If you’re adding new roses to the garden this season, buying bareroot plants offers you the widest selection at the best prices. You may get these at a big box store where plants are usually wrapped in plastic, or at your local nursery where they may be “dug in” – loosely buried in some sort of mulch. Or maybe you’ve ordered on-line, and they’re delivered to your door. However they arrive, here are some tips for Unboxing Your New Bareroot Roses.
Now it’s time to think about planting and all the elements that go into it. This article covers preparing the site, preparing the rose, planting the rose and care after planting. Here’s another detailed description with photos for the process of Planting a Bare Root Rose is by Joan Goff, American Rose Society (ARS) Master Rosarian.
Marin Master Gardeners has good information on Planting Bareroot Trees and Shrubs, while Jason at Fraser Valley Roses answers 5 Questions: How to Plant a Bare Root Rose in this 20 minute video. And Satish Prabhu, also an ARS Master Rosarian, shares a slightly different simpler perspective with The Perfect Rose Hole.
Ever heard the old adage about planting your 50-cent plant in a five-dollar hole? Well, adjusted for inflation, that $40 rose should go in a $400 hole! Invest the time and energy in planting your rose now and you’ll reap the benefits for years to come.