PLANTING A ROSES BUSH
Planting a BARE ROOTED BUSH
Most bushes purchased from a mail order or online nurseries
will come bare rooted unless otherwise advertised. The
alternative is a rose already potted. More about those later.
How do you handle these things!
Day before
Soak
Remove the bush from the packing container and place in a
large container (really large, such as a garbage can or large tub).
The more of the bush you can soak the better. The soak should
last at least 8 hours, overnight if possible. If you need advice on
holding roses that arrived and you can't possible plant, contact
one of our Consulting Rosarians in your area. Contact
information is on the "Consulting Rosarian" Page.
Planting Day
FIRST
The single most important think you can do is dug the right hole
in the proper place. By proper place we mean in a well drained
location that gets 6 hours or more per day of direct sun exposure.
You can grow in less sun but you will get longer, weaker stems
and the bush will not be as healthy. For best results follow this
rule. Drainage is also important. Too wet and the roots will rot.
Too dry and the roots will die. There are simple tests to do to
see if your hole will drain. We will mention these after you dig.
SECOND
Dig a big hole. This means deep and wide enough to spread
the roots and so that the bud union is slightly below the ground
level. In Western Pennsylvania this is recommended so that the
bud union does not freeze. You may see directions that say the
bud union should be above the ground level. If you do this here
you will definitely need aggressive winter protection to keep the
bud from freezing. A frozen bud means you lose the bush you
bought. The roots may survive but the plant will transform into
what ever root stock shrub was used for the budding process.
The hole should be at least 18" x 18" and larger would be better.
THIRD
Soil
Roses like a soil referred to as sandy loam (60%
sand/20%silt/20%clay). To get this put the soil dug out of the
hole in a wheel brow or other large mixing container and the mix
in sand and peat moss or other organic material as needed.
Then use this soil to back fill the hole.
Fertilizer
Root development is the most important growth on a newly
planted bush. Roots need an adequate supply of phosphates for
healthy, vigorous root growth. Phosphates are the slowest parts
of the fertilizer mix to move through soil. For this reason it is
recommended that you add phosphate to the soil placed around
the roots at planting time. Bone mean or superphosphate is
recommended. Do not use a rapid release fertilizer. These
formulations will burn the bare roots and stunt or kill the rose. Add
and mix the fertilizer step with the soil added first as you back fill
around the roots.
Planting
Finally you are ready to put the bush in the ground. Place your
fertilizer mixed soil first to the bottom of the hole. You may need
to trim the roots if they are exceptionally long and are hindering
your placement of the bush in it's new home. Also remove any
damaged roots. Some rosarians will mound the soil in the base
of the hole and drape the roots over this elevation. Others skip
this step and carefully tease the soil all around the roots. The
one thing you do not want is air pockets. The soil should be in
complete contact with the roots and firmly, but gently placed. Do
not pack or heavily tamp the soil down. This will impede water
flow to the roots.
A side note is in order at this point.
Drainage
How do you know if there is good drainage? The best advice
I've heard is look around. Is the area of the yard you want to plant
"wet" or "soaky" in the spring? Or do you have to water anything
planted in this spot daily? Wet, needs drainage. Dry, needs soil
amendments to hold the water. Another test is to dig the hole
and fill it with water. The water should be drained out in about
two (2) hours. If it is sitting in there, you need to dig deeper and
add a few inches of gravel for drainage. Or you may consider a
raised bed. Can't go down, then go up.
Last steps
Fill up the hole and firm the soil down gently with your hands.
Water the bush well. You will need to protect the canes of the
new bush. There are no or very few feeder roots on a bare
rooted bush. Desiccation, or drying out, of the canes is one of
the common reasons a new bush dies. Mounding the canes with
up to 8" of soil is the most common and tried method. Spraying
the canes with an anti-desiccant, such as "Wilt Proof" can be
considered as an alternative to mounding. Or you can place a
rose cone--that Styrofoam device sold for winter protection-over
the bush until you start to see leafing begin. But don't forget to
check regularly. When the buds on the canes start to swell you
should remove the protection.
If you have more questions please call a Rosarian.
