I have 15 rosebushes that were placed in containers when we moved last
september and they have been in storage since then. I am now ready to put
them in their new home but I can't imagine anything being much worse for
them than planting them now. Any way to minimize the damage? They are in
pretty rough shape now but they are attempting to flower.

In article , Dustin Albright
wrote:

I have 15 rosebushes that were placed in containers when we moved last
september and they have been in storage since then. I am now ready to put
them in their new home but I can't imagine anything being much worse for
them than planting them now. Any way to minimize the damage? They are in
pretty rough shape now but they are attempting to flower.

Dustin, give us an idea of your location. That way those with
experience in your area can respond more specifically. Have you already
dug and amended your huge rose holes? That ought to keep you busy for
at least a month, so you can do fall planting.

I
"Dustin Albright" wrote in message
...
I have 15 rosebushes that were placed in containers when we moved last
september and they have been in storage since then. I am now ready to put
them in their new home but I can't imagine anything being much worse for
them than planting them now. Any way to minimize the damage? They are in
pretty rough shape now but they are attempting to flower.

I've had very good luck planting roses in the summer, but there is an
adequate supply of
water in the greater Hartford area. I even transplanted a Love HT and a Huey
sport earlier this month (July)--the latter was a bit surprising, since I
ripped it off a HT,
leaving it with a minimal root system. OTOH, I moved the HT in a big
undisturbed
chunk of soil, to minimize the root damage. I think helps if you can do the
planting without
breaking up the soil around the roots of the roses, but this may be easier
said than done. There
is just the right amount of moisture that helps keep the soil together. I
wouldn't try it if I
couldn't water them every day. Don't forget to drink plenty of water
yourself--even before
you feel thirsty.

Zack Lau W1VT

Roses can be transplanted any time of year as long as the soil can be
worked. I have moved roses in the middle of winter when the soil was not
frozen, in the summer heat etc.

As mentioned in previous responses, you must be able to water every day
after the move.

Keeping the root mass as intact as possible is probably the most important
detail. In the summer heat any plant is using a lot of water and the water
is taken up by the feeder roots. These are the fine, hair like structure
that are most easily damaged any time the rose is disturbed.

Removing a significant portion of the canes and foliage will help balance
the loss of the feeder roots. The more foliage on the rose, the more water
it demands, so balance the demand and the supply systems.

In the last month I moved a Sydonie and William Shakespere 2000 by carefully
digging and removing a great deal of foliage. They are both showing new
growth and appear to be healthy in their new home.

The move will 'set back' the size of the plant by 1-2 years as they recover
and produce a new root system. Using a root stimulator is advised as well
as feeding very sparingly. You don't feed a sick person steak, you give
them soup!

This isn't magic, just sensible and logical techniques.

Tim

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 07:41:31 -0600, "Tim Tompkins"
wrote:

Roses can be transplanted any time of year as long as the soil can be
worked. I have moved roses in the middle of winter when the soil was not
frozen, in the summer heat etc.

However, it's *far* more difficult to move plants in the middle of a
hot suppmer.

As mentioned in previous responses, you must be able to water every day
after the move.

And still, this doesn't always ensure success. Transplant shot is
multiplied a dozenfold in the hot heat of the summer. I lost a
thriving Cherokee Rose because I transplanted it in July. Of course,
the fact that it was so vigorous worked against it because it was
really difficult to get a huge mass of root ball due to it's huge tap
root. Yet, I had a sufficient amount of roots (far more than if it had
been a bare root, for instance). I watered it daily, sometimes twice
daily, and it still bit the dust. I suspect that if I had transplanted
it in May or even June, it might have survived. I transplanted a
smaller unknown floribunda in early June this year and it's doing just
fine (or course, it's a much smaller plant). The Belami that I moved
this year I moved in March or April. I had hardly *any* stress-related
transplant shock.

Keeping the root mass as intact as possible is probably the most important
detail. In the summer heat any plant is using a lot of water and the water
is taken up by the feeder roots. These are the fine, hair like structure
that are most easily damaged any time the rose is disturbed.

I absolutely agree, but, ironically, the better the soil you have, the
harder it is to do this. For instance, I have hardly any clay content,
so, the roses that I've moved have been almost impossible to get a
good root ball because the soil is so crumbly.

