Patty,

The shank is the upper stem part of the entire rootstock. The shank and the roots coming out at its end are collectively the rootstock.

Either a rooted cutting or a seed grown rose compatable plant, say multiflora, is used as a rootstock. It is grown as its own plant for a length of time until it is time to graft the desirable rose onto it. The desirable rose is called the scion. The scion is grafted, inserted, to the little trunk, the shank, of the rootstock.

If the graft takes, the part of the shank above where the scion was grafted on, is cut away from the shank, immediately above where the scion is growing from the shank. You now have a rootstock, a shank with roots growing from its bottom, and the desirable rose, the scion, growing from the shank.

Some grafted roses have very long shanked rootstocks. Some grafted roses have very short shanked rootstocks.

On short shanked rootstocks it looks like the scion, the desirable rose, is not grafted at all, but growing from its own roots. The shank may be just an inch or so in length between where the roots come out of the shank and just above that spot, where the scion cane(s), emerge from the shank. Its easy to mistake a bare root grafted rose for a bare root own root rose if the grafted rose has a short rootstock.

It takes more skill to graft scion material down low, near the roots, of a rootstock shank, resulting in a short shanked grafted rose.

Very short shanks on rootstocks are desirable for cold climate rose growing, because the crown (bud union), if planted the necessary 4" below soil level puts the rootstock roots higher up in the more aerobic layer of the soil.

The 8" shanked rootstocks you see on the body bag roses, the ones mass produced for the cheap trade (like me!), when planted in cold climate gardens puts where the roots emerge from the shank 12" down, where the anaerobic soil is...not that good.

Hope I helped clarify your grafted rose question.

Moses

Thanks so much for the detailed reply Moses. Yes that answered it for me.

Great job Moses. I'll bet this answered not only Patty's question but the same question that a LOT of people have.