Is this rose grafted?

Hi everyone, could I get some opinions on this old rose, which I inherited from the previous owners of our garden. It is supposed to be trained over a (now broken) arch so I think it’s probably a climbing rose. It has one very old long stem, about a metre high, and then the section shown in the first photo. There is also a second much younger stem coming from below the ground, seen in the second picture.

Am I right in thinking that knobbly section in picture 1 is a graft, and therefore this may have started life as a standard rose? And therefore I should prune out that second long stem?

 

It does look like it may of been a standard to begin with , and the branch coming from below a sucker . You can always wait and see what the flowers look like whether it has come off the root stock, they'll be a single white flowers if they have come off the root stock.

 

I’d say it’s grafted, like most standard roses. Personally I would remove the sucker and also gently brush off the moss on the joint and stems. Tidying the soil around the base, removing the ivy and adding a mulch of organic matter will also give your rose a boost. Some of mine are already budding well. Good luck with it.

 

@Perki I don’t recall seeing any white flowers on it last summer - are flowers from below the graft always white or can they be pink? I do remember thinking that the flowers weren’t terribly impressive. Annoyed with myself that I didn’t take any pictures.

Would leaving the possible sucker for now to see what happens be likely to damage the main plant?

@Plantminded Yes, I will definitely give it some TLC, just holding off until I can cut back the hydrangea heads which are currently getting in the way!

 

May have a slight tinge of pink but usually white . They do form rose hips though

 

Does the new stem have the same amount of thorns as the ones above what looks like the graft? If not then it is a sucker.

I think @Plantminded has given good advice. Suckers do weaken the plants and I would cut it off.

 

I have arthritis in my hands so I am rarely able to pull suckers off, but yes, better to pull them off if you can @wiseowl.

 

Ooh interesting, I didn’t know that. It’s a pretty thick stem but if I cut it shorter I might be able to pull it off.