Day Breaker Rose
From skinny, thorny sticks planted in late winter can come garden beauties like this Day Breaker rose.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
With winter having the garden in its firm, freezing grip, you might think I have snapped my cracker by declaring, “It’s rose planting time!” but let me explain: No, now is not when you plant rose bushes fully adorned with flowers and foliage but rather bareroot roses—you know, those skinny, seemingly lifeless sticks bristling with barbs often seen in garden centers now.
One of the biggest advantages of bareroot roses is variety. Lots of variety. E-nurseries usually offer a ton of bareroot selections online because they are easy to ship, while local garden shops can cram many choices into a minimum of retail space.
So, how hard is it to squeeze fancy bloom displays out of such scrawny, thorny twigs? Growing bareroot roses is not tough at all, and it starts simply by finding a prime spot for your planting bed-to-be. The site should be well draining in a location that receives at least six to eight hours of sunlight.
Fluffing up the soil will certainly help with drainage, and this can be readily done by mixing generous amounts of compost or commercial soil conditioner into the growing ground. Also, raised beds are a good option.
When you get your roses home, plant them as soon as possible. However, before tucking them into the earth, hydrate the roots by submerging them in a bucket of water for several hours.
Planting holes should be dug about 12 to 18 inches deep and 24 inches wide. Backfill some of the dirt to form an inverted cone in the middle of the hole. Then, carefully spread the roots over this cone, cover them with the remaining dirt, and water thoroughly. If your rose has a cane union, the graft point should be positioned just above the soil line.
Since ground moisture is important to young roses, each finished hole should be ringed with a two-inch-high mound of dirt to direct water toward the developing roots. The addition of mulch will also help retain moisture in the soil, as will regular waterings every couple of days through the spring and summer when the rains don’t come.
Your bareroot roses will probably be a bit shy to put on a full-blown blossom-fest their first year in the garden, but by the second growing season, with proper care, those skinny little sticks planted during the late winter usually kick in with fabulous flower shows.
February in the garden
• Spring-blooming camellias should begin showing off this month, but, while admiring their beauty, tame a potential beast by raking up any spent blossoms to help prevent the soil-borne disease known as petal blight that can turn future flowers an ugly brown.
• Make sure your tools are ready for the spring growing season—sharpen any cutting implements you use in the landscape, and change the oil and gas in your motorized garden helpers.
Tip of the month
Roses, being heavy feeders, will obviously perform much better when fertilized, but don’t toss common formulations such as 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 into their planting holes because nitrogen in this form could burn the tender, developing roots. However, a half-cup of root-encouraging superphosphate (an easy find at garden shops) mixed into each planting hole is a good idea. Wait until the spring when the bare branches start to pop with new shoots, and then add a complete fertilizer around the bases of the plants. For better results, use a quality rose fertilizer that has time-released nitrogen and is high in phosphorus.
L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.