You will receive small potted plants with foliage. You can plant these just slightly deeper than they are.

Opinions differ on soil prep. If you have good prairie loam, no amendment is needed. If you have clay fill dirt, I would dig the whole planting area uniformly to a depth of 10"-12" and incorporate 3" of compost. Fertilizer may added from the top after the plants have settled in. Follow label instructions per sq. yard, or if given per plant, spread that amount over at least 4 sq. ft. Over-concentration of fertilizer can kill a plant. I usually give half doses or less the first season.

Prune next April by removing winter-damaged wood.

Most Buck roses can be spaced about 3' in zone 5, some 4'. Consult HelpMeFind.com for the expected size, or maybe someone here knows.

Hi Buckwild; you will love the Buck roses. I grow several here in Central Illinois and they are very hardy. I don't do any winter protection except oak mulch around their feet and the few oak leaves that blow in during Fall. Depending on variety, some are more cane-hardy than others.

I'm curious about which ones you have on order. Some Bucks will require much more spacing than others.
-terry

Terry, they are prairie star and enchanted autumn. Which roses do you grow? Thank you both for the advice. Any idea how i find out what kind of soil i have? And when do these roses need pruning? I am receiving them may 1st, in case i did not mention that.

You answered my question about pruning, my apologies. Do they need deadheaded after the bloom dies? Or just let it fall off?

You already answered my question about pruning, my apologies. I meant to ask if the blooms need deadheaded and how does one do that or do you just let them fall off?

Hi buckwild! I have several Buck roses too and they are wonderful! I have Quietness, Winter Sunset, Iobelle, Rural Rhythm and Country Music and they're all lovely, fairly healthy and winter hardy.

Yes, you should dead head them after they bloom. For one thing it makes the plant look neater but it will also encourage new growth and rebloom. As to how to do it the rule of thumb is to cut just above the first set of 5 leaves. But you don't have to. A lot of times I just snap off the spent bloom right below the hip. Other times, if a plant is getting out of line, I'll cut much deeper to keep the plant in the shape I like. Any way you do it you should always make your cuts just above an outward growing leaf set. That is the point from which new growth will begin. And cut at about a 45 degree angle to keep water off the tip. And remember that any pruning always encourages new growth. In your zone you should stop pruning at least 8 weeks before your first frost to allow all the new growth to harden off before winter sets in.

What color is your soil when moist? When moist, does it feel gritty or slick? Can you roll it into a noodle?

Ideally, get a soil test via your county agent (county cooperative extension aka ag extension).

You've gotten great advice here, and I've got little to add. I now grow about 30 Buck Roses with about 20 of those large enough to have survived at least 2 winters. Some are profiled on my blog: My favorites to this point are Prairie Harvest and Freckles.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Musings blog

thank you so much to everyone for all of the wonderful, enlightening advice. I can hardly wait for my roses to arrive. I have all my gear, compost, fertilizer and fencing to keep my dogs out! Just awaiting very patiently for the plant itsself to show up! to answer the question about what my soil does when it is wet, I am going to go out tomorrow and dig a small hole and put some water on it and see what it does. if it is gritty, what kind of soil do you think it is? If it is slick and can be rolled into a noodle, what then? (if in fact those 2 questions corresponded to having the same type of soil). Terry, how deep do you pile on the oak mulch and what about the diameter? and do you place it right up againt the canes all around? Michaelg, thank you so much for the great advice and I will be posting a follow up in regards to what I see the soil doing.

Sand and sandy loam soils are gritty when moist and cannot be formed into a firm ball. Clay soils are slick when moist with very little grit and will form long noodles. They can be red, yellow, or light gray. Loam soils are cohesive and will noodle to some extent, but contain noticeable grit. Silt feels silky or floury when dry, as you break up soil crumbs crumbs and rub between your fingers.

Soils that are dark when wet contain either lots of organic matter or lots of silt.

There is another issue since you ordered from Chamblees. I agree they are a very good nursery and in fact I always order what is available from them first, but that is because they almost always ship more than one small plant in the pot they send. I always divide them, but when you do that it might be better to repot them to let the roots get some more size before putting them in the ground. But, as I am an expereinced gardener but a novice rosarian, I was wondering if others would bother with dividing the small plants or just plant them all in one spot. With plants other than roses this sometimes causes the plants to compete with each other for water and fertilizer, and often there is a period of little growth until the strongest one has smothered out its competetors. Have the rest of you had similar experiences with roses, or will they be okay planted as one plant?

