In northern climates, low winter temperatures can injure the bud union and cultivar growing above the union. Planting the rose with the bud union below ground for insulation is the best way to ensure bud union survival, so that new canes produced in the spring are from the cultivar rather than the rootstock. Because of consumer demand, especially among northern gardeners, own-root roses produced by softwood propagation are becoming more available. These roses are produced by inducing roots to form on stem cuttings. With own-root roses, the chore of removing rootstock suckers disappears.
Plants growing on their own roots are also often long-lived in comparison to budded plants.
Since the root system is genetically identical to the canes, the gardener is assured that new basal canes produced each year are true to the cultivar. Newly purchased budded roses vary in size. Grade 1 roses are the highest quality and the most expensive. They have three or more canes growing from the bud union for most rose classes. Grade 2 roses have the fewest, shortest, or thinest canes.