Hi all,

I'm a newbie here, so if there's an FAQ or something where this might be
answered then feel free to point me in the right direction.

I've just moved into a new house, and one of the things that I liked about
it was the fact that it has several well established roses. You can imagine
my despair when I awoke yesterday to find 3 of them lying down! We had a
particularly windy night (in Melbourne, Australia) and I can only assume and
hope that the wind blew them over. I propped them back up on the stakes
that they had obviously grown on, but got home tonight to find them fallen
over again (stakes out of the ground). Now this complicates things - I have
two border collies, and I'm concerned they may think pulling roses out of
the ground is a game! I need some defences!

The roses appear to be in pots, sunk into the ground. Is this common?
Should I dig them out and take them out of their pots? My problem with the
pots is that it limits the depth that I can get the stakes into the ground,
and I imagine would also limit the rose itself.

The rose 'trunks' are about 18 inches before any branches come out, and so I
was thinking that I could put something around the trunk that would give me
something to tether the rose trunk to and at the same time prevent the dogs
from getting involved.

Does anyone have any advice for an inexperienced gardner?

cheers
dim

"Dmitri Colebatch" colebatchd_gmail.com wrote in message
. ..
Hi all,

Howdy and welcome!

I'm a newbie here, so if there's an FAQ or something where this might be
answered then feel free to point me in the right direction.

I'll try to help you have some great resources
on hand, starting with links at:
http://www.rose.org.au/

I've just moved into a new house, and one of the things that I liked about
it was the fact that it has several well established roses.

Yes, that's how I got hooked on roses.

You can imagine
my despair when I awoke yesterday to find 3 of them lying down! We had a
particularly windy night (in Melbourne, Australia)

I have friends in Victoria and have visited several
times. Lovely area.

and I can only assume and
hope that the wind blew them over. I propped them back up on the stakes
that they had obviously grown on, but got home tonight to find them fallen
over again (stakes out of the ground). Now this complicates things - I
have two border collies, and I'm concerned they may think pulling roses
out of the ground is a game! I need some defences!

If you can find something like chicken wire - I
don't know what it's called in Australia but a kind
of wire fence with big holes in it that lets air through
but keeps animals out - you can make cages
for the roses. I do that for some of my roses
that attract rabbits. I put the fence outside the
drip line, so there's plenty of room for the rose.

The roses appear to be in pots, sunk into the ground. Is this common?

Ah - no. Unless the pots are very large, and
the roses very small, the roots are being limited
quite a bit. Rose roots like to spread. I'm guessing
that's one reason the wind was able to uproot your
roses. They should be planted directly in the ground.
You might need to amend the soil. Check with a
local nursery about soil amendment for roses, given
your soil conditions.

Should I dig them out and take them out of their pots?

You're coming into autumn, right? This is
probably a good time to transplant.

My problem with the
pots is that it limits the depth that I can get the stakes into the
ground, and I imagine would also limit the rose itself.

Agreed. My concern is that, having been uprooted
twice, the roses are very stressed and might well
not survive. I think it might be best to take them
out of the pots and put them in a well-prepared hole -
lots of organic matter, like compost, but no
fertilizer until growth starts again in the spring. If
you can get hold of some liquid seaweed that's a
wonderful root stimulator for roses or any other
kind of plant. I use it for all new roses and as a
general tonic for all my roses, even the mature ones,
several times during the growing season. The stuff
I get here is mixed 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon of water.
Sorry to be non-metric but you can see you use a
very little liquid seaweed.

The rose 'trunks' are about 18 inches before any branches come out,

I'm guessing these are rose standards, also known
as rose trees or patio roses. I have very little
experience with those. I have one in a pot on my
front porch but it stays small and so the pot is
sufficient in size. So some of what I said earlier
might not be true. Small roses can live in pots,
but they should be transplanted every three years
and they generally won't do as well as they would
in the ground.

I suggest you read up on rose standards or patio
roses to see if that's what you have. Here's a link
to start you off:
http://www.rosemagazine.com/articles04/tree_roses/
Note: The American Rose Society now calls
patio roses "mini-flora roses", but I think Australia,
New Zealand and Great Britain still refer to them as
patio roses.

and so I
was thinking that I could put something around the trunk that would give
me something to tether the rose trunk to and at the same time prevent the
dogs from getting involved.

Does anyone have any advice for an inexperienced gardner?

cheers
dim

One note: I've corresponded with rose growers
who, based on space, weather, and/or soil
concerns, grew all their roses in pots. So it can
be done, but I think if you can plant them in the
ground, that's better for the rose. I've planted
some roses in pots that haven't done well in the
ground and their performance improved, but my
first choice (with the exception of the one patio
rose) is always going to be put them in the ground!

Gail
near San Antonio TX USA Zone 8

That was an excellent post Gail ;-))
Joe T
Houston

"jtill" wrote in message
oups.com...
That was an excellent post Gail ;-))
Joe T
Houston

Thanks. I was afraid I was babbling on too
much, but knowing little about the OP's
situation, I thought it was safer to provide more,
rather than less, information.

That said, if anyone has other, even
contradictory thoughts on the OP's query, I'd
love to read them. I'm still learning!

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8

Gail, do you visit rec.gardens.orchids? You would enjoy that group.
Joe T
Houston

"jtill" wrote in message
ups.com...
Gail, do you visit rec.gardens.orchids? You would enjoy that group.
Joe T
Houston

Nope, I don't grow orchids.
Thanks for the invite, though, Joe.

Gail