'Dr. Huey,' the Uninvited Garden Guest

The future of mass-produced rose bushes seems to lie in own-root propagation. But grafting is still quite common, with nurseries like Weeks, Jackson and Perkins, K&M, etc. offering up many of their cultivars on rootstocks. Chief among those rootstocks, especially where the also-common 'Fortuniana' is not hardy, is 'Dr. Huey,' a crimson wichurana rambler. The understock is almost always more resilient and vigorous than the variety grafted on top, so when 'Peace,' a David Austin rose, or what have you succumbs to disease or trauma we are left with an anxious-to-grow 'Dr. Huey.' Some gardeners are perplexed when they find that their lovely rose has been transformed into a rambler, which blooms once in late spring, and then revels in black spot disease for the subsequent months.

As is typical of many dark-colored roses, 'Dr. Huey' is more magenta than crimson when it is grown in some shade.

But what would the rose landscape look like if it were not for Dr. Huey? It's an indelible part of our horticultural heritage, and thankfully, since it is not a species such as R. canina or R. multiflora, it never spreads should it crop up. In fact, it seems rather unwilling to breed at all; several of my plants of 'Dr. Huey' (I didn't have the heart to rip them up) obliged me with only one hip, containing one measly seed.

Of course I would not recommend intentionally planting 'Dr. Huey,' and to be frank your garden space is best given over to more worthy varieties that don't have such difficulty with black spot. But in some cases the good doctor should be allowed to stay put-- I once saw the crimson of 'Dr. Huey' peeking out from a sheet of Lonicera japonica, which was blooming at the same time, making a striking combination.