Moving Three Roses...

EmptyPockets

My Mother-in-Law has asked me if I would like the three roses that are currently in her back garden and I've said yes. She doesn't have time for her garden which is overun with weeds, so she is just having someone in to strim it all back and she wants to save the roses... I don't know if they are ramblers, climbers, bushes - I know nothing about roses and have only seen these the one time. I think they're around three foot tall...

My question is, what should I be doing to ensure that they are moved successfully?

1. When should we move them?
2. Should I prune them back before moving, and if so, what should I be cutting back?!
3. Any other helpful hints and tips?!

Thank you

alleycat`

As far as i'm aware transplanting time for roses is typically in the spring (march).

Normally with pruning for an established plant it would be spring (march'ish) but with transplanting at the same time i'm not sure.

To be honest i tend to trim ours as and when but we haven't moved any in years.

EmptyPockets

alleycat` wrote: »

As far as i'm aware transplanting time for roses is typically in the spring (march).

Normally with pruning for an established plant it would be spring (march'ish) but with transplanting at the same time i'm not sure.

To be honest i tend to trim ours as and when but we haven't moved any in years.

Oh Noooooo I thought it was October-ish..???

Oh b*gger!

alleycat`

EmptyPockets wrote: »

Oh Noooooo I thought it was October-ish..???

Oh b*gger!

Well i'm basing my answer on memory and when they typically become available in the shops in pots.

I suspect if you lift them now, give them a good water in and heap up a lot of mulch around the base they "should" be ok so long as we don't get a frost.

It really depends on how much damage you do to the root system getting them out.

olly300

EmptyPockets wrote: »

Oh Noooooo I thought it was October-ish..???

Oh b*gger!

I've read somewhere that you should move them around now.

However pruning depends on the type of rose - so some need to be pruned in Spring and others in Autumn.

Personally I would move them asap but not prune them.

djohn2002uk

Go to this site and go down the page to a question from Lorraine McLeodand you will see that now is the time to move them.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zPijuKYPROUJ:www.bbc.co.uk/lancashire/content/articles/2008/01/08/roses_feature.shtml+moving+roses&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

WestonDave

Dig them out with as much root as you can - even if that means transporting them one at a time within an old sheet/duvet cover rather than in a pot (tesco's £1 shower curtain might be a good option!). I would then dig a suitable sized hole to match the rootball in your garden, plus another few inches which you should fill in with a good mix of well rotted manure (you can get this in garden centres if you can't scrounge some from local stables etc) and compost. You can then put the rose in, firm it in well, and keep a good eye on it over the next couple of months to make sure it doesn't dry out. You might find mulching it round with some straw etc to keep the frost out of the roots helps.

That said most roses are pretty tough and so they should survive. The only thing they reputedly don't like is being planted where another rose has been before (i.e. direct replacement)

westiea

I am presuming that they may be Hybrid Tea Roses though info applies to most roses.

-move them as soon as all the leaves are off and the plant is dormant, (remember bare root roses are sent out by the nurseries Nov - Feb)
- dig a big hole - penny plant for a shilling hole!
- take as much root as you can with the plant
- add a good handful of bone meal (encourages root production)has to the back fill soil and mix lightly before back filling.
- if your soil is not great, sprinkle Rootgrow in the hole if you can get it (it contains mycorrhizal fungi which promotes root formation and reduces plant stress)
-Plant to the height of the graft - if you plant it too deeply, the rose will grow wild rose suckers from below this
- Reduce height (prune) in early spring after worst frosts.

EmptyPockets

Ah phew, that's great - thanks everyone.

I will follow all advice given and also have a look at that page djohn, thanks. Hopefully we'll rescue them and get them replanted ok. Better than leaving them to get chopped down with the rest of the weeds and grass :eek:

EmptyPockets

westiea wrote: »

I am presuming that they may be Hybrid Tea Roses though info applies to most roses.

-move them as soon as all the leaves are off and the plant is dormant, (remember bare root roses are sent out by the nurseries Nov - Feb)
- dig a big hole - penny plant for a shilling hole!
- take as much root as you can with the plant
- add a good handful of bone meal (encourages root production)has to the back fill soil and mix lightly before back filling.
- if your soil is not great, sprinkle Rootgrow in the hole if you can get it (it contains mycorrhizal fungi which promotes root formation and reduces plant stress)
-Plant to the height of the graft - if you plant it too deeply, the rose will grow wild rose suckers from below this
- Reduce height (prune) in early spring after worst frosts.

Thanks! :T I'll ask my step-dad if he's got any bone meal, I'm sure I remember him using some... very helpful

loucroft

Be careful if your roses are due a second flurry of flowers - mine are around now so would not move then.

The rest of the posts are right, if you're down South a little and its warmer then there's still time for roots to establish before frosts set in, thats if it's not in flower.

Good that its been mentioned already, mulch and muck should help protect the roots from any frosts and muck will feed and keep the soil temp ok.