Hi wanttogarden, May I ask what you mean when you say you baby them for a year or two before planting them in the ground?

Well I been told that I cannot put the bands directly in the ground. I guess I have to have them in pots and given more attention until they are ready to be planted in the ground.

Am I wrong?

FJ

I don't know if you are wrong or right, I guess it depends on what Vintage tells you to do. I have had good luck with planting the bands in a slightly bigger pot and then acclimating them to sun and wind but it only takes a couple of weeks to harden them up and then I plant them in the ground so they get as much root growth as they can in their permanent place. They seem to do ok but I have never tried potting them up for any longer so I don't have anything to compare them too. I will protect them while they are in the ground if I think its necessary but only for a couple of weeks and water them often the first couple of years until I can tell they have a good root system. It seems to me one of the most common questions on this forum is how to deal with potted roses under different circumstances, I really believe they should be in the ground where they can do what comes natural to them. I think they will turn out fine regardless of how you decide to to do it just have fun doing it.

FJ, as it happens we just put the last of our roses (from Vintage) in the ground and it's a really good feeling. I planted them straight into the ground from band size, but many rosarians disagree with that method and recommend growing them on in pots for a year or two. My tea roses just took off immediately after I planted them but I haven't been very successful with noisettes. China roses and polyanthas also did well by planting them into the ground right away. I think it may depend very much on the weather, especially how mild your winters are. So many things you have to try for yourself, but if you don't want to take a chance growing them in pots first is your best bet.

Ingrid

You are done??!? There's like a week left! :)

The Vintage site recommends potting the band up into a 1 gallon for a few months to develop a larger root system before putting them in the ground. This works well for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: what vintage recommends for bands

I second Hoovb's recommendation.
We pot Vintage bands to 1-Ga.
For the most part, they are ready for the ground within a few months.

In a very, very controlled and manicured garden, it might be fine to put
bands directly into the ground.
But the roots will grow more quickly in a 1-G pot, so in the end, in
our experience, we get a mature plant more quickly when we start with
1-G pots.

Jeri

I don't think you guys understand, you're all being too sensible. It's FUN to put them straight in the ground, it's called instant gratification! (Okay, after a year in the ground my noisettes are eight inchest tall. But the other roses didn't seem to mind.) I just can't seem to make myself do the "right thing". Of course, then I wonder why my roses aren't doing as well as other peoples'. The poor things just aren't that crazy about my "tough love" approach.

Ingrid

Ingrid, I love tough love, you see what they really got before you waste a bunch of time on something that don't want to live anyway.

Look on the bright side. On January 1st you get to start again. So get out those catalogs. :)

I can see Ingrid's point.
But after all these years, I don't need adventure.
I just need things to grow and be healthy, and I'd rather give them every chance.

Jeri

So, guys, help me understand why Vintage advocates potting up and growing for awhile before direct planting. Since I've never received bands from Vintage before, I'm not sure what to expect relative to size.

I've had excellent results with direct planting of Rogue Valley, Amity, Heirloom, etc. bands when received in April but not sure why Vintage bands should be treated differently. I'm anxious to hear your thoughts.
-terri

I think their concern is about planting very young plants among mature plants in the garden which will tend to rob babies of water and nutrients. Or you might forget they are there :-).
Masha

You could definitely plant any of these bands directly in the ground, as long as the weather is good and you don't forget them. But as Jeri said, if you pot a band up to a gallon and let it grow for a couple of months, it gets much stronger and larger in those few months. At that point, it's fairly indestructible, and much less susceptible to the vagaries of the weather an soil conditions. The roots become far more massive. I order a lot of bands, and I always pot them up to gallons before planting them in their final location... just seems like insurance to me.

Susan