My first rose--I think I messed up!

17 years ago

(Sorry so long!) Can anyone give me helpful advice? I want to stay organic whenever possible (hence my posting here) but want easy and not overwhelming treatments, so I'm willing to buy stuff prepared rather than mix my own.

I ordered a Belinda's Dream from the Antique Rose Emporium in late March. When it arrived, I realized I was not sure where I was going to plant it after all, so I just watered it carefully in the container and kept it in a sunny spot. Once the spot was determined, it was a matter of time before we could build a raised bed for the rose. Then, I still didn't put it into the ground right away because I wanted to get some compost to add to the bed. Still, it kept on thriving in the pot and I kept watering it carefully and checking on it every day. It gave me 5 beautiful blooms in late April (about a month after I got it) and I went ahead and cut them all to enjoy indoors and encourage new growth. However, I did not know to prune after the first bloom or prior to transplanting it. So, I didn't prune. :o/

Well, I finally decided "I've got to get this rose into the ground before it gets really hot!" Mother's Day (a week ago now) was the first chance I had, so I did it. I don't think I watered it enough as I was planting it (I keep remembering that "roses don't like wet feet" so I think I was scared to overwater it. Mistake #1.

Mistake #2: it had small buds on it when I moved it. I'm starting to realize that the bush is probably putting a lot of energy into those buds (which over the week HAVE continued to develop) and not enough energy into the root growth.

Mistake #3: (well I couldn't exactly control this) starting Mother's Day, we got some really dry weather (instead of our usual humid climate) in which it has been quite cool in the mornings (50s) and HOT in the midday-evening. The scorching feeling of the dry sun heat I think has been kinda rough on the rosebush, as a few of the new leaves (yes, it's putting out new leaves right now, too!) seemed to burn on the tips.

Mistake #4: I'm reading a book about Organic Rose Gardening that I just checked out today, and it says to plant the roshbush a lot lower than I did!! I thought I had read in several other books that the base of the plant and the bottom of the canes should be above ground to prevent rotting...but this guy says the complete opposite!!

I did find out that this is an "own root rose" so that's one thing I did right (purchasing own-root and not having to worry about shoots from the roots being a different rose type).

The indicators that something might not be right:

If I skip a day of watering, the tender new growth and the stems with buds start to droop in the afternoon sun on the second day.

The bright green color of the new leaves that have been growing since I transplanted is not turning deep green like they have previously. They are just staying light green but getting bigger...so they look a little sickly (no spots anything, though).

So, should I:

*(gulp) cut off the buds before they open?

*Feed the rosebush (I haven't fed it a thing since I got it)? I was thinking Mills Magic that I can buy locally, but I only have 1 roshbush and don't really need that big a bag (20lb)

*Prune it now?

Help, if you can! And please, go easy on this rose newbie!!

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Comments (3)

diane_nj 6b/7a
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Water. Try not to skip a day, it is too hot there and the roots are not long enough yet to survive any drying out. The rose is still in "transplant shock" and will need time to get used to its new home and to settle in.

Many people do remove the buds on newly planted own-root roses. First, they leave on one bud to allow it to bloom and to make sure that is it the correct rose. If you are OK that ir is Belinda's Dream then you can skip this part. They then remove all new buds until the plant gets to be more robust. Some folks do this for the entire first growing season in the ground. I do it until I feel confident that the rose is growing strongly.

Much of the guidance for planting is really meant for grafted roses and colder zones. With own-root roses I usually plant them so that the entire root structure and a little of the canes above it are buried.

Don't prune it, it is young and needs its leaves. I wouldn't do any pruning until next spring (when the forsythia is in bloom is the usual guide). When pruning before transplanting, that is usually referring to moving established roses with a large rootball. When moving new potted plants into the ground, I don't prune anything back.

Fertilizing: organic or organic-based fertilizers work very well. There might be a product that is similar to Mills Mix that you can find in a smaller container that would do your roses just fine. Alfalfa (meal or pellets) is excellent for plants. I would say a weak solution of fish emulsion would be OK now, but the most important need for your plant is water. Fertilizing can wait. And from here I'll leave it to the all-organic folks for more recommendations for you.
seamommy
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Gee, Lindsey, I can't see that you've made any real mistakes. Your rose is still alive and apparently is growing. Alive + growing = OK.

Cheryl
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lindseyrose
Original Author
17 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you, both Diane and Cheryl! My rose is going to be okay, I think. :) I was just getting nervous and since I have rarely ever had true success with something green, I guess I was second-guessing myself. But, it's flowering now. Although we HAVE had a couple full days of rain, but that's not MY doing!

Diane, thank you for your encouragement to water every day. I thought I was supposed to try to deep-water only once or twice a week or something, so I thought I was doing something wrong watering daily, although it seemed like my rose couldn't make it in this heat if I skipped a day (stems with buds started drooping).

I have 2 blooms right now and about 4 really nice ripe buds. I hope they don't mildew in this rain or something! But I think they will open up okay. And, the thrips seem to be gone. :) Yay!

My first rose--I think I messed up!

Comments (3)

diane_nj 6b/7a

seamommy

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My first rose--I think I messed up!

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diane_nj 6b/7a

seamommy

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