Most bushes purchased from a mail order or online nurseries
will come bare rooted unless otherwise advertised. The
alternative is a rose already potted. More about those later.
How do you handle these things!
Day before
Soak
Remove the bush from the packing container and place in a
large container (really large, such as a garbage can or large tub).
The more of the bush you can soak the better. The soak should
last at least 8 hours, overnight if possible. If you need advice on
holding roses that arrived and you can't possible plant, contact
one of our Consulting Rosarians in your area. Contact
information is on the "Consulting Rosarian" Page.
Planting Day
FIRST
The single most important think you can do is dug the right hole
in the proper place. By proper place we mean in a well drained
location that gets 6 hours or more per day of direct sun exposure.
You can grow in less sun but you will get longer, weaker stems
and the bush will not be as healthy. For best results follow this
rule. Drainage is also important. Too wet and the roots will rot.
Too dry and the roots will die. There are simple tests to do to
see if your hole will drain. We will mention these after you dig.
SECOND
Dig a big hole. This means deep and wide enough to spread
the roots and so that the bud union is slightly below the ground
level. In Western Pennsylvania this is recommended so that the
bud union does not freeze. You may see directions that say the
bud union should be above the ground level. If you do this here
you will definitely need aggressive winter protection to keep the
bud from freezing. A frozen bud means you lose the bush you
bought. The roots may survive but the plant will transform into
what ever root stock shrub was used for the budding process.
The hole should be at least 18" x 18" and larger would be better.
THIRD
Soil
Roses like a soil referred to as sandy loam (60%
sand/20%silt/20%clay). To get this put the soil dug out of the
hole in a wheel brow or other large mixing container and the mix
in sand and peat moss or other organic material as needed.
Then use this soil to back fill the hole.
Fertilizer
Root development is the most important growth on a newly
planted bush. Roots need an adequate supply of phosphates for
healthy, vigorous root growth. Phosphates are the slowest parts
of the fertilizer mix to move through soil. For this reason it is
recommended that you add phosphate to the soil placed around
the roots at planting time. Bone mean or superphosphate is
recommended. Do not use a rapid release fertilizer. These
formulations will burn the bare roots and stunt or kill the rose. Add
and mix the fertilizer step with the soil added first as you back fill
around the roots.
Planting
Finally you are ready to put the bush in the ground. Place your
fertilizer mixed soil first to the bottom of the hole. You may need
to trim the roots if they are exceptionally long and are hindering
your placement of the bush in it's new home. Also remove any
damaged roots. Some rosarians will mound the soil in the base
of the hole and drape the roots over this elevation. Others skip
this step and carefully tease the soil all around the roots. The
one thing you do not want is air pockets. The soil should be in
complete contact with the roots and firmly, but gently placed. Do
not pack or heavily tamp the soil down. This will impede water
flow to the roots.
A side note is in order at this point.
Drainage
How do you know if there is good drainage? The best advice
I've heard is look around. Is the area of the yard you want to plant
"wet" or "soaky" in the spring? Or do you have to water anything
planted in this spot daily? Wet, needs drainage. Dry, needs soil
amendments to hold the water. Another test is to dig the hole
and fill it with water. The water should be drained out in about
two (2) hours. If it is sitting in there, you need to dig deeper and
add a few inches of gravel for drainage. Or you may consider a
raised bed. Can't go down, then go up.
Last steps
Fill up the hole and firm the soil down gently with your hands.
Water the bush well. You will need to protect the canes of the
new bush. There are no or very few feeder roots on a bare
rooted bush. Desiccation, or drying out, of the canes is one of
the common reasons a new bush dies. Mounding the canes with
up to 8" of soil is the most common and tried method. Spraying
the canes with an anti-desiccant, such as "Wilt Proof" can be
considered as an alternative to mounding. Or you can place a
rose cone--that Styrofoam device sold for winter protection-over
the bush until you start to see leafing begin. But don't forget to
check regularly. When the buds on the canes start to swell you
should remove the protection.
If you have more questions please call a Rosarian.
Web Master: David McKibben dhmckibben@hotmail.com
Page was lasted edited on 11/26/2007
Copyright © 2007 Pittsburgh Rose Society All rights reserved
Pittsburgh Rose Society