By Somhairle
Renfrewshire,
Scotland 
Can I do anything to prevent suckers on a standard rose?
My mother n law has a standard rose and it is terrible for producing suckers from the roots. This happens only on the one side of the rose but it is a really nuisance. It seems that every time I see the rose, I need to remove another sucker. I pull the sucker off and do not cut it. I try to get as close to the root from which it is sprouting to do this.
Is there anything I can do to prevent this? I don't think anyone is catching the root as they hoe, so am not sure why this keeps happening. It also seems that the standard is not growing on the side with these suckers. Could this be right?
2 Jul, 2019
Answers
I do expose the root. Normally I have to clear away the sol around the root to get to the base of the sucker and then remove it.
2 Jul, 2019
In the U.S., there are growth hormone analogs that can be brushed onto where the sucker was that will supress regrowth for a year or so, but I don't know if they are available in the UK.
3 Jul, 2019
Ah right. I have never heard of those but will do a search to see what I can find.
3 Jul, 2019
The active ingredient is usually ethyl 1-naphthaleneacetate, to make it easier to search.
5 Jul, 2019
Thanks. I did do a search a few days ago and the only thing that kept coming up was hormone rooting powder. The stuff normally used for cuttings. I did not find anything to suppress sucker growth though.
8 Jul, 2019
I am not aware of anything to prevent this. do you expose the root before pulling the sucker off? if not then some of the sucker stock will still be left. usually the roots stock suckers are better at growing and this may eplain why that side of the standard rose is not so good.
2 Jul, 2019