I hope you had a magical Christmas and Hanukkah week, filled with joy and warmth! Here on the farm, I had a cozy celebration with family. Despite battling a cold (ugh), I still enjoyed the magic of Santa's annual visit to my house. Hopefully, Santa brought you something special for your garden—or maybe even a Menagerie Gift Card to snag some rose plants in 2025! Can you believe it's the final week of December? As the month winds down, we're wrapping up our focus on Bare Root Rose Planning with one of the most confusing topics for both new and seasoned rose growers—rootstocks.

If you missed last week's newsletter on choosing the best type of rose for your garden, you can catch up here. This week, we're exploring the differences between grafted and own-root roses to help you decide which option (or both!) might be the perfect fit for your garden.

Let's start with grafted roses. Think of grafting as melting two different color crayons together to create a cooler better new crayon. A grafted (or budded) rose combines a top-stock (chosen for its blooms) and a rootstock aka bottom-stock (selected for its hardiness). This pairing offers the best of both worlds—vigorous growth, improved hardiness, and enhanced disease resistance. In the U.S., common rootstocks include Dr. Huey, Fortuniana, and Multiflora. Grafted roses are typically more mature when sold by a nursery (2+ years old) due to the extra time required for the grafting process. This means they're often a larger size plant and establish quickly once planted.

On the other hand, own-root roses are grown entirely from one variety. Being a single, unified plant often makes them hardier in colder climates. Delivered at a younger age (typically 1–1.5 years old), these plants may initially appear smaller in size. However, rest assured—they will grow to reach the full size of a mature plant, just like grafted roses. If you're curious about rose size and grading, stay tuned—I'll be sharing more on that next month, just ahead of planting season.

So, which is better: grafted or own-root roses? The truth is, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on your gardening goals, climate, and personal preferences. Some varieties excel on their own roots, while others thrive when grafted. And, yes, some perform well in either form! If anyone tells you one type is definitively better than the other, take it with a grain of salt—they're likely sharing what works best for their garden (or trying to sell you something!), not necessarily yours. Ultimately, the choice comes down to your specific soil type, climate, and gardening priorities. The key to success is choosing the right rose, for the right place, on the right rootstock, planted at the right time. Let's weigh the pros and cons to help you decide.

Grafted roses are known for their vigor, faster establishment, and adaptability to challenging soils and climates. They often produce larger blooms and more abundant flowers, making them a great choice for weak-growing varieties. Additionally, the rootstock can provide resistance to soil-borne pests and diseases. However, grafted roses require more maintenance. The graft union can be vulnerable to cold damage in the winter, and rootstock suckers may need regular removal. Under certain conditions, they may also have a shorter lifespan or fail if the graft weakens.

Own-root roses, in contrast, are typically hardier and longer-lived. They're free from the risk of suckering or graft failure and are easier to propagate. These roses perform particularly well in cold climates and recover better from cold damage since the entire plant is the same variety. However, they often take longer to establish, grow more slowly, and may struggle in poor soils or extreme climates. They're also less suitable for varieties with naturally weak root systems.

At Menagerie Flower, I grow both grafted and own-root roses for commercial cut flower production. Over the years, I've experimented with hundreds of rose varieties, testing how those typically grown as grafted plants perform on their own roots—and vice versa. Some roses thrive as grafted plants but struggle on their own roots, while others do just fine without the support of a hardier rootstock. Through years of research and trial and error, I've curated my bare root rose collection to ensure every rose is offered on the rootstock that suits it best. Some varieties are exclusively own-root, some are exclusively grafted, and a few are available in both forms.

Now that you know the difference between grafted and own root roses, it's time to decide what's best for YOUR garden. Here's your action steps for the week:

My recommendation? Remember this little gardening truth—part of growing anything is trial and error. Sometimes, the best way to find out what works for you is to simply try it. Don't miss out on discovering a breathtaking variety because you heard from someone somewhere online you shouldn't grow a specific type of rootstock. It's up to you to do the research and evaluate what's best for you and you YOUR garden or farm. 

With the holiday season winding down and bare root rose planting season coming in hot, I can't wait to guide you through the next steps in January. You'll be unpacking, planting, and watching your bare roots grow into gorgeous, blooming roses before you know it.