It sounds like the running roses have gone own-root, and started to run around. They do that if the bud union is buried.

I haven't had Dr. Huey sucker in quite that manner -- but I have seen Dr. Huey suckers pop up about 6 ins. out from the bud union.

(Mind, we don't normally bury the bud union here, unless we're hoping to get the rose to take off own-root.)

What I HAVE had sucker that far away from the plant is Multiflora rootstock. Of course, it's the wrong rootstock for here, but back in the late 80's/early 90's, we were ordering Austin roses from Hortico, prior to their U.S. release -- and they came on Multiflora.

Those ALL suckered rampantly here -- which is funny, considering that the plants on that rootstock were all chlorotic in our conditions.

Jeri

Thanks for the responses. I find this problem to be interesting rather than a headache. I should clarify that most of the suckers are thin and wiry and appear in late fall through the winter and usually become 10 to 12 inches tall before I see them. And these suckers become more numerous after I have shovel pruned the rose. And other than the suckers I saw today from the removed Alba Maxima's, all have come from hybrid teas which the vendors have advertised as being grafted on Dr Huey.

A few years ago I dug up and moved some HTs that had been in the ground a few years. They were grafted on Dr. Huey. The bed is in hard Georgia clay. I had one rose that had a root that was at least 8 feet long, not that far under the soil. I think because of the hard soil and the drought conditions we've had some years the roses didn't root too far down, but out. So it's possible that you can have a Dr. Huey sucker a few feet away from where the rose was planted.

Deeper watering will encourage larger roots to grow deeper into the soil, which will help prevent some of the suckering. In these parts, "gardeners" love to "cultivate" the rose beds, which breaks roots and always leads to groves of Huey springing up from the broken roots. If that's your practice, you would do well to stop it because of the root damage. It's also possible there were Huey roots where you dug something up. Huey will enthusiastically sprout from a severed root. Having it spring from the soil from roots remaining from a removed plant is common and should always pretty much be expected.

The hybrid Wichuranas you have coming will very likely produce the same types of suckers from any roots damaged by cultivation or digging other holes in their root zones. They are also very well known for layering themselves when their canes lay directly on damp soil or damp mulch. It's just what they do and what makes them such persistent roses, and why they frequently are very good root stocks. Kim

I was given some HTs which I planted and eventually SP'd because of horrible blackspot. Years later I got a Dr Huey, which I believe came from one of them. Unless, of course, it came from my Abe Darby which is close by, has been in the ground for about 30 years. Who knows...

This is fascinating. I've gardened all my life, and grown roses since 2004 and I like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable but I have a lot to learn. I may re-think the grafted roses approach in the future. The suckers I found yesterday from the shovel pruned Alba Maximas were very large. Thicker than a pencil and very deep. I purchased these plants several years ago from David Austin Roses. Grafted onto Dr Huey, they were simply enormous in size and grew with great vigor. I think I can expect a lot more of these things in the future. Thanks everyone for your responses.