Storing bareroot roses

9 years ago

I need some advice. I ordered some roses from palatine nursery. They arrived this past week and look great - huge plants and roots. The only problem is that they arrived a week later than expected and now our weather has changed considerably. We have about an inch of snow on the ground and the temps are now in the mid-30's. We are supposed to get up to the high 40's on Saturday. I'm assuming that our ground is frozen, but I haven't been out to check. Can I just pot up the roses in plastic pots and store them in our unheated garage until Spring? Has anyone done this and can maybe offer some advice? I've planted roses in the Fall before with no problem, but this year old man Winter came early! :-(

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Comments (9)

seil zone 6b MI
9 years ago
I don't usually plant in the fall but I've never tried it with dormant roses before. I think though that if you can dig the ground and the roses are already dormant that would probably be the best. Otherwise the garage should work too. You want to keep them dormant if at all possible. If you pot and garage them do give them just a bit of water now and then through the winter so they don't dry out too much.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
call the seller and tell them your problem

ask what they recommend ...

tell them you will do your best.. but if they fail ... you expect replacement in spring ...

i highly doubt.. your soil is frozen ... for me.. just south of ann arbor.... it usually happens in late dec or jan ... [of course... this isnt quite a normal fall ... lol]

i would get out there.. and plant them ... HEAL THEM IN ... all in one spot ..

its not nice enough out there to be worrying about proper placement etc .... but if you can.. go for it ...

dig hole... insert.. return native soil ... and water them in ... unless you have clay .. then be careful about too much water ...

in the alternative.. get to a high end nursery ... and either ask them to pot them for you ... or buy some media.. wet it.. and pot them up ....

place them on the north side of the house.. no winter sun on the pots.. and when they freeze solid.. tip them over.. we dont want water to accumulate in the pots during freeze thaw cycles..

all the better if they get buried in snow ... that would keep them out of dessicating winter winds ... maybe even bury them yourself ....

if all goes well.. plant them properly at ground/pot thaw... in late april or so ... WHILE DORMANT ...

good luck

ken
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They should be planted outdoors as soon as possible. Bareroot plants are grown in fields, dug in the fall, and held in cold storage, their roots are kept moist by shredded paper or sphagnum moss and clear plastic wrapping. Stores don't generally sell plants until they're ready for planting out. If you can't plant them right away, you should "heel them in." You simply dig a trench in a shaded, empty border or the vegetable garden and, laying the plants at a 45o angle, cover them with soil and firm gently. Plants can be left for some days, or several weeks, after heeling in, as long as you ensure that they do not dry out. Make sure that you plant them in their permanent home before the new seasons growth begins. *Also make sure you give the plants a good soaking by allowing them to sit in water for a couple of hours prior to planting. You can place leaves or straw around them to protect them from drying winds...if you have it.
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Bare roots can vary greatly in how well they have been stored. They must not be permitted to dry out, or they can very easily fail. Part of that issue belongs to the producer, part on how well they are packaged for shipping and part belongs to the person planting them. I have dealt with retail bare roots for more than three decades in the Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley/ Santa Clarita Valley areas. It's difficult to find climates much more arid than many of these can be. What I have witnessed repeatedly has been people planting the bare roots in "good sun" without any thought given to keeping them properly hydrated until they are established. "Sprinklers", even attention with the hose, are often not sufficient when the sun is brilliant; the wind and aridity are strong; and temps can jump thirty to fifty degrees in just a few hours. Bare root packages used to have instructions for mounding newly planted bare roots under soil printed right on them. They may still, I don't know as I've not looked at them in a while as I've not been in the market for any new budded roses. If you live where temps remain lower, there is high humidity and it actually RAINS with any regularity, mounding is not as vital as it is where none of those assists can be relied upon. Here, mounding can make all the difference. Warm sun stimulates the plant to produce leaf, cane and flower growth. As long as there are ROOTS, not just those received attached to the plant but actual feeder roots, required to replenish the water and nutrients the plant is trying to use to grow, that's fine. But, when there are no feeder roots, the plant is going to attempt to grow instead of generating its "digestive tract", the feeder root system, utilizing the stored reserves it has to produce the feeder roots to push new leaves and flowers instead. Most often, they collapse. Keeping the plant cool, dark and damp, the conditions usually found under ground where the plant is stimulated to produce the roots, encourages root formation instead of leaf, cane and bloom production. There are a number of different methods of mounding after planting, including methods of mounding in cans, but these few examples linked below give you the idea. I've mounded new bare roots after planting until leaves were being vigorously pushed from the canes here for decades and I haven't lost a bare root since. Even if you receive a terribly dried out plant from a source, as long as it is still alive, it's possible to revive it simply by burying it in damp soil to help rehydrate it. Not that I would suggest not holding a source responsible for providing badly handled material, but it IS possible to save many which are thought to be finished. Try mounding them as shown in the links below. It should help you save your efforts. Good luck. Kim Home Depot - http://www.homedepot.com/c/planting_bare_root_roses_simple_steps_HT_PG_OD ARS - http://www.ars.org/pdfs/bare_root_to_bloom.pdf Here is a link that might be useful: AARS rose planting instructions including mounding illustration
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kentucky_rose zone 6
9 years ago
I would call Palatine.
mariannese
9 years ago
I live in Sweden and when plants arrive late from the warmer continental Europe it is often very cold here. We usually dig a hole in advance, cover it with straw or whatever we have and plant a dormant bareroot rose at once even if the ground is covered with snow. We plant as long as the ground is not too deeply frozen. We don't expect the rose to root over winter but it does get a headstart in spring.

This fall has been very warm, still is, so late planting is no problem this year but it usually is.
zack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian
9 years ago
I know several friends who have lost roses stored in garages--they were eaten by voles. I used to have them getting into bird seed--I now store the bird seed inside the house, where they are protected by a pair of cats.

I think our garage gets too cold to store plants--I now store them inside the storm doors to the basement.
fireballsocal
9 years ago
The palatine site has a rose care section with videos on heeling in roses. Check out video #2. I think it might be what you are looking for.

Mine came too. I thought I was ready but I am 2 bags short of rose potting soil so I have 2 roses heeled in at the moment. This 85 degree day would have either been a great start for a fall planting or a huge shock to the Canadian roses system.

Here is a link that might be useful: palatine roses rose care.
bellarosa
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I did speak to Rachel from Palatine and she suggested that I try to get the roses in the ground. Luckily for me, the temps today were in the high 40's and I was able to do just that. I planted all four roses and mulched them really well. If all goes well, I'll post some pics next year. :-)
lesmc
9 years ago
I got mine a week late also. I did get them planted as I dug the holes weeks ago. We have had early cold weather so I am keeping my fingers crossed, I have had great luck with fall planting from Palatine and hope for success this time,too! Hope your roses settle in and glow in the spring. Lesley
bellarosa
Original Author
9 years ago
Lesley, I did plant roses last year in the Fall that I received from Palatine, with no problem. I was actually surprised that they made it through the Winter given the awful polar vortex that hit us pretty hard. Let's hope that we don't see a polar vortex part 2 this year! Good luck with your roses and I look forward to seeing pics of your beautiful garden. :-)

Storing bareroot roses

Comments (9)

seil zone 6b MI

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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Storing bareroot roses

Comments (9)

seil zone 6b MI

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Related Discussions

kentucky_rose zone 6

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bellarosa
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