multiflora "potato" first flower

Joe Dupre'

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Well, maybe more of a pumpkin instead of a potato. Giant stump I rescued from my sister's house after she brutally cut it down to the ground. I potted it up last spring. What I had was basically a football sized hunk of root with maybe an inch or two above the soil line. It only has pencil sized branches now, and it will never fit the description of a bonsai, but it has a very interesting shape and now......a flower. There are at least 10 more flower buds on it. Just an interesting plant to display alongside my bonsai.

Side note. A VERY invasive plant here so all prunings go into the burn pile. Pruning is not a pleasant experience!100_2219.JPG
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Nice,
You may have trouble keeping the trunk from rotting away. Hit the deadwood parts with a wood hardener. Or just let it rot, which will cause a constant evolution of the shape of your tree.

Definitely a sumo lump.

I hate dealing with multiflora rose in the landscape, but the flowers are sweet.
 

Joe Dupre'

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I can only hope some of it rots away. LOL! I've been chopping away at it bit by bit. At this years's repotting, I took another fist sized piece of the trunk off. Most of the roots are on one side, so I'll be cutting the off side back as much as I can.
 

coh

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Nice,
You may have trouble keeping the trunk from rotting away. Hit the deadwood parts with a wood hardener. Or just let it rot, which will cause a constant evolution of the shape of your tree.

Definitely a sumo lump.

I hate dealing with multiflora rose in the landscape, but the flowers are sweet.
Some of them produce really neat hips too. We have multiflora all over our back fields, and I believe there are also various hybrids of multiflora with whatever other roses are around. There's one that produces beautiful, large, oval, red hips but it otherwise is not worth collecting. Some of them have interesting flowers too, not always the plain white.
 

CasAH

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Some of them produce really neat hips too. We have multiflora all over our back fields, and I believe there are also various hybrids of multiflora with whatever other roses are around. There's one that produces beautiful, large, oval, red hips but it otherwise is not worth collecting. Some of them have interesting flowers too, not always the plain white.


The larger hips are from native roses, it is one of the distinguishing characteristics between multi flora and the native roses. The hairs on the sepals on multiflora are another, natives are smooth.
 

coh

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The larger hips are from native roses, it is one of the distinguishing characteristics between multi flora and the native roses. The hairs on the sepals on multiflora are another, natives are smooth.
Interesting. Your post prompted me to do some research on native roses. Wasn't aware there were so many varieties out there. I have no idea which one(s) we have on the property but will have to pay attention this summer. Unfortunately the area where the one with the beautiful hips grows is completely overgrown and I don't even know if I can get to it.
 

CasAH

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The larger hips are from native roses, it is one of the distinguishing characteristics between multi flora and the native roses. The hairs on the sepals on multiflora are another, natives are smooth.


Correction

Sepal should be petiole. Japanese multiflora roses have hairy petioles. The native roses have smooth petioles.

Sorry for the mix up. I have not had to kill many Japanese multiflora roses lately.
 

Joe Dupre'

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This plant can grow some decent sized branches...........but maybe not in a pot. Look at the cut-off trunks. The biggest is about 2 1/2" in diameter. If it doesn't, It'll still be a welcome addition to my benches.
Lot's of potential for some creative carving on that large canvas of a base.
 

Joe Dupre'

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Any suggestions on when to prune it back? I think I'll just stick with the large, rounded canopy. It seems to fit with the huge , gnarly base.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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@Owen Reich
Owen, if I remember correctly suggests letting branches grow out, as long whips, then pruning back. Repeated growing out and pruning back. If you want flowers in spring, you need to let the first flush grow out enough to bloom. Then after bloom you can cut back, or leave them for hips. Either in autumn, or late winter, early spring, there should be the hard cut back to bring the form back into shape.

I think that is right.

I have a few miniature roses. I let branches grow out, and bloom, then cut back to an appropriate internode for ''bonsai shaping'', since they are all continuous blooming types, I usually one or two ''canes'' growing out and some that where just recently cut back. They winter better for me in my climate if I leave canes long in autumn and then cut back hard in late winter, early spring, about the time you see signs of new growth. I try to encourage low shoots to develop, as I want most of the growth coming off the trunk, as I am still building trunks. I don't let branches get ramified on young miniature roses. I will switch to branches maybe a decade down the road, but first I need to encourage trunks.
 
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