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Advice Needed: Moving Roses...
Hello all,
I've been reading URG for a while now, after moving into a new house with a large garden, I thought I'd better take an interest in gardening if I'm to keep it all under control. So, my question to the group is: there is an area of the garden that is currently planted with various roses, it's a little overgrown but not too bad. What we want to do is to turn this into a vegetable plot and transplant the roses elswhere in the garden. Is this possible? will it be successful? how am I best to go about such a task? Your ideas and any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Ric. |
#2
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Advice Needed: Moving Roses...
"Ric@rdo" wrote in message 5.254... Hello all, I've been reading URG for a while now, after moving into a new house with a large garden, I thought I'd better take an interest in gardening if I'm to keep it all under control. So, my question to the group is: there is an area of the garden that is currently planted with various roses, it's a little overgrown but not too bad. What we want to do is to turn this into a vegetable plot and transplant the roses elswhere in the garden. Is this possible? will it be successful? how am I best to go about such a task? Assuming these are "normal" size plants. Wait until winter, or at least until all the foliage has died off, so there's no water loss from the leaves. Loosen the soil. As you want to use that part of the garden for vegetables you're already half way there, as you'll presumably want to loosen up all the soil really well with a fork in any case. Take out as much root as possible with as little damage. Rather than simply digging down a set distance around each plant with the spade - say 2ft and hoping for the best try - loosening the soil close to the stem and locating the roots with a hand fork if necessary and tracing them outwards. Although some authorities recommend a thorough watering beforehand - unless there's been a drought don't. Wet soil sticks to the rootball making it heavier and more awkward to handle - making it easier to damage the roots. Whereas crumbly drier soil will fall away more easily showing the full extent of the roots. Ideally you should have the planting holes dug first, although with the first one or two you probably won't know what to expect and how big they'll need to be. Try holding the each plant in position over the hole with the roots fanned out as afar as possible and feed sieved loose soil through and around the roots thus filling the hole. Avoiding air pockets under the root ball. When the hole is filled start firming it in and afterwards give the plant a good watering. If you've got any well rotted compost or similar there's no harm in incorporating some in the planting hole. However wait till spring before giving each plant a dressing of rose fertiliser. Any powdered fertilisers added to the planting soil might cause a salt imbalance and dry out the newly planted roots. And thus the plants. Wait until there are signs of life next spring - by which time the roots should have fully recovered, before doing any pruning, so as not to give the plants too much of a shock at the one time. And very few plants die simply through lack of pruning, for one or two years at least. michael adams .... Your ideas and any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Ric. |
#3
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Advice Needed: Moving Roses...
"michael adams" wrote in
: Assuming these are "normal" size plants. Wait until winter, or at least until all the foliage has died off, so there's no water loss from the leaves. Loosen the soil. As you want to use that part of the garden for vegetables you're already half way there, as you'll presumably want to loosen up all the soil really well with a fork in any case. Take out as much root as possible with as little damage. Rather than simply digging down a set distance around each plant with the spade - say 2ft and hoping for the best try - loosening the soil close to the stem and locating the roots with a hand fork if necessary and tracing them outwards. Although some authorities recommend a thorough watering beforehand - unless there's been a drought don't. Wet soil sticks to the rootball making it heavier and more awkward to handle - making it easier to damage the roots. Whereas crumbly drier soil will fall away more easily showing the full extent of the roots. Ideally you should have the planting holes dug first, although with the first one or two you probably won't know what to expect and how big they'll need to be. Try holding the each plant in position over the hole with the roots fanned out as afar as possible and feed sieved loose soil through and around the roots thus filling the hole. Avoiding air pockets under the root ball. When the hole is filled start firming it in and afterwards give the plant a good watering. If you've got any well rotted compost or similar there's no harm in incorporating some in the planting hole. However wait till spring before giving each plant a dressing of rose fertiliser. Any powdered fertilisers added to the planting soil might cause a salt imbalance and dry out the newly planted roots. And thus the plants. Wait until there are signs of life next spring - by which time the roots should have fully recovered, before doing any pruning, so as not to give the plants too much of a shock at the one time. And very few plants die simply through lack of pruning, for one or two years at least. michael adams ... Well, that seems like sound and sensible advice, thanks Michael. I think I'll be having a go at that this weekend... or would you really leave it till later in the year? they are normal size plants I think, they should be easy to remove as the soil seems to be in really good condition, very light and well drained. Thanks again... Ric. |
#4
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Advice Needed: Moving Roses...
