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Moving Old Roses

18 years ago

My son & DIL are about to demolish their house and rebuild. In the garden are several very old roses planted by the previous owner, quite probably more than 20 years ago. They want to keep these roses if possible. Now, my query is how do they go about moving them and is it better to pot them or bag them. They want to do this within the next few weeks.

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Comments (4)

Deryn
18 years ago
Hi Anna

I would pot them as then their roots can get established.
Prune them first and make sure that they are well watered the day before you move them.
Cut off any broken roots so they are clean and put in a big pot with potting mix. Keep them well watered and give them some Seasol to help the roots recover.
In a pot they can wait for the 12 months or so it takes for a house to be built

cheers Deryn
That way
leyla
18 years ago
Ann, I have just move about 500 roses not 20 yrs old by any means but some where fairly large. What I did was dug them out soak them in a large bucket for some hours or overnight in Maxicrop plant starter. Try and get as much root system as possible and prune the bushes down but not too severely. I planted them into garden beds as I find pots need to be monitored to closely for moisture - and the moisture need to be kept up!!! I watered my plants twice a day for about a fortnight by then the rains took over and they are now all budding up beautifully.
I'd probably take some cuttings as well, stick some of the prunings under the rose shifted and others in pots on their own. See how you go - good luck.
Leyla
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I agree with cutting it back a bit, especially the roses. Prepare your planting hole at home in advance so it's ready when the bush arrives. Work up the soil with some amendments if needed. Make sure the soil is moist but definitely not muddy. Try to plant the bush at the same soil level as before. I think it's good to plant late in the day when it's not so hot (maybe it's not hot where you are). Hope you have a good sunny spot for the bush. When I transplant a bush in the summer, sometimes I cover it with a sheet or something during the hottest part of the day (for just a couple days). Be sure to keep the rootball moist while transporting--put it in a plastic bag or something like that. Let us know how it goes. You should be fine.
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Just a follow up to those who so kindly sent me advice and suggestions - just in case my email response to them went astray. The roses seem to have survived the shift and in spite of some recent (unusual) frosts in Perth I am very hopeful that they will thrive. The timing was so right because these old roses were planted by my mother and father as a memorial garden for my brother who was killed in an air crash 51 years ago. My mother was so pleased that I was able to move them here and she sat in the sun and watched me as I started my own "memorial rose garden" here. It is now a family garden because she passed away just a few weeks later. Thank you again to everyone for your interest and suggestions. My father was the real green thumb of the family but I am sure he also would be so pleased to see these old beauties in their new home and, come October, blooming their heads off again!
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Lildelil, how did you go in moving the roses ?
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Anna_B
Original Author
18 years ago
Thank you, Leyla & Deryn. I'll pass this information on to son & DIL, though you know who'll be doing the looking after if not the actual digging up. Funny how so much stuff finds its way back to Mum & Dad's place to be looked after.....just for a bit.
Snodge
18 years ago
Unfortunately our planned demolition will result in house on top of my favourite rose bed - most of the teas - so since we've finally agreed what we're doing, next weekend will see some actual rose digging up and moving.

The apple grove is giving way to refugee roses...ah, too much insect pest for the apples anyway....The quince is still there.....after the effort grubbing out the apple stumps hubby ( who was all for just culling all of them), has joined my camp and is considering seeing whether we can leave the quince alone! Quince blossom is so lovely.

I have my fingers and toes crossed. Last time I had to move a happy Maman Cochet she wasn't well pleased!

On the up side, the years of mulch and manure under the apples has left the soil very nice indeed.

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