Removing a significant portion of the canes and foliage will help balance
the loss of the feeder roots. The more foliage on the rose, the more water
it demands, so balance the demand and the supply systems.

In the last month I moved a Sydonie and William Shakespere 2000 by carefully
digging and removing a great deal of foliage. They are both showing new
growth and appear to be healthy in their new home.

That's a good thing.

The move will 'set back' the size of the plant by 1-2 years as they recover
and produce a new root system. Using a root stimulator is advised as well
as feeding very sparingly. You don't feed a sick person steak, you give
them soup!

This isn't magic, just sensible and logical techniques.

The logical thing is to wait until temps drop out of the 90s, or
transplant before the middle of the hot summer. There's no logical
reason to *have* to transplant at a certain time. You can almost
always wait an extra month or two.

After my experience with Cherokee Rose, I will *never* transplant
after early June. Of course, Ilive in the south, but it's still "only"
Zone 6b (possibly soon to be upgraded by the USDA to Zone 7).

"Dustin Albright" wrote:
I have 15 rosebushes that were placed in containers when we moved last
september and they have been in storage since then. I am now ready to put
them in their new home but I can't imagine anything being much worse for
them than planting them now. Any way to minimize the damage? They are in
pretty rough shape now but they are attempting to flower.

My own experience over the past few months says: plant the bushes.
I have re-potted a couple dozen roses and planted out a couple
dozen more since May, and the losses I have had have been due to
1) neglecting to water plants that were in too-small pots (left for a
long weekend without rain; I hadn't set up automated watering),
2) black spot fungus, 3) deer and insects all but defoliating them,
4) some combination. I have also planted out a dozen Italian stone
pines that had been languishing in pots since I bought them in after=
Christmas sales, three fig trees, and various exotics including a rare
Chinese maple. No losses yet, and new growth on most plants. (For
some reason, the insects and deer seem uninterested in them.)

I'm in zone 8b, North Florida, and it's been unusually hot most of
this spring and summer, with heavy rains alternating with a week or
more at a time of complete drought. On the other hand, I have a
good mix of sand and clay that retains water pretty well.

Some pundits have claimed that "containerized" plants can be
planted in the ground, or moved up to bigger pots, at ANY time,
provided that one keeps them watered. I think that that is overly
optimistic, but I've had good luck. My big problem is that I bought
a mess of bare-root bald-cypress, osage-orange, and other trees a
few years ago, potted them up, and left them alone apart from some
watering, and they've all far outgrown their pots, sending roots
though ground fabric: I think that too much of the root mass is outside
the pot in these cases for me to transplant them until they go dormant
for winter. All my own damned fault, neglecting them like that, I
must confess: biting off more than I can chew.

Anyway, go for it. Plant them out, or at least move them to bigger
pots if they need those.

Mark., your mileage may vary, etc.

On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 11:54:56 -0700, "Dustin Albright"
wrote:

I have 15 rosebushes that were placed in containers when we moved last
september and they have been in storage since then.

Storage? You just mean still in pots, right?


I am now ready to put
them in their new home but I can't imagine anything being much worse for
them than planting them now. Any way to minimize the damage? They are in
pretty rough shape now but they are attempting to flower.


Where are you, Dustin? Meaning, how hot is your summer? Ours is pretty
hot, steady 90s.. I have transplanted in summer, but usually only in
emergencies due to vole attacks. Also, how old are these roses, how
much root system did you get, and how big are the pots? I'm thinking
that if they have pretty good root systems they might do better being
planted in the dead of summer.

If you can, I think I would wait. Prepare their bed, and get them in
the ground at the first sign of fall. It will be easier on them.

Another consideration is, how cold are your winters, and are these
grafted or ownroot roses?

Is there a reason you need them well established before winter? If so,
plant them now.

Hope that helps--

Shiva, Hopeless Waffler!

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 09:47:06 -0500, dave weil
wrote:

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 07:41:31 -0600, "Tim Tompkins"
wrote:

Roses can be transplanted any time of year as long as the soil can be
worked. I have moved roses in the middle of winter when the soil was not
frozen, in the summer heat etc.

However, it's *far* more difficult to move plants in the middle of a
hot suppmer.

