What To Do When You Receive Your Roses

BARE ROOT ROSES

When your bare rooted plant arrives

Open the box and check your order. If you are not ready for planting, the rose can survive in the packaging for 2 weeks.

Make sure the newspaper is damp (not dripping wet}, close the box and store in a cool, dark environment.

The day before planting, place the rose plant in a bucket of clean 
water to soak the root system for 24 hours. 

Choosing the best location

All roses are to be planted outside in the ground or in a pot where they can receive at least 6-8 hours of sunshine each day. 

  • Avoid planting near shrubs and trees that have a bigger root system than the rose.
  • Avoid planting different varieties of roses too close together.
  • Do not replace a rose with a rose: soil will need to be changed over before planting.

Planting in the garden

Dig your hole 30cm x 30cm x 30cm.

To understand the water holding capacity of your soil, fill the hole with water and let it drain away - If the water drains away within 10 minutes, your soil is too sandy; if the water takes 2 hours or more, your soil is too dense. 

Take the rose from your bucket of water and place in the hole, making sure the roots are pointing downwards. Backfill the hole halfway. Add water to ensure the soil is making good contact with the root system. Backfill the rest of the hole, firm the soil and water. 

The bud union should sit just above the soil. Prune the branches back by half, just above a healthy eye. Ideally you are looking for balance - the height of the branches should match the length of the roots.

Mulching your garden bed will protect the roots on hot days. Wagner's recommend a dark coloured mulch like lucerne, bean or pea straw. Do not use sugar cane mulch as the colouring reflects light and heat onto your rose. Keep the mulch 10cm away from the base of the rose. 

Do not use any weed control sprays that contain the active constituent glyphosate. 

Spacing of roses

  • Bush roses - 1m to 1.2m (closer if the plants are the same variety and you want to create a hedge)
  • Standards and groundcovers - 1m
  • Miniatures - 0.5m
  • Climbers - 3m to 5m, depending on the variety of rose

Deep Watering

To give your rose the best treatment in its first year, water 3 times a week with 20L per plant. Water in the morning to reduce the chance of black spot. Wagner's recommends watering with a sprinkler as you want the ground to accept the slow soak of water droplets to reach 30cm into the ground to the root system. By having a deep soak, you are training the roots to search deeper into the soil for moisture.

Avoid splashing water on top of the soil with a hose. This causes run off and will only wet the top layer of soil. The rose will search the top layer for water, therefore on hot days the shallow root system will dry out and your rose will die.

If you have water restrictlons and are using a dripper system, we recommend having two or three lines to soak enough of the surrounding soil and not just watering the base of the rose. Every year make sure your system is working; drippers do block up.

Always water the day before a very hot day. Established roses will need watering once a week with a deep water of 50L per rose.

Fertilising

Fertilising is beneficial to the health of your rose and soil. Once your new bare root rose has grown a canopy of leaves, it is mature enough to accept fertiliser. Brian Wagner recommends to "fertilise a little, but often".

Spread a little bit of fertiliser in the garden bed once a month. Vary the type of fertiliser to give the rose a "varied diet"; this can include organic fertilisers such as Blood and Bone, Dynamic Lifter, Sudden Impact, or chemical based fertiliser such as Black Marvel, fish based Seamungus, aged animal manure etc.

Always water in well after application.

Planting in a pot

The bigger the pot, the better - we suggest the minimum size of 40cm x 40cm x 40cm. Use a good quality potting mix. We recommend a slightly acidic blend that is suited for Roses and Azaleas. Make sure the potting mix is damp.

Hold the rose in place while filling the potting mix around the roots. Backfill the rose leaving 2-3cm from the top of the pot lip. Firm potting mix and water. The bud union should sit just above the soil. Prune back the branches by half.

Water your pot every day in Summer, and every second or third day in Winter, Spring and Autumn - depending on your rainfall. Never let the potting mix dry out. Dry potting mix will repel the water and the water will run down the sides and not soak the root zone. 
After 2 months you can fertilise with a handful of fertiliser monthly and water in.

After 3-4 years you must replace the potting mix. Do this in winter time when the rose is dormant. Take out of the pot and remove as much old soil as you can. You are allowed to trim the root system but try and keep the top and the bottom roughly the same. Repot - this is the right time to upgrade the size of the pot. 

 

 

POTTED ROSES

Your rose has been sent to you in a temporary pot. To grow a good quality plant, you could either transplant it into a bigger pot or plant it into the ground. 

Repotting Roses 

  • The bigger the pot, the better.
  • Take care not to disturb the root system when transplanting the rose.
  • Use premium potting mixture, we recommend a slightly acidic blend that is suited for Roses and Azaleas. (NOTE: Take care not to let the potting mix dry out! Potting mix will repel water, once it has dried out.)
  • Place the pot in a sunny position. Roses like at least 6 hours of sun a day.
  • To prevent roses becoming root bound, repot every 3 or 4 years (only during winter). 

Planting Your Rose In The Ground

Dig your hole 30cm x 30cm x 30cm.

Carefully slide the pot away from the plant, without disturbing the root system and place in the hole. Backfill the hole halfway. Add water to ensure the soil is making good contact with the root system. Backfill the rest of the hole, firm the soil and water. 

The bud union should sit just above the soil. Prune the branches back by half, just above a healthy eye. Ideally you are looking for balance - the height of the branches should match the length of the roots.

Mulching your garden bed will protect the roots on hot days. Wagner's recommend a dark coloured mulch like lucerne, bean or pea straw. Do not use sugar cane mulch as the colouring reflects light and heat onto your rose. Keep the mulch 10cm away from the base of the rose. 

 

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