Planting roses and the most common mistakes

It is better to plant roses in late spring, when they have already warmed up significantly – this is common the myth of roses. If we plant at the wrong time and in the wrong way, rose it becomes poor, it does not delight us with its lush blooms, it gets sick, it freezes. Modern landscaping courses «Geltonas karutis» shares his experience, as it should be planting roses and how to prepare them for the winter. It is said that in principle it is not difficult and roses are an undemanding plant.

WHEN TO PLANTING ROSES

Rose bare root planting occurs during the dormant period, so it is best done in autumn or early spring. It’s the right time in autumn – from October until the ground is frozen. If the autumn is warm, even in late November or early December it is still possible to plant.

A PLACE FOR ROSES

It is important to choose a good place for roses. That rose they grow well and get sick less, we choose the following conditions for them:

• More sun;
• Sufficient wind (to prevent humidity);
• The width of the rose could be 2 m. If we can access it from both sides it is possible to make it wider, or even less if we can only access it from one side;
• If there are trees nearby, we plant them at a distance so that the plants do not compete for nutrients and water.

If we want to plant more next to the roses perennial flowersFirst of all, we recommend waiting until rose it will take root, then after a few years plant other decorative flowers or herbs so that they do not overshadow the roses.

ROSE SEEDLINGS

It is better to plant roses grown not in pots, but simply in the ground. We plant bare root roses autumn and early spring. In autumn until the ground freezes, in spring after frost.

A variety of rose is grafted onto a thistle seedling, and in the autumn of the second year the seedling is already dug up and prepared for sowing.

The ratio of the top of the seedling to the roots should be similar. If the branches are long, we cut them with a sharp shear 0.5 cm above the outer eye. If the roots are too long it is also healthy to trim them a little, in this way we will activate rooting.

Vaccination site it is the most sensitive. If this area freezes, the rose will be killed by the thistle, so you will no longer have the variety you purchased. Therefore, the grafting site will have to be buried deeply when planting, unlike many other plants, whose root collar must be left open.

“Humidity is vital for a seedling, so before planting, place it in a bucket of water (possibly together with a fungicide or potassium permanganate) and let it soak for 8-10 hours,” advises Nijolė Karpavičienė, president of the Lithuanian Rose Society, “then go home and look for information on how far away you will plant roses tomorrow.”

PLANTING A ROSE

Loamy, fertile soil is suitable for roses. If improvement is necessary, we add compost. A common mistake is to fertilize during planting. When we plant roses in the fall, we do not fertilize them unless we add microbiological fertilizers called rooting stimulators to the planting hole. In spring you can fertilize moderately by adding rotted manure, compost. Rose’s main task will be to establish himself, not to attack growth.

It is necessary to dig a rather deep hole so that not only the roots but also the grafting place are underground: bury the rootstock even 5-10 cm underground. In the practical rose planting workshop organized by Yellow Wheelbarrow, participants used a simple wooden table with which it is easy to measure the depth of the hole. The rose seedling (above the grafting site) is attached to the table with a wire and the table is passed through the hole. If the roots bend into the hole, you need to dig a deeper hole.

Pour plenty of water into the hole, when it is absorbed, place a seedling on the mound and cover it with earth. We press and pull the rose slightly upwards so that the soil and roots naturally find their place. We press the soil again and pull the seedling. We water abundantly again and, when it is absorbed, we mix with our feet.

Then we form a mound from the ground so that only the tips of the roses stick out. We leave it like this for the winter. The earth will serve as mulch and protection against frost.

In spring the mound will decrease a little, but let’s not rush to remove the soil at the first rays of the sun, so that the rose does not lack moisture. There is no need to dig anything later, we just level the hump.

COVER ROSES FOR THE WINTER

Covering roses with sawdust or peat with spruce branches can kill the plant. Sawdust, if not isolated from moisture, freezes, so the rose cools. Spruce trees deserve attention only if they have a very thick layer: a twig will only provide shade.

It is recommended to use a thicker agricultural film for covering. A mound of soil will be enough for a seedling planted in the fall, and as winter approaches, more agricultural film and snow.

There is a prevailing myth that roses should be pruned in autumn, even shortened to 5-6 eyes and only then covered. In autumn the roses are not pruned, we bend them to the ground and cover what the rose has grown throughout the growing season. The more we save the rose branches during the winter, the more lush they will be next season and the more abundant they will bloom.

Having easily grabbed the branches, we bend them closer to the ground and fix them with metal hooks. We can make them with thick wire of various lengths. The hooks keep the rose branches closer to the ground. Subsequently, we cover with agro film.

It is better to bend the roses at a higher temperature and cover the roses with protective film after they have settled, at a temperature of 5 degrees.

In spring, discover roses gradually, getting used to the sun little by little.

We thank Nijole Karpavičienes for a fantastic hands-on workshop!

This article was published on the Delfi portal on 17 October 2014.

READ ALSO:

“How to prepare roses for winter“

«Spring pruning of roses: how to avoid damage?»

RELATED COURSES AND SEMINARS:

“Plant Composition Workshop” is a practical and fun creative workshop where you will learn to create a harmonious composition from trees, shrubs and flowers and even make a plant planting plan with distances and quantities.

«Geltonas karutis» organizes training courses «Apželdinimos akademija» for those who want to start working in the field of landscaping, learn about the management and subsequent maintenance of landscape projects and acquire a lot of practical knowledge in a short time. This training is not for amateurs, it is an introduction to the «kitchen» of landscaping.