Is the old wood dead, and why?

[Patch]

About 5 years ago we three planted knock-out rose bushes which have done well, especially last summer when they got big (about 5.5 feet tall) and bloomed late into the Fall. All year we kept thinking “wow, I can't believe how beautiful those bushes look!â€

[applestar]

Did you have a particularly cold winter? It sounds like the cultivar above the graft has died off and the root stock is sprouting from below.