Bare root roses in large pots
Iowa Blooms z 5
last year
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Starting bare root roses in pots: pros and cons?
Comments (6)So I potted up my 4 bare root plants. So far so good. One is losing some leaves from underneath, turning yellow and falling off. This one is Brandy, and seemed like the most vigorous one with a jillion budeyes. Well, maybe a billion. The rest of the plant seems okay with the top growth nice and fresh and green so I am not sweating it too much. My Peace leaves looked a little funny, but I think I read on a different thread that their leaves sometimes have a "puckered" look to them at first, so I think she is okay, too. Time will tell for both of them, I guess. My question: I think I know where I want to have them planted in the ground. They have been growing in the pots since March 28th, when I last checked this thread. If I now plant them in the ground, would I be risking stressing them or their roots (which I am hooping are growing!). I am pretty good at getting stuff in the ground w/o disturbing roots too much if need be. Do I have to wait till fall? Or, since we have had such a cool, mild spring and just had a good rain, is it possible that I could transplant them now? I know nursery plants in pots start as bare root, but I am not sure how much of a root system they would have in comparison to my non-greenhouse grown potted bare roots. I'm sure mine have fewer roots, so would I be doing a bad thing to try and put them in the ground now?...See MoreTips for potting up bare root roses?
Comments (13)Since you plan to plant out your roses after starting them in pots, would think the type of soil you'll have in your garden at the new house is a key consideration. Will you establish beds at your new place with a blend of topsoil & compost or amend the native soil in some way to provide favorable growing conditions? In my experience, matching the container blend closely to the garden soil in which a plant will later grow is important, since a mismatch between the two can prove problematic down the line. Commercial "potting soil" substitutes peat moss as the growing medium for soil & is considered soilless. Plants growing in that can have a hard time expanding their roots into garden soil once transplanted & the original potting soil can continue to stay wetter or drier than surrounding soil for a good while until worms & soil organisms knit it into the whole. With your bare root roses, you'll mainly see anchor roots, as the finer network of feeder roots that grow from these are mostly lost in harvest & storage. Once planted, new feeder roots will develop from the anchors to multiply moisture & nutrient delivery. In a transitional pot intended for garden transplant, I like a slightly lighter version of the target site the plant will later occupy - a bit fluffier than the garden soil to maximize feeder root development & retard compaction of the planting mixture that can occur in a pot, but composed mainly of the same elements & textures of the final planting location, so a custom mix. When utilizing potting soil, I look for one with no fertilizer added or at most a slow release, but then I like to control what type of fertilizer & schedule, and generally give none to bare roots until they leaf out & in liquid organic form at that time to sidestep burning new feeder roots. Mixed thoroughly with quality topsoil & finished compost in equal parts, makes a good potting soil that can be further tweaked. Agree with nikthegreek about container size. Better to later pot up to a larger size if necessary when new roots have filled the pot than to have soil & roots fall away when you go to plant in the garden. Nursery pots are shaped to allow for easy transplant, can have the bottoms cut away, be supported beneath & placed in the planting hole & then have the pot sides cut way for minimal root disturbance. If using dark pots, slip them into light colored containers to keep them cool. Dark pots heat up quickly & can cook the roots. Potting bare roots this late, out of season, need to be careful the canes don't sunburn before leaf out, so the morning sun on your East facing porch should help until the foliage grows. If the humidity doesn't keep up, may want to mist the canes & new leaves with the mist setting of a watering wand to mimic moister air, or set the pots on large saucers filled with gravel & standing water below the top of the gravel which can evaporate moisture to the roses above. Have the impression your area is relatively low humidity usually? Turn the pots for leaf development as you would houseplants on a windowsill for even growth. Once they've leafed out, you may want to gradually give them more sun exposure till they get the same as where you plan to plant them. Most of the Austins here get morning sun from sunrise till 1-3 pm & do fine. If you find the growth stretching toward the sun even with turning the pots, that usually means they're wanting more of it. What an adventure for you - new roses, new home, new garden! Congratulations & enjoy the ride. (Just for the record, I'm in Nik's camp on rose potting for nourishment & endurance.)...See MoreWho sells bare root, own root roses?
Comments (12)Dingo, I have studied the Edmunds and Austin catalogs, but the own root, bare root rose availability, though seen by me, did not register. I believe the deep rooted assumption, since I have been growing roses for just short of 50 years, that bare root roses are always grafted roses, kicked in. Own root container grown roses are still a wonder to me, yet alone own root, bare root roses! Thank you for reinforcing a new concept to me. Rifis, thank you for bringing this to my attention, I did read that and thought it was possibly a misprint. Since the bareroots are primarily grafted on vigorous rootstocks, I thought own root roses were not husky enough to take the fall harvesting, cleaning, and winter cold storage as a, say multiflora rootstock rose can, and be sold as bare root roses, just like grafted roses. Now my question is, "Do they perform as well as container grown roses?"...See MorePrice of Potted Rose vs Bare Root
Comments (22)Diane, If only I could travel there and bring back plants! It sounds like a really good nursery. I wish my local nursery could have stayed in business. They were very good about taking care of their plants and would hold bought/sold ones for customers if we couldn't take it home right away. Kitasei, I think BayAreaGirl and GardenGal answered really well. I would like to add that band size and gallon size roses are usually pot-culture roses (started from cuttings) and they should come well rooted. I've come to expect that it's pretty much a given that most places will sell you a potted up bare root (grafted or ownroot) early in the year. These will generally come in 2-3gal pots. I think you can tell they were originally bare roots from how thick the cane/crown/top growth is compared to the size of the pot they're in. Fully container grown roses of that size would not be able to thrive in that tight space. The top growth reflects the size of the roots, or in this case - the size the roots used to be. Bare roots can stay in those pots for a while because they need to regrow their roots, but they should quickly outgrow them. Now, if I saw a rose for sale in a 5gal (or larger) pot, then that would lead me to believe that it's been in the pot for a long while and has a big root system....See MoreDiane Brakefield
11 months agoLala Idaho Zone 7a
11 months agoDiane Brakefield
11 months agoLala Idaho Zone 7a
11 months agoIowa Blooms z 5
11 months agoa1an
11 months agolast modified: 11 months ago
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