I have a very healthy, large Teasing Georgia in
a space designed for a smaller rose. A rose in
a larger space nearby recently died so I
decided to move the large TG into the larger
space. I've transplanted roses before, but not
one quite this large.

"Large" is relative; the TG is about 5' tall and
about 6' wide (some canes are longer than that).
So it's large compared to most of my other
moderns, but small compared to some of my
shrubs and most climbers.

The Teasing Georgia was planted originally in
March 2002 and grew rapidly. It's has consistently
been one of my healthiest roses.

First I dug out the dead rose and replaced most
of the soil with fresh soil, then watered well.

Second I pruned Teasing Georgia heavily. I
would estimate I cut off about 3/4 of the growth.
In our area a dormant period hasn't happened
yet (still too warm), so that meant cutting out a
lot of green leaves and canes.

Third I used a straight edge shovel to cut TG's
roots in a semi-circle about 2' out from the rose.
I didn't cut in a full circle. I'm guessing that
leaving about 1/3 of the roots intact will help
reduce shock.

In two weeks or so, I'll finish cutting roots and
transplant the rose. I've learned to use seaweed
as a root stimulator and transplant shock minimizer.
Add some triple superphosphate in the planting
hole, and cross my fingers.

Wish me luck.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8

Dear Gail

I do wish you luck, but I'm worried that you are transplanting a rose into a position that contained a sick rose. I am not an expert but I have read you should never plant a rose into an old site that contained roses, in case they inherit disease. There are lots of sites online that discuss this subject, so I would urge you to do a little research before settling on such a site.

Best regards
jay jay

"jay jay" wrote in message
...

Dear Gail

I do wish you luck, but I'm worried that you are transplanting a rose
into a position that contained a sick rose.

You must have missed this sentence in my
original post:
"First I dug out the dead rose and replaced most
of the soil with fresh soil, then watered well."


I am not an expert but I
have read you should never plant a rose into an old site that contained
roses, in case they inherit disease. There are lots of sites online
that discuss this subject,

Such as? It's a good idea to list a few sites
when you assert such exist. Here, let me show
you how it's done:

What you're referring to is called "sick soil
syndrome" or "specific replant disease". See
http://www.gardenguides.com/articles/rosediseasenot.htm
as one example of the controversy about sick
soil syndrome.

Often the concern is with soil where roses have
grown for over 10 years. I have only one rose
that meets that criterion; all of the other 150+ roses
in my garden are seven (7) years old or younger.

Here are more helpful sites on the subject:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0205/replant.asp
http://www.bmi.net/roseguy/pnw/replant.html

[Most research I found appears to relate to fruit
trees and other food products. But the principles
are apparently the same. See, for example:
http://www.ncw.wsu.edu/treefruit/biolcal.htm ]

so I would urge you to do a little research
before settling on such a site.

Best regards
jay jay

First: I always and I mean ALWAYS remove
old soil, usually out past the drip line of the
original, dead rose, and replace with new soil.
As I noted in my original post.

Second: If one could NEVER plant a rose in
a site where another rose had died, as you
assert above, one's garden would soon be
rose-less - or one would have to find someplace
else to plant roses! Or wait years for the old soil
to "heal", whatever that means. I don't
have years.

As the websites above mention, there might
be many reasons for "sick soil syndrome".
Replacing the soil before transplanting, as I
mentioned in my original post, is generally
considered to be a solution to the problem (if
indeed there is a problem). To quote from
the gardenguides article:
"For the day-to-day rosarian, the best counter for this disease is to change
out the soil when a new rose is planted in the same location of a previously
planted rose. Since this malady does not affect non-rose family plants and
trees, moving the old soil to another location in the garden and relocating
that soil back into the newly planted rose’s location is merely a matter of
muscle power and a wheel barrow.

The other option is to let the soil remain fallow for one to two years
before replanting with a new rose. This procedure is used by many commercial
rose growers and some home gardeners, who fill the empty space with a cover
crop or companion plantings."

Thanks for your concern and I hope you find
my research useful. I recall researching this
topic years ago but had lost the links. Now I
have them again.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8