# 100 year old rose bush **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2013, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159 "2013-03-28T05:54:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/1 "2013-03-28T05:54:14Z")
A friend of mine owns a home in Berkley Ca. with a giant 100 year old rose bush in the back yard. He may have to remove the bush to replace a fence. I feel like the bush may have some real value to a high end landscaper. The pink roses are beautiful and the large trunk and burl base are magnificent. Does anyone have a rough idea if a plant like this may have some real value or not. The yard is a jungle and the tree would need to be cut all the way back. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/2 "2013-03-28T10:42:12Z")
Not exactly answering your question, but rose wood has a high density and excellent strength properties, especially tension strength. It’s also stunning in appearance, with massive ray patterns on quarter-sawn surfaces. Excellent bows, walking sticks, turned novelty items etc. can be fashioned from it. I really hope this 100-year-old specimen gets turned into beautiful wood artifacts that will live long after the plant has been cut back. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/3 "2013-03-28T11:52:32Z")
About a decade or so ago when my parents died I moved their old rosebush - maybe 50+ at the time. It moved really well. Since then, I moved it again to my daughter’s new home. I’d suggest the main “value” would be sentimental. I sure am glad my mom’s old rosebush lives on. But I suspect that whatever appeal it had to unrelated parties would be for a very narrow audience. 2 reasons - a rose bush that old would be an older - “heirloom” - style bloom. Some folk love old climbers - I think many more prefer the showier modern hybrids. Second - I think there is a limited number of landscaping siutations in which a massive old rosebush would be worth paying a premium. But I’m far from an expert. Best of luck to your friend. Hope the bush lives on either live or as wood. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/4 "2013-03-28T12:43:28Z")
It’s possible that the bush is of interest, particularly if the flowers are a variety no longer available (given the current interest in “heirloom crops”). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/5 "2013-03-28T12:47:36Z")
Roses can be propagated fairly easily from cuttings, so if the plant is an unusual/rare variety it can be preserved that way. Otherwise, the trouble and expense of digging up and transplanting a huge old specimen would be justifiable mainly on the grounds of sentiment. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/6 "2013-03-28T13:00:25Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Not exactly answering your question, but rose wood has a high density and excellent strength properties, especially tension strength. It’s also stunning in appearance, with massive ray patterns on quarter-sawn surfaces. Excellent bows, walking sticks, turned novelty items etc. can be fashioned from it. I really hope this 100-year-old specimen gets turned into beautiful wood artifacts that will live long after the plant has been cut back. Funny you mentioned bow making. The owner of the plant is a world famous author and bow maker. The base of the tree is not straight enough for a long enough stretch to make a bow but I have no doubt the wood will be beautiful. The character of the trunk and base I can see fitting into a variety of landscape situations. My suggestion to him was that any real value would happen after it survived a year prior to being transplanted. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/7 "2013-03-28T13:11:20Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > Not exactly answering your question, but rose wood has a high density and excellent strength properties, especially tension strength. It’s also stunning in appearance, with massive ray patterns on quarter-sawn surfaces. Excellent bows, walking sticks, turned novelty items etc. can be fashioned from it. I really hope this 100-year-old specimen gets turned into beautiful wood artifacts that will live long after the plant has been cut back. Rosewood doesn’t come from rose bushes - it’s a tropical hardwood. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/8 "2013-03-28T13:15:12Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Rosewood doesn’t come from rose bushes - it’s a tropical hardwood. The beautiful Brazilian Rosewood has been illegal now for quite some time. Nothing I have found yet can really replace it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/9 "2013-03-28T13:28:30Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > The beautiful Brazilian Rosewood has been illegal now for quite some time. Nothing I have found yet can really replace it. I don’t think the wood of a garden rose, even a very old one, is going to be usable at all. I can’t find any images of actual wood from Rosa spp, but I would imagine it would at best be something like apple wood - at worst, it might not be solidly woody at all. