The story of today’s roses is exciting—new varieties, new ways to use them in the garden, and new ways to buy them.
Until recently, roses could only be planted in the spring or fall, and the gardener who missed these conventional times had to wait six months for the next planting season.
Today, the rose planting season encompasses every gardening day. So what has brought about this change?
Roses sold already growing in pots or large cans now make it possible for gardeners to enjoy a rose plant in full leaf and even in full bloom within minutes of having the idea.
Potting Dormant Rose Plants
A whole rose garden in bud or bloom may be planted in a matter of a few hours.
When winter postpones, most garden activity in the Northern states, except for ordering roses from color catalogs, many nurserymen are busy potting up dormant rose plants for spring, summer, and fall sales.
They select varieties with care and grow only those that they have found perform best under local conditions.
The plants are skillfully potted in rich loam with the graft union set neither too deep nor too high.
Pruning Properly
Canes will be properly pruned, and the roots will have ample time to become well-established before the planting season.
After purchasing potted roses, there is no need for urgency in getting them into the ground.
A few days or weeks in the pots will not harm them if they receive regular watering.
This allows time for deciding where bushes will be planted and properly preparing the soil.
Good Soil For Rose
Many new home grounds, especially where the developers’ bulldozers have run wild, do not have a good depth of loamy soil.
As a hole is dug for a rose plant, all the good soil, usually near the surface, should be saved and later used.
Poor soil should be discarded and replaced with good loam.
Planting time is the last time the gardener will be downstairs, under the plant’s roots, and he should take advantage of the opportunity to use nothing but good materials.
Roots of the Roses
He can deceive himself or his nurseryman, but he cannot fool the roots of the rose; either they find good growing conditions or they struggle to stay alive in the poverty of barren soil.
Local soil conditions vary so widely that no exact formula for soil preparation is practically everywhere.
Rose roots enjoy soil that begins with good rich loam that is well-drained but with a good water-holding capacity.
Materials that encourage good growth include compost, rotted manure, peat moss, vermiculite, sand, and fertilizer.
Proper Depth In Rose Planting
How deep should roses be planted? The proper depth will vary for different sections of the country, and the amount of severe weather is one of the determining factors.
The most tender part of a rose plant is the “elbow,” where the desired kind of rose is budded or grafted to the wild root understock.
In warmer areas, one may plant a rose with the elbow at, or slightly above, ground level.
Protect Graft Against Winter Damage
Gardeners in the cold northern sections must protect the graft against winter damage by planting it about 2” inches below the soil surface.
Roses sold in pots are usually set at the proper depth by the nurseryman. However, it is well to check on this point when planting and make any necessary adjustments.
After digging out a good hole at least 2’ feet in diameter and depth, fill back a prepared soil mixture sufficient to support the bush at the proper depth. Firm this mound of soil so that it will not settle.
Simple Way Of Paper Potting
Rose bushes purchased in tapered cans will slide out with roots and soil intact if the can is inverted and tapped on a solid object.
Straight-sided cans can be cut on two opposite sides and bent away from the roots. Most horticulturists have a special tool for splitting the cans; heavy tin snips can be used.
Thin paper pots may be left on the plants and soon disintegrate into the soil; heavy paper pots should be removed.
Pots should always be carefully removed so that the new white roots outside the soil ball will not be disturbed.
The simplest way to do this with a paper pot is to first cut or tear off the bottom of the pot.
Then set the plant at the proper depth in the hole and, with a sharp knife, slit one side of the pot and peel the pot away from the soil.
Never allow roots to dry out. Cover the roots with damp burlap if you have to leave the plant exposed even for a few minutes.
Planting Dormant Bare-Root Roses
Directions for planting dormant bare-root roses always make a point of spreading roots out carefully in the hole.
This must never be done with potted roses during the growing season or the quick death of the plant is certain.
As fresh soil is filled around the root ball, some gardeners like to use a tool handle and others a firm foot to pack the soil in position.
In either case, the pressure should be on the loose soil and never directly on the ball of roots. Plenty of water should be applied before the hole is filled.
This is not because the plant may be thirsty but because water is the best means of settling the soil and making firm contact between roots and new soil.
Soil Temperature
Leaving a small depression or saucer in the soil around the plant will make it easier to apply water directly to the roots during the summer. Soil temperature may be kept fairly uniform with the use of mulch.
Each geographic area has its favorite mulch, often a by-product of local industry—buckwheat hulls, sugar cane, cocoa shells, ground corn cobs, hay, straw, grass clippings, and peat moss.
A mulch also helps to conserve moisture and prevent soil compaction. However, soil moisture must not be allowed to reach a low point when hot, dry days shrivel vegetation.
Long Soil Soakings
Long slow soakings are ideal. The soil soaker hoses, turned over with holes against the soil, are convenient and good.
Also excellent are the water injection devices, which place the water deep in the soil around the roots. Just one caution about their use.
The water pressure must not be too strong, or small air pockets may be formed about the roots. Overhead sprinkling is not advisable as it encourages the spread of disease.
Fertilizers Are Important
Frequent additions of fertilizer will improve most rose bushes. Complete fertilizers of well-known brands are effective if applied lightly and frequently.
Relying on complete fertilizers rather than single elements is best for beginners, although experienced gardeners may like to devise their formulas.
Fertilizers for roses should be applied before growth starts in early spring. Light applications may be continued throughout the summer every two to three weeks.
Fertilizing should stop, especially in the Northern states where winterkill is common, about two months before the average date of the first frost. This is because roses kept in active growth are resistant to diseases and insects.
44659 by E. Dexter Davis