Problems with newly planted climber rose

Indranil

Hi All,

If you could help with the problem I'm facing with a newly planted rose that'd be great. I ordered a potted climber earlier this month and planted it out last week, but the plant is not taking off and not looking very well. Here are the details and pictures:

1. Golden Shower climbing rose bought in 5l pot. Plant looked healthy and vigorous out of the box.
2. Planted within 5 days of receiving and kept the pot moist in the meantime
3. Care guide said it's hardy and can be planted in full sun so planted in west facing border
4. Usual procedure followed during planting i.e. hole double the size of pot + farmyeard manure in the bottom + crown at ground level etc.
5. While taking the plant out of the pot, the 90% compost fell off the rootball, which was odd. Planted with as much care as not to damage the roots.
6. Watering moderately twice daily

Issues:

1. Some of the baby leaves died off within hours of planting
2. Some mature leaves drying off or browning around the ages
3. Some of the leaves appear nibbled, but AFAIK slugs/snails don't attack roses

Any idea what could've gone wrong and what's the remedy?

Cheers!
Indranil

Mr. Vine Eye

My instinct would be:

Clearly a recently potted bareroot if all of the compost fell off.

Its just been planted and the weather has been very warm and dry.

its unlikely to do very much until the roots have had chance to get established which it won’t have done yet. So I wouldn’t be worried about a lack of growth at this stage!

keep it watered if the weather continues to be dry and it’ll settle in and start growing eventually!

Dovefromabove

I've seen an explanation on a few rose websites which states that at this time of year the containerised roses have often just recently been potted so the compost isn't full of roots and may fall away ... I think you've planted yours just fine ... the young growth has been nipped either by frost or by the recent strong sunshine ... I wouldn't worry about it.  The roots will need time to get established and then it'll romp away. 

I think it's just a case of implementing that old piece of gardening equipment ... patience 

Golden Showers is a lovely rose ... I had one in a previous garden ... if the leaves continue to be nibbled show us some more pics and we'll put our thinking caps on. 

edhelka

It's normal. At this time of the year, you would be getting a rose that was transplanted twice in recent time - planted as a bare root rose to the pot, probably only a couple of weeks ago and then again, transplanted by you to its final position. And because the rose is fully leaved (not dormant), some losses and an adjustment period should be expected. Some leaves or even smaller canes can die back and there can be some weather related damage (wind, sun) if it used to be in a more sheltered position. I wouldn't expect any major damage (large canes, all leaves) though. The next week or two, the rose will focus on growing new feeding roots and you won't see much happening above ground. But it will start to grow new leaves and buds soon, no worries. In your picture, it looks reasonably happy and healthy for a newly planted rose.

Indranil

Thank you so much for all of your responses. That's reassuring. I'll keep an eye over it for the next few weeks, and update if I continue to see nibbled leaves.

Wilderbeast

@Indranil the nibbled leaves are most likely leaf cutter bees, roses are a favourite choice for them. We have 1 particular rose that gets ravaged every year but it flowers brilliantly regardless. I wouldn't worry as the bees are good for the garden and really don't do too much damage 

Indranil

@Wilderbeast thank you! That's good to know.