As mentioned in previous responses, you must be able to water every day
after the move.

And still, this doesn't always ensure success. Transplant shot is
multiplied a dozenfold in the hot heat of the summer. I lost a
thriving Cherokee Rose because I transplanted it in July. Of course,
the fact that it was so vigorous worked against it because it was
really difficult to get a huge mass of root ball due to it's huge tap
root. Yet, I had a sufficient amount of roots (far more than if it had
been a bare root, for instance). I watered it daily, sometimes twice
daily, and it still bit the dust. I suspect that if I had transplanted
it in May or even June, it might have survived. I transplanted a
smaller unknown floribunda in early June this year and it's doing just
fine (or course, it's a much smaller plant). The Belami that I moved
this year I moved in March or April. I had hardly *any* stress-related
transplant shock.

Keeping the root mass as intact as possible is probably the most important
detail. In the summer heat any plant is using a lot of water and the water
is taken up by the feeder roots. These are the fine, hair like structure
that are most easily damaged any time the rose is disturbed.

I absolutely agree, but, ironically, the better the soil you have, the
harder it is to do this. For instance, I have hardly any clay content,
so, the roses that I've moved have been almost impossible to get a
good root ball because the soil is so crumbly.

Removing a significant portion of the canes and foliage will help balance
the loss of the feeder roots. The more foliage on the rose, the more water
it demands, so balance the demand and the supply systems.

In the last month I moved a Sydonie and William Shakespere 2000 by carefully
digging and removing a great deal of foliage. They are both showing new
growth and appear to be healthy in their new home.

That's a good thing.

The move will 'set back' the size of the plant by 1-2 years as they recover
and produce a new root system. Using a root stimulator is advised as well
as feeding very sparingly. You don't feed a sick person steak, you give
them soup!

This isn't magic, just sensible and logical techniques.

The logical thing is to wait until temps drop out of the 90s, or
transplant before the middle of the hot summer. There's no logical
reason to *have* to transplant at a certain time. You can almost
always wait an extra month or two.

After my experience with Cherokee Rose, I will *never* transplant
after early June. Of course, I live in the south, but it's still "only"
Zone 6b (possibly soon to be upgraded by the USDA to Zone 7).

When I read this message, I was assuming transplanting as in,
transplanting from one spot in the garden to the other. It it's about
planting potted plants, then, yes, you can stick them in the ground
now, I suppose. It's probably better than letting them get potbound,
since growing roses in pots has its own set of challenges, since roses
don't particularly like growing in gallon pots. g

The Blaze climber I moved last month, has almost completely regrown
leaves...and is even sneaking a basal break or two. I really, really, didn't
expect it to survive. I cut the canes back to about three and a half feet,
watered it deeply and often, including a couple dosings with Miracle Gro's
Plant Starter with vitamin B-1, and a pinch of rooting hormone for good
luck.

It dropped almost every remaining leaf shortly after being replanted, and
looked pretty dead for a few days, but I kept watering it when it didn't
rain...and unbelievably, the little red-tinged leaves of happiness
appeared. I put it on the other side of my arbor, to complement the Blaze on
the other side. Which has thrown out several five foot canes that are
attempting to grow away from (and presumable escape!) the meatl arch. I
suppose I'll need to spend the weekend tying and training and bending and
encouraging canes to keep to the arch, instead of colonizing the area beside
the arch...

Not to mention the 14 foot canes on the coral colored climber who's identity
escapes me, that are looming away from the side of the house now and
threatening passersby...as well as guarding the hose and water spigot. Time
to get the ladder out and find some way to pin the monster back. I don't get
many blooms off of it, though; but it is so vigorous and happy that I'll
just try to get it back "in shape" first, then try a dose of phosphorous to
see if it'll start producing flowers instead of gigantic, attacking canes. I
don't mind letting a plant put out the energy to grow the infrastructure, if
I can later coax it to use that healthy framework to produce lots of
flowers, like the Blaze did.

But...Blaze (assuming that is what it is, as it was tagged Don Juan, but the
local rose society's concensus is that it is actually Blaze, not DJ), has
not rebloomed, since the initial enormous spring flush.

Doesn't it usually repeat reliably?


Scopata Fuori




"Bad Cat!"