Rose Tips by Al Karsten
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March
2002 Rose Tips
Planting Bare Root
Roses
Out of the Box
If you have ordered bare-root roses and planting is delayed for less than a week
leave in the package and put in the garage or a cool sheltered place. If planting is
delayed more than a week dig a shallow trench and temporarily place the plants in
it. Water the entire bush thoroughly. Then cover with soil until you are able
to plant.
A Good Soak
Your roses have been without water for quite a while and need a good
soak. Before putting the roses in a container to soak, check each
bush to see that there are no broken canes. Cut back any broken or torn
roots and cut the tips off of all the other roots to stimulate
growth.
When you are ready to plant, now or later, soak the entire rose plant in a container of
water for 24 hours. Add a three pound package of Epson Salts to the
water. (If only soaking 3 to five bushes, an 8 ounce cup or two
added to the container of water will do. This "wakes up" the
dormant roots. After that period of time remove the bare-root plant, cut off
any broken roots and cut off any thin shoots or canes. You want the energy to go
into the larger canes even if means leaving only two or three canes. Don't worry,
more canes will come along.
Planting
A common mistake is digging a hole too deep and too narrow. I suggest a hole 2 feet
across and 18" deep. The bud union, or graft, should be one inch below the soil
level. Apply an 8 oz cup of super-phosphate in the hole before planting to promote
root growth. Fill the hole with a mixture of cow manure, compost,
soil, perlite, sphagnum peat.
Do not add any granular fertilizer in the soil until the rose bush has produced new blooms in late May or early June as the fertilizer could burn the new tender roots. Water thoroughly and water weekly. Cover the entire rose bush with soil, grass clippings, cow manure. You do not want the March/April winds to dry out the canes or the warm weather to harm the new canes. Do not use the soil in your rose bed to cover the top of your newly planted roses. You could be uncovering small roots of your established rose bushes and if we have a late frost, the rose bush could be killed from the exposure to cold weather.
When you see new growth coming through the protection, remove the mulch gently with your hands or with a light spray from the garden hose to wash the mulch away.
Years ago, it use to be said "never plant a $5.00 rose bush in a 50 cent hole." The price of roses have changed but you get the idea...
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