I just planted several new rose bushes, too. You're not supposed to fertilize new bushes until after the first flush. They have enough nutrients already to help them bloom. Have you already planted them?

I have only planted 3 of them. I just recieved 4 more that I ordered and have 2 more coming. I did use root stimulator on the 3 I did plant. Is that okay?

on new roses is best to dig a big hole - at least 2x2, have lots of organic matter available to mix in with the original soil. (I use a 5 gallon bucket of aged horse poop to each hole) You can also add organics like alfalfa pellets, blood, fish, kelp, bone meal to the bottom of the hole and to the sides of the hole..keeping away from the new rose bushes roots. (Dr Earth has a box with all these additives mixed together if it is available in your area) Water rose bush in well, a few gallons a least, move the rose bush around a little to get out air pockets and fill in the remaining soil. Trim the canes down to outward facing buds about 8 - 12 inches. Mound over canes with soil so they don't dry out. Don't use any commercial fertilizer till have bloomed at least once. Only take off the spent bloom for new rose... leave on as many leaves as possible so it will thrive and grow.

There is lots of free advice on the American Rose Society website... on the search area... you could type in something like planting new roses and it would give lots of information.

Hope this helps you and you have loads of wonderful blooms from your new roses. Cathy

Hi,

I am concerned about the size of the roses you planted. I realize that San Angelo is way south of Amarillo, but if the roses you ordered are really small (such as bands), you will need to provide some short-term winter protection if/when you get some weather where the temps drop below freezing.

Otherwise, your roses will fare fine, although it may be a little early to plant potted roses that have been allowed to grow in a greenhouse through the winter. The worst that should happen is that a really hard freeze could kill some tender canes. Root stimulator applied according to the label is okay but usually not necessary for roses.

I use a method very similar to Cathy's to prepare the soil for planting a rose: large hole, about 2 cups of alfalfa pellets, bone meal and blood meal (a couple of tablespoons), a quart or two of well-composted manure, a handful of sand, a tablespoon of high-phosphate fertilizer (that's all), a gallon of commercial plant mix (Miracle-Grow, Sta-Green, etc.), and a gallon of composted cotton ginning waste. I mix this with the same amount of my own soil, which is clay with a pH almost too high for roses. End up with a 5-gal bucket full. Cathy mentioned kelp and fish emulsion, but they are expensive here. The key is that commercial granular fertilizers will burn the new roots. Cow and steer manure readily available in our area will burn roots if not composted, and even composted can burn if too much is used. The composted cotton waste is sold at several local nurseries and comes from Lubbock. It's great stuff for trees and shrubs, too. It will help acidify the local alkeline soil.

Keep us informed about your progress, and best wishes,
Gary

I think it's great all the extra attention the previous posters give their new roses, but if you want to simplify, your roses won't object and should still grow fine. You will find that there are many different and successful ways to grow roses.

The Simple Approach:

• Dig that big hole everyone mentioned. Unless you have wonderful soil, it might be advisable to mix some compost or manure or peat moss in the loose soil.

If you have some bone meal handy, you might toss a bit in the hole, but don't worry unduly about it.
Plant the rose, and water DEEPLY--lots of water. I plant the graft a couple inches below the soil line--to protect it from winter freezing.
Don't drown the rose for the next week or two, but water it regularly and keep an eye on it, in case something goes wrong. (Probably nothing will.)
After the rose has some good strong growth and buds, get an organic rosefood--like RoseTone--and spread it around the base of the plant. And water it in.
If you are inclined to use alfalfa cubes/meal/tea, spread it around the base also and water in. Nice stuff, but not absolutely essential.
Enjoy your roses. After they are done with their spring blooming cycle, repeat the RoseTone (and alfalfa cubes, if you are so inclined).
Make sure the roses get about 1 inch of water each week if it doesn't rain. You might want to add several inches of mulch around your roses to help retain the moisture in the ground (and keep down the weeds).

Once you get used to that basic pattern and become more informed about other possibilities, you can begin experimenting with other ways of growing your roses, depending on how much you want to fuss over them.

By the way, many of us would urge you NOT to use the systemic food you bought--that usually means it has things like insecticides mixed in it. Many of us avoid the use of insecticides because they can kill bees and other good insects.

The most important rule about growing roses is ENJOY--and come here to this forum with any questions you may have. We just love to talk roses!!!!

Kate

Thank you all for your great advise. I should have asked you for it before I planted the first two! :-o I did dig a large hole and also mixed about 2 or 3 gallons of good potting soil with the dirt I removed from hole. I hope they are forgiving plants and still grow well. :^)

Once I notice new growth appearing on my newly planted roses I begin to fertilize them like I do the rest of my roses. I fertilize often but my roses are in containers so I water them more often than a rose in the ground and the fertilizer is leached out sooner. I use any fertilizer labelled 'rose food' that I can find on sale. ;-)

When I lived near where you do (that would be Robert Lee) I was too young to grow roses, but I think roses will love your climate, except for the windstorms...it would be good to provide some type of windbreak for them. But the bright sunny days and cooler nights, plus your faithful watering, should be their idea of rose paradise. Enjoy.

Kate has provided a detailed, easy-to-follow regimen for getting roses started. If you have alkeline soil with lots of lime (such as the caliche that we have in the Panhandle), the half-and-half mix of native soil with compost is important to lower the pH. The addition of alfalfa, bone meal, etc. is just supplemental fertilizer that will not burn the new roots, and is certainly not necessary.

One caveat from Kate's post - roses need moisture, but they don't like to sit in water. In my area because of the caliche and the clay topsoil, it is possible for a newly planted shrub to drown because the water will not drain away. If you have ever noticed any holes in your yard or in your neighborhood that do not drain away in a few hours after rain, then it wouldn't hurt to check to see that your roses are not sitting in water.

Another caveat - potting soil is different from compost, manure, or "garden soil". Most of the "potting soil" you will find at the nursery has very little in the way of nutrients and is intended to be a light-weight, airy medium to keep plants in pots from being overwatered or becoming diseased. It won't hurt your roses and it will loosen your soil, but it is not a good medium for bedding roses.

Keep us informed of your progress,
Gary