Ok, so let me get this straight. If i ordered 2 different rosees, they will ship them to me in one container, together? If that is the case, then yes, i will separate them (since they are 2 different plants) without repotting them first. If they are shipped in each their own pot then i will pot them as they are, but an appropriate placing apart. Does that sound like what you were asking?

No, that's not what KSGreenman means, Buckwild. You will get 2 pots and each one will have a different variety in it. But inside each pot will be more than one plant of what ever variety you ordered. Nurseries propagate own root roses by taking cuttings from a mother plant and sticking them in pots to root. To ensure a better success rate in rooting they will often stick 2 or 3 cuttings in the pot at once. But they are all of the same variety, not different ones. This happens a lot with those little grocery store minis too. I've tried several times to separate them but it's very difficult to do with out injuring the root systems. So if you decide to separate them be aware that they could all die too. It's a chance you take. And if they survive you will also end up with 2 or 3 very small plants that will need growing up in pots before you can safely plant them in the ground when you do this. In zone 5 they may not be big enough in one season to winter over either. I have quit trying to separate them now and just plant them as is so I have bigger plants going into winter.

Ohhhh! Thank you Seil for clearing that up for me. I wasn't aware that nurseries did that with own root roses. So, in your opinion, it is just better to plant them together? And as far as being big enough to winter over, how do you suggest protecting the two roses i ordered (prairie star and enchanted autumn) over the winter while they are still small?

Ohhhh! Thank you Seil for clearing that up for me. I wasn't aware that nurseries did that with own root roses. So, in your opinion, it is just better to plant them together? And as far as being big enough to winter over, how do you suggest protecting the two roses i ordered (prairie star and enchanted autumn) over the winter while they are still small?

I agree with predfern on Earth Song and Quietness being among the best of Buck roses for zones 5-7. Get them in your next order. They need 4' of space in my climate and can fill more than that if I want.

Here's the list of Bucks that I grow here in Zone 5 central Illinois. All are own-root except Distant Drum, which I have found to be very tender and did not over-winter, so after 2 attempts at growing it I ordered it grafted and it has survived for 3 years. All the Bucks have made it through -22F winters uncovered, so I'd say they're a hardy bunch.
Bucred
Country Music
Distant Drums
Earth Song
El Catala
Folksinger
Gentle Persuasion
Iobelle
Mountain Music
Pearlie Mae
Piccolo Pete
Polonaise
Prairie Sunrise
Prairie Sunset
Quietness
Sevilliana

I have a little over a dozen different Dr. Bucks & they all do very well for me in z4. I find that it takes about 3 yrs for them to get well established so be patient with them. Nothing special to make them thrive.....fertilize them, water during dry spells, & a good organic mulch, I use wood chips. I give them a little winter protection, a 5 gal pail of wood chips over the base of the plant & I don't think they would even need that if I could be sure of a good persistant snow cover but I can never count on the snow so always apply the chips. Also check out the Bailey's Easy Elegence roses...many of them have Dr. Buck roses in their lineage. Some of my favs are...Kashmir, Funny Face, Centennial, Sweet Fragrance (I bad mouthed this rose a while back & it finally took off last year-WOW!) & Como Park (CP is only in in 2nd yr in my garden but looks to be real promising). There are 2 new ones in this group out this year, Music Box & Champagne Wishes, & I plan on getting both of them.

I just visited Chamblees yesterday. I have and love alot of Bucks. Yesterday I got Hi Neighbor and Wild Ginger. I also got Sweet Fragrance, I have not grown the Easy Elegance roses before but the blooms were beautiful. I love my Bucks - a few that werent mentioned above are Bright Melody, Griffs Red, Malaguena, Habanera, Polanaise, Wanderin Wind, Rural Rhythm that are really good for me. Calico Gal, Summer Honey, Cinnamon Spice were planted in early spring and are not taking off as well as I would like, but I will be patient, keep them well watered and give organic fertilizer and baby them along. 2 Bucks were puny for me and for others I know so wont try them again - Golden Princess and Silver Shadows. Mostly they are wonderful roses - bloom constantly and they make a wonderful showing.

Hi again everyone! I am beginning to think that with everything I have read about and spoke about with the locals, that perhaps I should be ordering from roses unlimited rather than chamblees for my enchated autumn and prairie star. I am not a fan of the fact that they stick several plants in the same pot. I would like only 1 plant per. would make it easier to plant and care for as I do not want several bushes competing for nutrients. I am going to sleep on it and decide in the morning before I send my check out to pay for the roses I have on order. As far as all of the other advice I have recieved on here, thank you so much to everyone. I have read so much invaluable advice and I feel much more confident in planting and caring for my very first roses. Does anyone else live in northwest iowa zone 5 that might have recommendations as to which Buck roses that would be good for our zone, that have done well for you or you think would do well for my zone? I know I have gotten a lot of other zones advice, but I would like to hear from someone in my same zone who has buck roses. would be much appreciated.