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/10 "2013-03-28T13:32:36Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I don’t think the wood of a garden rose, even a very old one, is going to be usable at all. I can’t find any images of actual wood from Rosa spp, but I would imagine it would at best be something like apple wood - at worst, it might not be solidly woody at all. I was thinking it might have some good pipe making burl in the base which appears quite solid. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/11 "2013-03-28T13:37:44Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I was thinking it might have some good pipe making burl in the base which appears quite solid. Briar pipes aren’t made from rose bushes either - they’re made from the root of a tree-heather. Honestly, I don’t think there is any such thing as rose wood, where ‘rose’ means a species of _Rosa_. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/12 "2013-03-28T14:25:51Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Briar pipes aren’t made from rose bushes either - they’re made from the root of a tree-heather. Honestly, I don’t think there is any such thing as rose wood, where ‘rose’ means a species of _Rosa_. As an aside. Is the handmade pipe given to me as a gift, which is actually made of a briar root (not sure if a rose or a wild briar of some sort) okay to smoke from? I have, but only on a couple of occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/13 "2013-03-28T16:07:14Z")
> [@rainy](#): > > As an aside. Is the handmade pipe given to me as a gift, which is actually made of a briar root (not sure if a rose or a wild briar of some sort) okay to smoke from? I have, but only on a couple of occasions. Briar (tree heather root) is probably the most common material for modern tobacco pipes, so it should not kill you any faster than smoking tobacco from, say, a clay pipe, or I guess they wouldn’t be making them from briar. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/14 "2013-03-29T00:34:16Z")
I have made pipes out of many different local wild burls. White heath from Spain is the most prized. I am primarily wondering about the value of this plant as a living landscape or possibly bonsai specimen. I really hate the thought of it just being cut down. The base of the tree would be stunning if it survived potting. I believe it is about 20 ft tall right now with possibly a 40 ft spread. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/15 "2013-03-29T01:57:32Z")
Ask a professional landscaper who is experienced at moving trees and large shrubs about the possibility (and cost) of moving it. Moving something that large and old is quite arduous and requires items like a small crane and a large truck. Also, the best time to move a deciduous shrub is in deep winter. Spring is about the worst time. Roses are tough though. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/16 "2013-03-29T02:02:37Z")
I am kind of considering buying the tree from him as a high risk challenging investment. If I have enough time before he starts the remodel I would like to stretch out the removal over a period of months. Cut 1/2 the roots a couple of feet from the tree and a few months later trim the roots on the other side then wait a few more months before actual removal. I feel pretty confident I could save it. I would of course consult with some experts before starting the process. I attempted to contact a few landscapers but they must be busy as I have not heard back yet. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/17 "2013-03-29T04:26:40Z")
Call a local Rose club, or native plant club. They will have people who are interested in preserving that type of specimen. And they’re volunteers who might do it for free. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/18 "2013-03-29T04:58:22Z")
The last message here says you might be able to use the wood. > **[thorny rose bushes anybody ever turned the wood.](https://www.lumberjocks.com/threads/thorny-rose-bushes-anybody-ever-turned-the-wood.19011/)** > > I came across some rose bushes that must of been growing for the last 70 plus years. The main stem was almost as big as my leg and I wonder if anybody has turned something like this. The main stem is thorny as heck and it would take some doing to... ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/19 "2013-03-29T09:45:38Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I have made pipes out of many different local wild burls. White heath from Spain is the most prized. ‘White heath’ sounds like briar (tree heather - Erica arborea) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159/20 "2013-03-29T09:48:55Z")
> [@astro](#): > > The last message here says you might be able to use the wood. > > [thorny rose bushes anybody ever turned the wood. | LumberJocks Woodworking Forum](http://lumberjocks.com/topics/19011) I suspect the last message thereis from someone who was given the timber and is possibly making the common mistake of thinking rosewood or rosewood burl comes from roses. I’ll be more than happy to be corrected on this if anyone wants to try working the thickened root of an ancient rose bush, but I believe they’re going to be working with something that’s pithy, fibrous, void-filled and pale greenish white in colour. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-year-old-rose-bush/654159.md?page=2)