Multiflora rose cannot be eradicated by a one-time destructive effort. Wherever multiflora has become naturalized, the soil near older plants soon contains a large seedbank. Birds and other animals disperse seeds across a wide area, but the relatively few seeds brought by them into a property where multiflora already has become established are of minor consequence. This is why a pasture cleared of older plants will within a few years, if left untreated, re-establish primarily in areas where multiflora rose existed earlier. Multiflora rose can also multiply by layering-the process whereby tips of canes that touch the ground develop roots.
New plants can also arise from the shallow roots of older live plants.
Several scattered multiflora roses, if left undisturbed, can form a dense thicket within a few years. Many persons have the misconception that they cannot successfully suppress multiflora rose on their property as long as their neighbors fail to expend equal effort. Rose control is possible using the methods suggested here even if adjacent landowners do nothing. Multiflora rose can be more easily controlled within a single unit of land than some other perennial weeds, such as quackgrass or Canada thistle. Because multiflora rose has become widely naturalized, its control may only realistically be justified on portions of a property where its presence is detrimental to present or future land usage.