Bareroot Roses
Bareroot roses aren’t the best looking things but think of the eponymous ugly duckling; they won’t be ugly for long! They may be just stem, have brown roots and look like they need the kiss of life but they’re simply dormant. In my view they’re your best bet to getting a new rose off to the best start and there’s little chance of planting problems.
If you follow my simple instructions, you’ll be well on your way to a beautiful rose:
Trust:
I can’t stress this enough; get your bare root beauty from a trusted nursery, then ask the assistants there how they know it’s healthy. If you get a quick, confident response, you know you’re ok. The most reputable nurseries will grow their own and answer likewise. Go for grade 1-2 if your budget allows, grades simply refer to the maturity, grade 1 being most mature, and definitely the best.
Pruning:
With bareroot roses they should have already been pruned well but still cut off any damaged stock and leave between 3-6 stems roughly a bit thicker than a pencil.
Wakey, wakey!
You need to wake your bareroot rose up! The best way to do this is to soak it, roots down in a bucket of water. There are many differing opinions on how long to soak, presuming your plant hasn’t already been soaked; I recommend to do so for 12 hours, that’s simply what I get the most success with.
Dig:
Prepare a hole big enough to give a foot of room for the whole root system. Fertilizer, I’m blessed; I only need fertilizer for my vegetable beds. Check your soil with a testing kit; these are available from most nurseries now and very easy to use. This will give you the most accurate measure of how much fertilizer or compost you need to balance the soil out. Once you’ve dug your hole, place a small mound of earth in the bottom and spread the roots evenly over it, a really effective trick!
Filling:
Start layering the soil back in; soil then water and so on until you’re done. Once you get to the normal soil level leave about an inch between this layer and the graft union, the point on the plant where the bud or branch/stem meets the trunk. Then create a mound all round your rose just covering this graft union. This will act like a funnel directing the water just where it’s needed on the roots and this also prevents the union from drying out. Beware; remove this mound back to normal level after 2 weeks unless it’s already been washed away
Keep checking:
After 2-3 weeks you should start to notice new growth on your bareroot rose, that’s your sign that you’re rose has taken off and you’ve done a good job and given your new rose the best start possible.
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