In case you might be interested in doing a road trip, there is a nursery just outside of Hastings, MN (south of the Twin Cities) that sells a lot of Dr. Buck roses. Check out link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kedem Roses

I should be recieving my new roses tomorrow. (Prairie star and enchantrd autumn)How long can they set in the pot while my husband builds my raised garden that they are going to to planted by? A few days?

Hi.....I am planting new roses in my garden...but after few days I noticed that they didn�t grow sell... I don�t know how to help them to grow properly. Please help me.....

Hi Buckwild,
I'm outside Chicago and have a couple Buck roses (Distant Drums,Silver Shadows) they both do well here. To start off,your plants will do fine left in the pots for awhile, just don't let them dry out and maybe keep them out of direct sun (although rain is forecast here for the next few days)Can't answer about the soil ammending,not sure what you have, but you should dig holes at least 2-3 times larger than the containers and loosen the soil up. Plant about the same level they are in the pots (or a little deeper if they are floppy in the pot)You shouldn't have to do much pruning other than spent flowers the first year and you were well advised to prune down to the next outward facing 5 leaf node (new shoot will grow from that) I overwinter all my roses by mounding nearby soil over the base of the plant, I pack it about 6" over and around the base. Works great for me and withstands the freeze/thaw cycles we get. Easy to remove in the spring also. Have fun with your new "Bucks" !

Roses can stay in their pots for a few weeks but must be watered every day. unless they arrive in shock, I expose them to sunlight right away. I give them a week to harden up before planting because they have been growing fast in the high humidity of a greenhouse. Once planted, I give 1/2 gal of water every other day for the first month or two, then gradually widen the interval and increase the amount as their roots get out into the garden soil.

Finally hace my new babies in the fround today! However, i broke my dang ankle yesterday while digging the holes for them, as my 1 year old decided to learn to climb my patio stairs...i went to run for him and went right into a hole! After much teasing that "i really jump into my gardening", my hubby so graciously planted the roses for me (encganted autumn and prairie star) next to the flower bed he just finished building for me for mothers day...it looks fabulous! If i can figure out how to post a photo, i will do so. Now, just waiting to fertilize and keeping them watered! Wooohooo!!

Oh my, sorry to hear about the ankle. Ouch! I live in zone 5 in Omaha, NE, but I grew up in NW Iowa. I am guessing you have rich black dirt. I was so surprised moving to NE to learn that not everyone has that pretty dirt...lots of clay in the soil here & it is orange/brown. What part of NW IA are you in?

I grow Distant Drums, had 2 but lost one over the winter a few years back. I think it may be one that isn't as hardy. I also have Country Dancer. It has thrived and is about 4 foot wide and 3 foot tall right now...It is about 8-9 years old. Most of my roses are grafted and I plant the graft deeply (got that great advice here). I have around 75-80 roses. I usually lose about one a year, though this year we had such a mild winter, they all did very well. I don't do a lot to winter protect with so many roses. I generally let the oak leaves blow around them & call it good. Of course I will baby a few of my absolute favorites! But if you only have a few, I would mound up dirt around the base in the fall.

It wont let me post a photo of my new roses that are blooming. :( help! I figured with all the fantastic advice that i have received on here, that i could at least post a photo but i cannot figure out how to do it....

There are two ways now to post a photo. The first is to have your photos on an on line storage place like Photobucket. Once there all you have to do is copy the "httm" code and paste it into the message box.

The second one is new. Once you type your message hit the "Preview Message" button. On the next page under your message there will be a "browse" button. Click on that and you can upload the photo right from your computer. You MUST down size the photo first! So far I've discovered that it works if you are using Explorer or Firefox but not with Opera.

My enchanted autumn buck rose. Finally figured out how to post a photo!

Fantastic! Sorry about your ankle, though.

Here are Prairie Star and Enchanted Autumn, which has taken off fantastically! I love them! Lookibg to get 4 or 5 more roses, to put in little boxes (maybe 18 by 18)...any suggestions? Do any roses do well in boxes?

Here are Prairie Star and Enchanted Autumn, which has taken off fantastically! I love them! Lookibg to get 4 or 5 more roses, to put in little boxes (maybe 18 by 18)...any suggestions? Do any roses do well in boxes?

Enchanted Autumn

Beautiful! enchanted autumn bloom

{{!gwi}}