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Planting Containerised Roses

Planting Containerised Roses

Background:

Our summer crop of potted roses has been grown by us for the past 2 years by our skilled nurserymen here in Pickering. The roses have then been lifted from our fields during the winter and containerised, and are now ready for you to plant into your rose-bed. We despatch containerised roses in the summer months, between May and September. Roses should be unpacked immediately on arrival, put outside and given some water to refresh them after their journey.

We use the term ‘containerised’ as a synonym for ‘potted’ – it means the rose was originally field grown and has been moved into a pot. This is not the same as ‘container grown’, where the plant has spent its whole life in a pot, which generally means poorer root development and a much greater risk of being pot bound.

Planting a potted rose into a rose-bed:

Preparation of the soil is all important. Roses are hungry feeders and will benefit from a good application of well-rotted compost or farmyard manure. Dig a hole 30- 40cms across and 30cms deep that is not too ‘tidy’ (In other words – with a rough edge and base that encourages the roots to grow outwards more easily). Then add a bucket of well-rotted manure or tree and shrub planting compost, mixing it in with the soil that has been removed from the hole. Next, ‘knock’ the rose out of its pot by holding it upside down and tapping it sharply to loosen the roots from the pot. If the roots show any signs of congestion: then you should gently tease some of them out to encourage them to grow outwards, rather than continuing to go round in a pot-shape.

Place the root ball in the hole, in such a way that the graft will end up 2-5cms below the soil surface when finished, and then back-fill around it with the mixed soil/manure that you have put on one side. If you lay a cane across the hole on the soil surface, it will help you to see where the graft should end up.

Even in wet weather, you should water roses in as you go, to help to settle the soil back around the root ball. If you are planting in very dry weather (or the soil that you are planting into is very dry) then it is especially important to soak the root ball in a bucket of water for half an hour before planting. Then, using your foot, firm the soil around the plant, as roses can become rather unhappy if they are loose in the soil.

If there have been roses grown in the planting site at any time in the previous seven years, please refer to our separate advice on Replant Disease here