It is not only fun, Lynn, but eventually it may be the only way for you to get many of the roses you may want, in the desired form you seek. It also permits you to tailor roses for the look you desire. Polys make gorgeous standards, but you can't find them. International Herald Tribune budded as a patio standard is flat out gorgeous. Pixie Treasures had Week's custom but several dozen two foot standards of it for them years ago. At Mother's Day, Laurie had them all in three gallon cans in full bud and bloom and sold every one of them for the holiday. If you have highly alkaline soil and water, growing strongly multiflora types can be a real issue. Those genes hate alkalinity and suffer extreme chlorosis unless strong measures are taken to alleviate them. Budding them on a suitable root stock such as Hume or Huey can completely eliminate the chlorosis issues. What if you want to grow invasively suckering types in your garden? Many roses rival Golden Bamboo for their aggressive suckering. Budding them and keeping the bud unions above the ground to prevent them from going own root will eliminate the issue and permit you to grow them in a traditional garden without the danger and constant work to prevent them from taking over. What if you want something which simply will not root, or is terrible on its own roots? Unless you either learn to bud, or have access to someone willing to do it for you, you're out of luck. What if you want several of a specific plant quickly? You can bud as many as you have sufficient stocks and buds to make all at once, or over a period of time, allowing you to create the effects you want. What if a specific stock is perfect for your climate, soil and water, but no one buds what you want on it? How about people in Florida who want roses on Fortuniana? Thankfully, there are more sources for more roses on Fortuniana, but not everything. Growing and budding your own solves that problem.
What if you receive just a tiny bit of material of a less than vigorous rose? I was sent the tiniest, thinnest little twig of an old Noisette a friend had lost and which was no longer commercially available. If I tried to root it, all three buds would have been required to make ONE cutting. I received it at the worst possible time of year for me to attempt rooting it. I used Burling's Chip Budding method on Pink Clouds, her stock of choice and ONE took! I now have a plant of that noisette from which to propagate more so I can replace the lost plant for my friend. I've offered her the original budded plant, but she fears losing it to gophers as she had the original and wishes a copy, leaving the original in my garden "for safe keeping". In the "Golden Years" when there were many rose sources offering many hundreds of obscure and wonderful roses, it wasn't an issue. Those days are over, possibly not ever likely to return to the extent we enjoyed just a few years ago. Growing your own and having as many propagation methods in your took kit as possible is probably going to be the only way many of us are going to be able to grow what we want, the way we want them.
Burling's Chip Budding Method
http://www.heritagerosefoundat...
