On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 09:57:31 GMT, "Robert M. Lyons"
wrote:

Hi,
I'm not new to roses but this has been a humbling experience. I planted
25 bareroot plant in a raised bed alongside the southside of my house. I
hauled away the old dirt that was in there and replaced it with a mixture
50/50 of topsoil and nutribrew . I then planted my bare root roses in
early May. Prior to my planting I kept the roses with roots submerged in a
large barrel of water for 4-5 days. All showed sprouts by the time I
planted them. When I planted them, I wrongly planted them too deep with 3-
4 inches of dirt covering the crown and on top of that I put down a layer
of cocoa mulch. Fast forward 4 weeks: I raised my plants but they all
appear to be doing poorly. The canes not the leaves have black spots on
them and the sprouts/buds seem to not look very robust. Much of the new
growth looks wilted. I haven't fertilized but my soil is quite organic.
Could the cocoa mulch had an adverse effect on the roses? Any ideas??

Thanks,

Bob Lyons
Penfield, NY

Most roses need lots of sun, and the more the better. Newly planted
roses need at least 1" of water each week. Give them a soaking twice
a week unless there is rain. Roses are heavy feeders and grow best
with organic fertilizers. Give them a light ground covering of
composted cow manure and fish emulsion, alternating applications every
three weeks during the growing season. Stop fertilizing 2 months
before the first frost date. Black spot is hard to control once it
gets started--improve air circulation and keep water off the leaves.
It takes a year or two for roses to become well established.