How to plant a Rose

In this brief discussion, I will answer a few commonly asked questions about how, where and when to plant rose bushes. Traditionally, roses are ordered from nurseries as bare root roses. Bare root roses have a few roots, each one approximately a quarter of an inch or more in girth, tapering along a length of about eighteen inches. The roots arise from a shank, about four to six inches in length. The bud union appears like a slightly larger knot atop the shank. From there, at least three good stems are emerging, each bigger than a third of an inch. They are cut off at a height of approximately 12 inches. The reason why most nurseries and gardeners choose this method is that it is easier to ship these plants to customers in this fashion. One prerequisite for successful planting of bare roots is that the plants have to be dug up after they go dormant and processed for storing, stored in refrigeration and shipped in dormant condition. Also, they have to be planted at an appropriate time, typically, early in the spring just as the roses in the area they are planted are just starting to break dormancy. In Columbia, SC, this is in early February.

You can also get rose plants potted and growing at garden centers and nurseries in the spring. Typically, they would have grown for a few weeks and would be starting to bloom. Big garden centers call these "roses in bud and bloom" and they cost a little bit more to reflect cost of potting and caring for them. Slight advantage is that you could see actually what the plants and blooms look like before you buy them. These plants in pots can be transplanted any time of the year, although, the spring is the best time. There are some essential differences between how these are planted and how the bare rootsbushes are planted.

Selecting a proper site to plant a rose garden goes a long way to assist in growing roses successfully. Briefly put, a sunny, open site, elevated from the rest of the yard, away from trees and buildings and fences would be ideally suited for rose growing. Roses do well when planted in a sunny location.Plant them as far from the nearest trees as possible to reduce root competition; although, in time, the tree roots will find your rose beds as they get fertilized and watered regularly. Planting away from fences and buildings instead of against them helps with maintenance chores by providing good access to each bush from all sides, specially if you intend to follow a preventive maintenance spray program.

What kind of soil do roses like? Actually, roses will grow well in a wide variety of soils. But if you intend to do things right and do not mind the labor involved why not provide the best soil to start with? A sandy loam with 5-10% organic matter and pH of 6.5% is just about perfect. Small beds can be excavated about a foot deep and back filled with custom blend rose soil. But this would be the most expensive way to do it. A good alternative is to simply place a layer of 4-6 inches of any commercially sold soil-less potting mix and then thoroughly incorporate this top layer into a depth of 12 inches. The resulting bed will be naturally raised by four to six inches.

You could add a layer of compost instead of commercial potting mix. The goal is to add organic matter to the soil and improve the tilth of clay based soil and enhance nutrient and water holding capacity of sandy soils. A suitable border may be installed to contain the prepared soil so that it will not be washed away. Ideally, you would send a soil sample to the county extension service for soil analysis. According to the results of the soil analysis, pH can be amended by adding recommended amount of lime to raise the pH to a desired level, between 6 to 7 or adding soil sulfur to lower the pH if it is higher than 6.5. Correction of pH is desirable because all required nutrients are in available form in the soil at a pH of 6.5. More on this subject in a future blog. Placing a layer of mulch aids in holding the soil in place and helps conserve moisture, keep annual weeds from sprouting and keep the soil cooler during the summer months. We will discuss mulching in more detail in a future blog. For spring planting, it is recommended that the beds be prepared in the fall and allowed to "mellow" over winter. If you did not have an opportunity to to prepare the soil in the fall, you could go ahead and plant roses in freshly prepared beds as well.

In preparing rose beds, decide how many roses you are going to plant and prepare a bed of adequate size. This applies to yards which are wide open for you to design anything you wish for. Alternately, you may have to make a bed to occupy the available space and then determine how many plants will be needed to fill the bed. Commonly accepted guidelines for planting well tended roses suggest that roses be planted three feet on center, two rows deep. Thus, planting in large circles or more than two deep is not desirable as maintenance would be more cumbersome. However, if the color impact is more important to you, then they would look better when planted a little bit closer and three rows deep. They would have to be pruned harder in the spring and dead headed accordingly after each cycle of blooms.

When you receive the shipment of bare root roses open the package as soon as you receive it and check for accuracy and number of contents. Soak the rose plants in a large buckets or drums filled with fresh water for an hour or two in order to rehydrate the plants. Mark the beds with small sticks or markers to determine acceptable layout. Make a hole to plant each rose in the prepared bed at the marked location. Make the hole large and deep enough to spread all roots in a natural fashion. Create a mound of soil in the middle of the hole. Hold the plant on top of the hole so that the roots are naturally spread away and downward from the plant. Any broken and damaged roots must be trimmed off. Make sure the bud union will end up slightly above the surrounding soil level when finished. You can place a stick across the hole so that you can see

how much soil needs to be added or reduced from the mound of soil upon which you place the plant. Then gradually add the soil around the roots. The soil may be gently firmed up by hand. Do not step on the soil for this purpose. When the soil is back filled almost to the top, gently water the bush and wait for the water to drain. This helps eliminate most of air pockets. The finish back filling to make the soil level even with the surrounding bed. Water again. Place a suitable mulch such as pin straw or pine bark over the entire bed. Then pile the same mulch around each plant until only the tips of freshly planted roses are visible.

Roses planted in this fashion should be watered at least once a week, gently and carefully.

The mulch around each plant helps keep the stems from drying before new roots are established and help break dormancy. In three weeks time or sooner if you see fresh growth emanating from the stems.

The containerized plants (bud and blooms) are planted differently. Make a hole twice as wide as the size of the container. The bottom of the soil should be level. then place the container in the hole to see if the top of the soil level in the container will be even with the soil level of the surrounding bed. If not increase or decrease the depth of the hole as needed. It is important that you cause minimal root disturbance. In order to accomplish this task, I suggest cutting off the bottom of the plastic pot with a pair of old pruning shears. Then place the bottomless pot in the middle of the hole. Using a sharp box cutter, make a vertical cut along the entire side of the pot. Now the pot can be peeled open like a sheet of card board and removed. Making another cut on the opposite side of the first cut will make this job even easier. Now you can gently back fill the hole and finish planting just as you would a bare root rose plant. Mulch the bed. But mulching up the stems is not necessary. In the next blog: spring care, fertilizing, spraying.