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Easy–Growing Roses | Types of Roses | How Roses Grow | Planting Garden Roses | Container Grown Roses | Nipping Rose Problems in the Bud | Cutting Roses | Pruning Roses

Planting Garden Roses

Nurseries sell roses either as pre-potted plants or as bare-root plants. Both types of plantings have some common needs.

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  1. Adding some well-composted organic matter or manure to your planting hole provides your rose plant with nutrients that help your plant get off to a good start. Mixing in a handful of bone meal helps your rose plant to grow new, strong roots.
  2. Dig your hole deep and wide enough to let your rose plant naturally spread its roots.
  3. Prune any damaged roots.
  4. When planting bare root plants, gently spread your rose plant's roots around a small mound of soil at the bottom of your planting hole.
  5. Fill the hole slowly, firming as your fill to eliminate any air pockets. Fill so that the graft union of your rose plant rises just above soil level.
  6. Prune your rose plant so that six to eight inches of plant remains above the graft union.

Rose Tip: Keep your newly planted bare-root rose plant sturdy and safe from wind damage by supporting it with stakes.

Planting Pre-Potted Rose Plants

Both rose canes and rose roots are fragile. Pulling or shaking a rose plant out of its pot can leave you with a damaged, dying plant. To remove a pre-potted rose plant, use a utility knife to cut away the bottom of its container; then carefully cut up the side of the container to free your rose plant.

Use a string or a stick to measure your plant and approximate the same depth in your planting hole. Set your plant in the planting hole, firming and loose soil around the plant to eliminate air pockets. Then fill and firm until your rose plant sits solidly in the planting hole.

Rose Tip: Always thoroughly water new plants after planting to help them adapt to their new surroundings and to activate nutrients in the soil.

Rose Tip: Adding a layer of mulch to your rose bed after planting helps keep roots cool, preserves moisture, and inhibits weed growth.

Container Grown Roses →

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