"Ric@rdo" wrote in message 5.254... "michael adams" wrote in : Assuming these are "normal" size plants. Wait until winter, or at least until all the foliage has died off, so there's no water loss from the leaves. Loosen the soil. As you want to use that part of the garden for vegetables you're already half way there, as you'll presumably want to loosen up all the soil really well with a fork in any case. Take out as much root as possible with as little damage. Rather than simply digging down a set distance around each plant with the spade - say 2ft and hoping for the best try - loosening the soil close to the stem and locating the roots with a hand fork if necessary and tracing them outwards. Although some authorities recommend a thorough watering beforehand - unless there's been a drought don't. Wet soil sticks to the rootball making it heavier and more awkward to handle - making it easier to damage the roots. Whereas crumbly drier soil will fall away more easily showing the full extent of the roots. Ideally you should have the planting holes dug first, although with the first one or two you probably won't know what to expect and how big they'll need to be. Try holding the each plant in position over the hole with the roots fanned out as afar as possible and feed sieved loose soil through and around the roots thus filling the hole. Avoiding air pockets under the root ball. When the hole is filled start firming it in and afterwards give the plant a good watering. If you've got any well rotted compost or similar there's no harm in incorporating some in the planting hole. However wait till spring before giving each plant a dressing of rose fertiliser. Any powdered fertilisers added to the planting soil might cause a salt imbalance and dry out the newly planted roots. And thus the plants. Wait until there are signs of life next spring - by which time the roots should have fully recovered, before doing any pruning, so as not to give the plants too much of a shock at the one time. And very few plants die simply through lack of pruning, for one or two years at least. michael adams ... Well, that seems like sound and sensible advice, thanks Michael. I think I'll be having a go at that this weekend... or would you really leave it till later in the year? they are normal size plants I think, they should be easy to remove as the soil seems to be in really good condition, very light and well drained. Thanks again... Ric. For "died off" in the first paragraph above, read "dormant". I was thinking in more general terms, as of course healthy roses don't actually drop their leaves in winter. It's up to you, but the later in the year you leave it, the higher your "absolute certainty" of success. In the winter the plant is largely dormant and so less water is being taken up by the roots. Hence disturbing the roots will be less of a shock. Some people always prefer to err on the side of caution and so they have no real way of knowing how much it's possible to get away with. If moving roses during the growing season, then the usual advice in addition is to have them out of the ground for as short a time as possible - and\or spray the plants and roots and enclose them in a bag, and then water them copiously and shade from direct sunlight. Having never had to try it, I can't really say if any of this is really necessary or not. On the other hand if its a total disaster and they all die off you can always replace them fairly easily in any case. Or if you're prepared to wait, before moving them, just take loads of cuttings, 6 to 8 inches long, stick them in a semi-shaded sheltered spot and wait a year or two. There's plenty of info on the web about taking cuttings. michael adams .... |
#5
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Advice Needed: Moving Roses...
"michael adams" wrote in :
For "died off" in the first paragraph above, read "dormant". I was thinking in more general terms, as of course healthy roses don't actually drop their leaves in winter. It's up to you, but the later in the year you leave it, the higher your "absolute certainty" of success. In the winter the plant is largely dormant and so less water is being taken up by the roots. Hence disturbing the roots will be less of a shock. Some people always prefer to err on the side of caution and so they have no real way of knowing how much it's possible to get away with. If moving roses during the growing season, then the usual advice in addition is to have them out of the ground for as short a time as possible - and\or spray the plants and roots and enclose them in a bag, and then water them copiously and shade from direct sunlight. Having never had to try it, I can't really say if any of this is really necessary or not. On the other hand if its a total disaster and they all die off you can always replace them fairly easily in any case. Or if you're prepared to wait, before moving them, just take loads of cuttings, 6 to 8 inches long, stick them in a semi-shaded sheltered spot and wait a year or two. There's plenty of info on the web about taking cuttings. michael adams ... As you say, what have I got to loose? the previous owner was obviously very keen on roses as I keep finding more in every corner I look! I'm just so impatient to get a veggie patch on the go that I think I'm probably willing to loose a few should things not work out right. (it's more my girlfriend wanting to keep them anyhow!) Thanks again for all of your invaluable advice, I think I should get my fork out!! Ric. |
#6
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Advice Needed: Moving Roses...
Ric@rdo wrote: Hello all, I've been reading URG for a while now, after moving into a new house with a large garden, I thought I'd better take an interest in gardening if I'm to keep it all under control. So, my question to the group is: there is an area of the garden that is currently planted with various roses, it's a little overgrown but not too bad. What we want to do is to turn this into a vegetable plot and transplant the roses elswhere in the garden. Is this possible? will it be successful? how am I best to go about such a task? Your ideas and any advice will be greatly appreciated. I moved some the other year - some with lots of earth around the roots and some more or less yanked out of the ground. All have done ok, even the ones that were sat out of soil at the back of the garden didn't show bad signs until the hot weather came. Others have done better since being moved. I'm no expert gardener and I was surprised how resilient they were. YMMV |
#7
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Advice Needed: Moving Roses...
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#8
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Advice Needed: Moving Roses...
Ric@rdo wrote: Mmmm......... they sound like hardy little buggers don't they. I wanted to get the job done as soon as possible but I've been advised to leave it till winter. It's probably wise to wait until the things have stopped growing but I really want to get the ground ready for some veggies and fruit. What time of year did you transplant yours? I did mine at different times of the year, some mid-summer. After I moved those ones I cut them right back. Actually I cut one back and the other not so much. This year the cut back one is still growing strongly but the other looks a bit week after the first flush of flowers. That one is in a different position now though so that could have something to do with it. My thinking was that I needed them out of the way so f-it, they either survive or die. None of them were prize-winning plants or anything. I did take some cuttings but none of them survived. |
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