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Transplanting Roses

11 years ago

Hi All

I recently purchased a few roses and we've planted them into the ground. Its been about 3-4 weeks and due to our poor planning, only realised they dont actually get as much sun as we thought they did! (4-5 hours tops) . Most of the roses were bare root roses, but a couple were potted.

Im now looking to move the roses into a much sunnier position. Of the roses, about 2-3 of them have shown some good growth with new leaves and thorns since we planted them, but the others have shown almost no growth (very very very slight signs of new growth).

I just wanted to ask you experts what I should look for, or the steps I need to do to transplant the roses to a new area. Is there anythign i need to look out for, or can I just simply remove them from the existing soil, and plant them into a new hole just like I did before, water well. Or is there something special i need to do in addition ?

Can I fertilize soon after I place them into their new home, or would I need to wait until they establish themselves (again) ?

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

funnelweb
11 years ago
Yes, I've done the same thing a couple of times, just dig them up - carefully - and replant them, but don't leave it any later in the season; the days are getting longer. Roses need at least 7 to 8 hours sun a day to be happy. Whenever I plant a new rose I always place a handfull of blood and bone in the bottom of the hole and lightly cover that with soil. I also sprinkle some mixed with a dose of chook manure and dolomite lime and some sulphate of potash in with the soil that I replace around the plant. I then water in well with a dose of seasol in the watering can. Seasol or equivalent helps promote root growth.
Regards
Bill
SmiTTy13
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Bill !!

I often hear ppl say don't fertilize new plants as you might burn the roots. They are fairly new although there is some new growth already . So I can give them some manure, potash and seasol without any issues after I replant them ?

Most of them were bare root roses when planted (3-4 weeks ago) and there is some new growth.
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Derek, the sprout may or may NOT be the rose that once bloomed in that spot. Almost all modern roses, until fairly recently, were "budded", or grafted, where the desirable rose was grafted onto the roots of another, more vigorous rose. It happens quite often that the original TOP rose dies, only to be replaced by a sprout from the roots, which is an entirely different rose. There's no way to tell now if your plants were budded, but my bet would be that they were. There's a possibility that the original roses had already died off long before you moved in. By chance were both roses a dark red that only bloomed once in Spring? If so, they were probably Dr Huey, a rose used quite often as a rootstock. If that is the case, yes, this new rose sprout would be the same as what you saw bloom, but NOT what was originally planted, lol. If it is Dr Huey, you might just want to buy another rose that is healthier and repeats. There's another possibility. IF the original roses happened to be on their own roots, either because the scion (the desirable part of a grafted rose) rooted on its own after planting or because they were old/antique roses planted as own-root (grown from a cutting, on it's own roots), then you would have the same rose coming up now. But there's almost no way to tell without letting this sprout grow and bloom. I'll leave it to someone else to tell you how to move/save/propagate your sprout, since it's time for me to start cooking dinner, lol. John
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I left this answer on your other post, as well: The best time to transplant is while the rose is dormant. It's much less stressful on the plant. If they haven't put on new growth yet, now is the time. You *can* move a rose most any time, but the warmer it is and the more growth they have, the harder it is. It's not impossible to do later, your chances of success are just lower. If they have started to grow, then you need to take care to get as large a root ball as possible, you'll need to trim them back, water them well before the move, don't let them dry out *at ALL*, and you need to dig the new holes before you dig the roses so they can go back into the ground immediately. Then you'll need to keep them well watered, and may even need to shade them for a few days. Good luck! John EDIT: here are some videos by Paul Zimmerman (google him, lol) Moving An Established Rose During Dormant Season Moving A Rose During The Growing Season
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Thanks both for your input. Yep I always thought you wanted to plant at container level but I have read a few threads here of people planting roses deeper in cold zones. Also, I did purchase another Austin this spring and it had the instructions to plant it deeper as HalloBlondie mentioned. I did that for the new roses, but the ones I will be moving in the spring were originally not planted deep. I am thinking I should go ahead and plant deep once I move them which would be early spring. I am not sure there will be live growth to come above the ground at that time though. Maybe I will protect them especially well to try to get more above ground growth saved. I have very little top growth surviving on roses except for William Baffin. I think I might be more 5a. I do have fairly heavy clay soil, but they will be on a slope, definitely not a low spot. I have been heavily amending the area the past few years. This area was my vegetable garden but I would like to squeeze in some roses because the deer are enjoying my roses more than I am.
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funnelweb
11 years ago
Yes, and I don't dismiss that rule about fertilising new plants but I've found that if you place it below the plant on planting and cover with a centremeter or so of soil before you insert the plant and then mix a bit well in with the soil you're putting back in the hole and then water in well you won't burn the roots - about a fistfull well mixed in. After new growth appears you can then spread some over the top of the soil making sure it's clear of the trunk. On established plants/roses, I do that in spring, depending on where your are, when new growth begins. For me in (U.S.) zone 9 (about 9.5 here near Tweed Heads) I do it around early September, and then again around February after the summer blooming period in readiness for the Autumn show about April.
I meant to mention yesterday that if after transplanting those with a touch of new growth on show a little shock - that is a bit a sag about the leaves - don't be too concerned, they should recover over a few days to a week or so. Roses, in fact, are preety tough; sometimes, being a bit impatient, I've even moved them in mid summer after a bit of a trim and they've recovered quite ok.
On chosing modern roses, I've found that Meiland's (a French producer of many varieties) and some of the David Austins are among the most reliable, but it's a good idea to buy those listed for your climatic zone. Most roses, by the way, are rated up to U.S. Zone 9, I garden at about the end of that range.
Good luck.
Bill
SmiTTy13
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Bill - really appreciate it =)

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