small operations.
So, the envelope please. During the winter of 2006 and early spring of
2007
I lost 9 grafted rose (about 8% of the grafted population) and 4 own root
(about 2% of the own root population). This would suggest that own root
is
tougher.
A couple of caveats. I lost 4 grafted roses that were planted late in the
season, so it may not have been fair to include them. That being said, 5
lost grafted roses still represents 4 % of the population. Also, all the
lost own roots were planted last year as well. As a matter of fact, all
lost roses were in the ground for less than a year.
I'm not sure if this is good science, but I found it interesting. Hope
you
do to.
Best Regards
Jeff, Southeast Michigan, Zone 5
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