Mike, that photo of Bouquet Parfait gets me every time. What a great shot of what must be a very pleasing (if large) shrub rose!
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I believe that budding was adopted as a technique precisely because there are a lot of rose cultivars that produce root systems that are a lot less vigorous than those of a good rootstock. In such cases, a budded rose is likely to grow bigger and faster and have more foliage than an own root plant, provided the plant doesn't freeze to death. But I prefer own-root plants when they grow vigorously on their own roots.
I'm trying to decide whether I would benefit from Fortuniana rootstock here in zone 7. The ground temperature a few feet down is maybe 65F. Maybe less. Nigh-time temps dip below 50F through most of the summer. And while we have been known to have 95F temps in February, the temperature usually doesn't reach that level most days in July and August. Where soil gets sunlight, it rarely freezes more than about 3 inches deep in mid winter. I know where it is warmer than it is here, Fortuniana rootstock can be superior to Dr. Huey or Multiflora. And in zone 6 Fortuniana is probably not a good choice. Any ideas?
(Zuzu, wouldn't it be convenient to collect comments about rootstocks in one place? ... I find myself asking the same questions over and over. Like "Why does anyone use Manetii as a rootstock?" And "do I remember correctly that Zuzu said pocket gophers hate multiflora rootstock?" and so on.)
