Thanks for the tips, I'll get the rest of my roses soaking this afternoon
and get started planting tomorrow--the weather will still be good till this
weekend, when there's some rain in the forecast--good for the roses, but not
so good for the gardener!

Jean in VA

On 4/1/03 1:00 PM, in article ,
"Radika Kesavan" wrote:

Jean S. Barto wrote:
Hello folks--

Hi, Jean.

I just got my roses from Wayside Gardens yesterday, and I definitely
want to plant them this week. However, the weather today is cooler
(mid 50's) and windy (15-20 mph), with nighttime temperatures around
50 F. Wednesday and Thursday will be warmer (mid 70's), but still
windy. Nighttime temperatures in the mid 50's. Is this OK weather
to plant?

I would say that this sounds like optimal weather. How windy is it? If
it is so windy that it could rob the planted rose of moisture, and there
is no rain to speak of, please make sure that you water well after
planting and as days go by to make sure that the newly plated rose does
not simply dehydrate.

Since I have 15 roses in all, it will take me 3 or 4 days to plant
them all. How should I store the roses I'll be planting later this
week? For now I still have them in the box they came in, wrapped in
the packing material.

Please take them out, get rid of all the sawdust and other stuff, and
store with the roots soaking in good, clean water (NO ADDITIVES) in a
good-sized container that can accommodate the root balls comfortably in
a bright area but not in direct sunlight. I have upon occasion had had
to let the bare-root roses sit in water like this for almost two to
three weeks while I managed to get them in the ground one by one. I have
used thirtythree-gallon garbage containers with wheels as the water-tubs
for soaking roses this way. No harm comes to roses that are handled like
this; but be aware of the possibility of mosquito larvae being hatched
in the water in the tub, and if necessary, replace the water every
couple of days. Out here, one has had ot think about this problem this
year, and am sure West Nile Fever possibilities would be a concern in
Virginia as well this year.

The roses I'll plant tomorrow are already soaking in water.

Excellent, Jean. In my experience, anywhere from 24 to 48 hours of
soaking is the best preparation for planting a bare-root rose.