This is a good picture of a good looking healthy rose. Just what you want to have. Obviously you planted the graft deep enough to encourage own root growth and you should also get some good basals if the soil is kept moist. Now entering my second year here in SoCal I'm also getting own root growth and finally a lot of basals. This wont happen if you plant the rose with the graft above ground which makes me wonder why almost everyone here seems to do it that way.

Kitty,

Thanks so much! How has multiflora behaved for you in your clay? As much as I despite Dr. Huey, it does have its merits here in our soil. If multiflora is a better alternative though I'd prefer it.

Josh

You can see what's left of the multiflora. It's the big mass in the middle going straight down. Two roots fused into one and then began to rot away as the own roots took over. If own roots don't grow, the plant slowly fades away. I try to improve the soil to give the multiflora roots a chance until new own roots grow but sooner or later, my alkaline water and the breakdown of the redwood and peat in the hole will be the end of any multiflora root the rose has. It lasts longer in a pot than in the ground.