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Bare Root Roses

12 years ago

Hi,

I am new to gardening in general and roses. I bought a house about a year and a half ago that already had roses in the front yard. There are about 10 or so that are very well established. I have a gardener and he cut them back for winter and they are now coming out of their winter dormancy and full of leaves. There are even some flowers starting. In January, I went to Home Depot and Lowes and bought a bunch of bare root roses. I wanted to add some different colors to the front yard and also, there was a lot of space between the existing rose bushes so I wanted to fill in some of the gaps. Well, it has now been 2 months and I do not see any growth coming out the new roses I planted. I planted 16 total and followed the directions. I have recently read many of the issues that come from buying the bare root roses at the big stores instead of a nursery. But being a novice, I didn't do enough upfront investigation before purchasing.

Anyways, is there anything that can be done? Or should I just wait another few weeks and if nothing happens just return them all for a refund. I am in Southern California. I assumed since it is still winter, there may be some delays but my existing roses are growing like crazy.

All help is appreciated.

Thanks.

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Comments (4)

kstrong
12 years ago
Are the canes still green, or are they black (or almost)? If black, think dead. If green, wait a bit longer and try to keep the canes fairly moist, by hosing them down as often as you think of it, or by piling mulch halfway up the canes and keeping the mulch pile wet. You can keep mulch around the canes by surrounding them with a bottomless cardboard box, or with express mail cardboard envelopes that have the bottom edge cut off.
leezen4u
12 years ago
I've had success getting 2 stubborn Angel Face tree roses purchased from Lowes to bud from bare root by putting a clear plastic bag over them with a loose rubber band. I allowed a little venting to make sure there was some air circulation. Then some water bottle spraying up inside the bag every few days. They had not produced any buds for weeks. When I bagged 'em they sprouted within the week.

Lee
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SCamaroSS2000
Original Author
12 years ago
The canes appear to be green. I did notice some wax on a few of them which I assume is due to the transport of the roses. I will try putting the bag over them. I have kept the roots pretty moist but I didn't think about the actual canes being kept moist.

I need to be careful though, the roses are right by the sidewalk, so I don't want any kids playing around with them. I will keep you guys posted.

Any other suggestions?
seil zone 6b MI
12 years ago
Patience. If the canes look green and do not appear to be shriveled or dry looking they may just be establishing their roots before they send out a lot of top growth. Look for the little red nubs along the canes to fatten up and then you'll know they're beginning to leaf out.

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