Transplanting Roses – Is It Just Too Dangerous?
FREE! Get your Rose Care Basics Mini-Course Today! Limited Time Only, Please.Transplanting roses can be scary because there’s always the risk of damaging the roses when you take them out of the ground. If you find yourself hacking through rose bush roots, you may wonder if you’re cutting off a major artery your rose needs for survival. However, if you are careful, and transplant your roses during a time of year when they are dormant, you can quite successfully transplant roses from one part of your yard to another.
With the proper soil preparation and gardening methods, you may find your rose bush is doing even better than before in its new location. In fact, if you’re planting the roses for a reason that benefits them – say you discover (from this site, perhaps!) that roses need a lot of sun and you want to move them to a sunnier area of the yard – you shouldn’t be surprised if your roses really take off and embrace their new life in their new location.
Whatever the reason you decide to transplant roses, your chances of success will be greatly improved if you remember a few simple things.
Prepare The New Site First
Before you start taking the shovel to your existing rose plants, it’s important to prepare the location where you’ll be transplanting them to first. It’s important to enrich the soil as much as possible with compost, and also water the dirt well so the roses’ roots will have a nice place to take a drink when they get settled after their trip.
Also, dig the hole in the ground a little bigger than you think you’ll need for the new roses’ roots. That will help you position your new rose easily without having to jam its roots into a hole that’s too small. If you’re not sure how big your rose’s root ball will be (it’s not nicely packaged in a pot, for example) then you can estimate that the roots will be as wide and deep underground as the rose bush is wide and tall above ground.
It’s important to have the planting hole ready to go so that you don’t let your rose’s root ball dry out while you’re doing the transplanting. You don’t want to stress the plant by exposing the roots to too much sun or wind.
If your plant has to travel by vehicle to get to its new location, make sure that you cover the roots with a damp piece of burlap. A good tip to remember is to water your plant well the day before you plan to move it. Water is the secret of a successful transplant. The chances of transplanting a dry, wilting plant successfully are low. But, if the plant is full of water, the demands on the roots are minimized for a while after the transplant.
Chances are you will cut or break off some of your rose’s roots when you dig it up out of the ground. Rose bushes have very deep roots and you won’t reasonably be able to remove all of them. That’s why it’s important to take good care of the existing roots, and to make sure that the rose is well-hydrated in advance of the move since its ability to soak up more water will be hampered by the root-trim after the move.
Digging Your Rose Bush Out Of The Ground
When digging the plant out, take as much of the root ball as you can handle. That means dirt and roots together. It’s not necessary to prune healthy plant growth from the top stems of the rose in order for the rose bush to survive. The growth of the plant is important in the production of sugars. It only hurts the plant to cut its growth away. After the transplant if your rose starts to wilt at its tips, it’s a sign that it is having trouble supporting its top structure. If this happens, water the plant more deeply and more frequently and once the rose starts perking up again, trim away any dead tips that are not showing signs of recovery. These permanently damaged areas will not come back.
Setting The Rose In The Ground
When preparing the soil to receive your newly transplanted rose bush, it’s a good idea to add about a half a cup of bone meal to the hole where the plant will go. Mix it in to the soil so it’s distributed in a way the roots can reach it. You will also need to set the plant slightly higher in the ground than it was before because the plant will settle in the hole as the dirt that was fluffed by your digging compacts over time. The bud union where the flowering rose has been grafted to the root stock can be about one or two inches above ground level. Once you water in your rose, you can press slightly on the soil at the base of the plant to eliminate air pockets.
When To Transplant Roses
Most rose enthusiasts would agree that it’s a good idea to avoid transplanting roses during the growing season. It is easier to transplant the roses while they are dormant because there is less of a risk of them going into shock since they are not growing. Plus, right after the annual pruning the plant will be smaller and easier to move around. Transplanting during fall, winter or spring is probably ideal, as long as your ground doesn’t freeze hard (in that case, fall or spring transplanting may be your only options.
Transplanting your roses when they are dormant is certainly ideal, but life doesn’t always work out that way. If you do need to transplant roses during the summer months, it’s a good idea to remove any flowers or buds the plant may be producing to minimize the demands placed on the plant during an otherwise strenuous procedure. Fortunately, with proper care, preparation and a lot of water, anyone can follow the steps listed here and anyone can have beautiful, flourishing roses after a transplant during any season.
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