Dr. Huey Grrrrr... see my rant on this subject from earlier today in the thread that starts "Please identify this rose (each bloom is two inches across)".

Jackie

To get rid of it now you need to dig down and take off the suckers at the point where they originate from the roots. Don't just cut them off either. Cutting them with just encourage them to grow back again. You want to rip them off so that you do some cell damage in that area and the cane can't grow back. I don't know why some people have such a problem with this happening. In all my years of growing roses the only time I've had the good Doctor come up is when the grafted rose has died and I didn't bother to take it out right away. And at that it's only happened twice that I can think of. I've actually left the one because it's in a spot that got too shady to grow a rose now that the maple tree got so big. The DH doesn't seem to mind the shade!

I only have it with Abraham Darby and Gemini. Both are "newer" in my garden. 10 years instead of 20. Different sources for each. So I can't pinpoint why these two.

I remember reading years ago, in Sunset, to plant with the graft well above the soil line > in mild winter climates only. This was thought to discourage suckers. I have usually followed that practice.

In a previous garden I did as Seil says. Rip, don't cut! And it worked great. Don't wait another minute Sara_Ann. Remove a shovelful of soil so you can see the base of the Huey sucker and pull it down, out and away.

PS. 'reverting' would be used for another behavior.

I've only had it happen once, with Burning Desire, a J&P HT that wasn't very popular. I ripped off the sucker and never had the problem again.

Puttng the graft below the soil line usually hasn't been a problem, except once when the plant was completely buried and decided it wasn't going to leaf out. Fortunately I remembered where it was and replanted it--it is doing fine now.