How to Plant and Prune Lifted Roses
It is time for rose gardeners to spring into action.
Here are a few tips on how to plant lifted roses and how to prune them.
You should plant roses lifted from the open ground in spring, around April or in mid-November.
If they arrive from a nursery when the ground is frozen or too wet for planting, you should open the bundle or bag sufficiently to expose the stems but not the roots.
Place the plant in a shed or garage and wrap burlap, straw, or newspapers around the roots for additional protection.
Plant at the first favorable opportunity for both you and the plant.
If the roots appear to be dry, soak them for a few minutes in a bucket of water.
Cut off any damages portions of root and the ends of long thin roots.
Plant bush roses from 18 to 24 inches apart.
This distance will depend on how vigorous the variety will be.
Plant standard roses from 4 to 8 feet apart, climbers and ramblers 6 to 10 feet apart, and vigorous shrub roses 4 feet apart.
When planting time comes, make sure the hole is a sufficient size to accommodate the roots.
As I mentioned in another article on roses, be sure to allow extra room for the roots to be able to spread out and grow.
Spread the roots out and hold the bush in place.
Find the point on the rose bush where the stems are right above the roots.
The soil should be from 1/2 to 1 inch below the surface.
Make sure the soil is loose.
Replace the soil back around the plant and press it down firmly to make sure the soil makes good contact with the roots.
Plant standard roses so that their uppermost roots are covered with 1 inch of soil and stake immediately.
The First Pruning Roses that have been lifted for planting so that all or most of the soil has fallen from their roots, should be pruned hard in the first year.
Do this is April and cut each good stem good stem down to about 6 inches of soil level.
Cut all damaged stems down until you reach healthy wood.
Prune with very sharp shears so as not to bruise the stems and make each cut just above a growth bud.
These will appear as little swellings on the stems, each with a shallow semicircular scar beneath it where a leaf stalk was attached.
It is from these buds that the new shoots will grow in April.
Examine them toward the end of that month and if some stems have started to grow from the lower buds leaving the uppermost buds dormant, then prune again to just above the uppermost part of these shoots.
If this is not done the end of the stem will die.
This produces decay which could very easily continue down the stem.
This happens because the stem lacks the new growth that would enable it to draw up sap.
Here are a few tips on how to plant lifted roses and how to prune them.
You should plant roses lifted from the open ground in spring, around April or in mid-November.
If they arrive from a nursery when the ground is frozen or too wet for planting, you should open the bundle or bag sufficiently to expose the stems but not the roots.
Place the plant in a shed or garage and wrap burlap, straw, or newspapers around the roots for additional protection.
Plant at the first favorable opportunity for both you and the plant.
If the roots appear to be dry, soak them for a few minutes in a bucket of water.
Cut off any damages portions of root and the ends of long thin roots.
Plant bush roses from 18 to 24 inches apart.
This distance will depend on how vigorous the variety will be.
Plant standard roses from 4 to 8 feet apart, climbers and ramblers 6 to 10 feet apart, and vigorous shrub roses 4 feet apart.
When planting time comes, make sure the hole is a sufficient size to accommodate the roots.
As I mentioned in another article on roses, be sure to allow extra room for the roots to be able to spread out and grow.
Spread the roots out and hold the bush in place.
Find the point on the rose bush where the stems are right above the roots.
The soil should be from 1/2 to 1 inch below the surface.
Make sure the soil is loose.
Replace the soil back around the plant and press it down firmly to make sure the soil makes good contact with the roots.
Plant standard roses so that their uppermost roots are covered with 1 inch of soil and stake immediately.
The First Pruning Roses that have been lifted for planting so that all or most of the soil has fallen from their roots, should be pruned hard in the first year.
Do this is April and cut each good stem good stem down to about 6 inches of soil level.
Cut all damaged stems down until you reach healthy wood.
Prune with very sharp shears so as not to bruise the stems and make each cut just above a growth bud.
These will appear as little swellings on the stems, each with a shallow semicircular scar beneath it where a leaf stalk was attached.
It is from these buds that the new shoots will grow in April.
Examine them toward the end of that month and if some stems have started to grow from the lower buds leaving the uppermost buds dormant, then prune again to just above the uppermost part of these shoots.
If this is not done the end of the stem will die.
This produces decay which could very easily continue down the stem.
This happens because the stem lacks the new growth that would enable it to draw up sap.