How often are you watering these? Your soil looks very dry. Did .you soak the roots before planting? Where exactly in Z8 do you live? (You can add this info to your name, btw).

You need to soak bare root roses in the water for 24-48 hours. After planting them in the ground, water them well everyday, if you can water them a couple times a day, and mist the tree branches as often as you can. I love John Paul the II tree roses, the blooms are so fragrant and they repeat fast. You could use some mulch. Good luck to yours.

Off topic but I don't get the watering them well daily recommendations. Do you not treat bare roots like any shrub in the garden (aka, water when the soil get's dry) - depending on soil conditions ? ---or to rephrase, water as needed to keep the soil where the roots are moist--but not overly wet.

I have one area in my garden that at this time of the year, even with zero precip. for 10 days, I can make mud balls with the current state of how wet the dirt is.

OP soil does look dry .

BTW, mulch does keep weeds away and helps retain moisture OP

For the newly planted roses or rose trees water is the #1 thing they need. I am wondering they might be dried out between the rains during your vacation. A thick layer mulch could help to keep them moist for onger time.

Do you have photos for other ones? Are they totally black?

By any chance did you purchase your trees from JP? Most of my rose trees were from there.

here are the other two, both tops and canes. They were fully brown a few days ago so maybe they are waking up. Canes are starting to turn a reddish green.

I'll step up my watering and get some more mulch. The forecast does call for a solid 8 days of rain after tomorrow too, which should help.

Hutchae -

I would rather add a stake now then later (before roots develop). I would say at least 2-3 years until it can hold the *top heaviness*

Jealous of the pics ;-)

I wanted to grow standards but ultimately I have decided to not do them. Even had a rose seller tell me politely, that I would be taking a huge risk on planting a standard

Off topic but for all you rosarians out there, since we have some nice pics is this thread, are the canes that establish the framework on this 2-3 years old ?

They don’t look dead. Keep them wet and misting the tree branch helps too. You can trim off the dark brown/black part.

Yes, add one or two stakes to each rose tree. I bought my bamboo stakes from HomeDepot. I lost one rose tree in a storm once, it got top heavy and tree trunk couldn’t support it, it just snapped off.

JP always has a huge sale at the end of the May -beginning of June, they mark down all the rose trees. I couldn’t help it last year, I ended up with 75 rose trees. Lol It’s nice to see more gardeners growing rose trees.

I think the trees look like at least 2 years old.

Thanks I will stop in our nursery to pick up more mulch and some stakes! Should I start fertilizer now or wait till they leaf out?

summers-Wow, 75 tree roses your garden must be magnificent!

we bought this house less than a year ago and it was a neglected urban farm. I'm trying to turn in into the English garden I have always wanted. There are some very old roses on the property so it will be interesting to see what they do this year. They hadn't been previously pruned for close to a decade.

I haven't seen many tree roses but I came across the below pics in a book and they become my inspiration for my cottage garden. I'm crossing my fingers these 4 make it.

Lovely garden photos! Congrats on your new house! It sounds wonderful to have an urban farm, a lot of room to garden. You will buy more roses and rose trees for sure. :-) Don’t fertilizer them until they leaf out.

I always wanted to have a farm with a big country barn, I could invite people over to have bbq inside, build some solid long country wooden tables, set the tables with candelabras and roses ........and hang huge chandeliers on the high celling they all bring their food to share ( I don’t know how to cook)......but I never found a farm! So there is no such a party! Have to build a country barn someday to make this dream come true. Lol

If this all doesn't work, I don't think it is your fault hutchae. You could buy from a more reputable seller next try.

Thanks for that info Steve. That's very similar to put Chris from new Flora suggest for encouraging basil roots on roses. Hutch oh, your inspiration pictures are beautiful! I wouldn't be too quick to prune your other roses since they maybe once bloomers and if you prune them now you won't get any blooms this year. However if you did this last year already ignore what I just said. Please be sure to post pictures of them once they bloom so we can help identify them. That is very exciting that you have an old garden with roses already in it.

That's good to know Steve! I have rooting balls, that's the way to root roses too.

Hutch, Next time you could use a sprinkler with a timer to water those trees while you are on vacation.

I reread your comment Steve, sorry I originally missed the part of it being a clear bag. Since I'm new to roses (and rose anatomy) could I clarify where to tie off the bag at the base? I marked up the below picture

Would it be the green spot or pink?

I think the pink is right.

staked and bagged with some moist peat moss. does it look correct? I still need to add mulch.

Hard to tell over the internet but as long as the stake is deep enough to keep the stem tied, ur good.

Looks correct to me, if you can push up the bag from the bottom to cover the bud union a little more with the moist peat that will help, but you've done it correctly, make sure to have some air holes in the top and upper sides of the bag to avoid too much heat build up. Hope it works for you.....

Is that use of a plastic bag currently legal where you live?

Probably too late for bare root. This company sent dried out looking bare roots to a neighbor here. Not your fault.

If I were you I'd leave them planted until mid-summer, and keep watering them as if they were alive. They don't look great, but they might revive if there is still green on them. I'd also wait until next year to try bare root rose trees again. In the interim, you can always add potted roses to your garden. I really like the Antique Rose Farm in Snohomish as a source -- they might also have some rose trees. You can call to ask if you are looking for something specific.

Hi Hitchae -

One of my roses planted in ground, flush.....is just slowly leafing out. Dunno what your daytime temps are, but you also got a 36" stem for those juices to flow up to the top of those canes. Maybe it just needs a -smidge- more time

I am waiting for JP’s rose tree sale in may, 40-50% off. Hold your horses and use your credit next month. :-)

If they’re still green, that means they’re still alive. I bought 75 rose trees from JP last may-june (the end of summer sale), I potted them up, only 1 didn’t make through, it turned brown. This spring I lost 2 potted trees, I must have missed their pots while watering them during the winter month.

I'd love to get that much off, you zone is a little cooler still assuming. I wonder if my zone it would still work. Here are some updated pictures. I think the last time I posted pics was over 2 weeks ago.

There might be life in the trunk, but all the canes grafted onto it look completely dead to me..

Yep, I agree. You could save the trunks and learn how to graft new roses onto them. :-) That's what I am trying to do.

In the winter.....in soil, exposed to the elements, just Kurious. It may depend on cultivar ? In a healthy state, do the stems remain green or get woody, and then turn back green as it comes out of dormancy ?