Don't know about where you are. Out here, it would mean that a gopher had eaten all of the roots.

In that case, if the rose is on its own roots, we have had good luck with pulling them up, soaking them in water, then potting up so that they can grow new roots in peace.

Jeri

It sounds as though you've done everything you could and the situation seems to be turning around. Now it's just wait and watch to see the bush continues on its upward trajectory. The fact that you've seen new leaflets is very encouraging. It seems that the worst is over and the rose should recover.

Here, it would be voles. Check around the plant to see if there are soft spots where the vole runs might be. If you don't find any, then perhaps deer or a stray animal ran into your plant. Hope that's what happened, voles are nasty things and hard to get rid of in an established bed.

Usually, if something hit the plant hard enough to break roots, it's going to also have significantly damaged top growth, snapped canes, perhaps a cracked shank, etc. My guess is you have gophers. I've never had a plant I was trying to remove actually break roots from being molested above ground. Most often, the tops break, leaving the roots firmly entrenched. Kim

Prairie Sunrise is indeed an own-root. I had no idea that digging it up, soaking it and replanting it in a pot was an option. Now I do. I will keep that in mind for the future.

About the vole suggestions- We live on the edge of a woods and have all manner of wildlife great and small. We have had deer, coyotes, possum, raccoons, rabbits, stray livestock, dogs and cats, not to mention all varieties of birds, insects and reptiles. We've also had voles, moles and other tunnelers. It could be the work of a vole although I didn't see a hole or tunnel close by. If so, this may be a problem that solved itself. Last week DH saw a 3'+ king snake in same bed. He came in the house to tell me but when we both went out to take a look, the snake was gone and we haven't seen it again. I don't need a zillion snakes in my yard but several in the right place can be helpful.

PS continues to improve. I think that I will gradually taper off the Superthive over the next month and watch for progress.

Thanks to all who replied.

In east TN, it's voles. That snake may have solved the problem, but there are millions of voles out there and the moles and subsequent voles love the soils in gardens and flower beds, far more than the compact soils of yards and hay fields. Snakes can only eat so many of them.

You may have done the exactly right thing, instinctively.

That rose is regrowing underground. IF we get hot and dry temps, you may want to reduce the lengths of the canes to lengths that the roots can support in dry weather. Even though you may be watering, July and August can be so hot that the roses become even more water needy and the roots haven't gotten back to their spring condition yet.

Have you had severe storms? Is it possible that with severely water logged soil and high winds the bush could have been uprooted? I know that I've had some problems with roses that toppled in the winds before. And it has been a very stormy spring.

I agree with Ann that you did the right thing by firming it back up right away. I would add that you might want to stake it temporarily to protect it from further upheaval. Just place a good sturdy garden stake in the ground near it and use some twine around the canes to secure it. With some time it should regrow the lost roots and the leaves will eventually replace themselves. Be patient with it and don't fertilize it until you see some good new growth. Keep it watered but be careful not to OVER water it. If it gets very hot there you might want to try and shade it somehow during the hottest part of the day too.