when to plant rose in garden

thecatsmother

Hi all. Earlier this year thecatsfather's dad died, and at the funeral several of us were given "Peace" roses (hybrid tea) in his memory. As we knew we were moving soon I put it into a reasonably big pot (about the size of a bucket), and it came with us when we moved last month.

It's grown lots and is now in glorious bloom (4 huge flowers, another 5 buds growing daily). It's getting quite big too (about 3 ft tall from the top of the pot). I don't want it to suffer from being in a pot too small, but equally I don't want to plant it out and risk it. So advice please, I'm presuming it's best to wait until it's finished flowering then plant out, but should I wait until the middle of winter then prune right back and transplant then? Or do it sooner so it can get some more time to grow without being constrained by the pot. On reading up I see it's potentially going to get quite big (my only rose previously has been a "Happy Anniversary" which is a smaller floribunda which has bloomed each year for the past 10 years in a similarly sized pot. Hadn't really considered that the Peace would get so big so quick

waterbutts

Sorry to hear about the loss in the family and hope that the Peace rose gives you years of happy memories. 

Consider the roses that you see for sale in garden centres, growing quite happily for months in much smaller pots than the one you are using.  So long as the plant is in a safe, wind-free place so that it doesn't rock about in its pot you can keep it there until the autumn. Keep it moist so that it never dries out but don't let it sit in water.

Other people will be able to give you advice about pruning roses in your part of the country. The main thing is, you don't need to panic about its welfare as it will be fine as it is for a good few months yet.

Pennine Petal

Lots of my roses grow in pots. I would say of it's in a pot, put it in the ground as long as it isn't too hot Bare root roses are a different matter. I'm afraid I don't always obey the rules though

thecatsmother

Re pruning in my part of the country - I'm in East Devon - pretty mild and the garden is sheltered. In my previous garden I grew 2 cordylines from 1L pots when we moved in, and they grew more than a foot a year until they were about 15ft high! (They died a couple of winters ago when we had lots of snow and it got into the crowns and rotted the trunks, but their babies which had sprouted from the base a few years earlier lived on and were left for the new owners to enjoy)

Thanks for reassuring me that it won't be risking the rose by leaving it in its pot for a while yet. It certainly looks happy enough, and brings a smile each time we step out the back door

 

 

waterbutts

Beautiful!

John Harding

I've been growing roses on & off for over 50 years and as long as you don't break up the root ball I would say dig a hole a bit bigger and deeper than the whole bucket, add some John Innes No 3 to the hole to raise the level so that when you sit the rose in the hole the height will be right. Mix a little Fish, Blood & Bone to the No 3 mix,(just a small handful), and if a rose has grown in that spot previously add a little mycorrhizal fungi ('Rootgrow' - available from most Garden Centres), make sure the rose in the bucket has been well watered then carefully remove it and plant in the hole without disturbing the rootball (or as little as possible). Backfill the hole with John Innes No 3 and gently heel in all around the plant to firm it in, then give it about a gallon (5 litres) of water.

I would recommend you wait until the present hot spell has subsided though, as no plant will relish being disturbed in this hot weather.

I just re-read your original post & realised you said you had it in a pot about the size of a bucket. I then got to thinking about the shape of the pot and how easy it would be to remove the rose from it if the top turned inwards. I was glad then to see a pic of the rose in its pot (it's beautiful isn't it). It will drop out of there with ease and very little disturbance to the rootball so you should be fine with it.

Dovefromabove

I agree with JH - I think you can plant it after this hot spell subsides, if you're careful.  The Microrrhizal fungi stuff is good - but it needs to be in contat with the roots for it to work, so I'd use a new 2 or 3 inch paintbrush and paint the powder onto the side and bottom surfaces of the rootball just before popping it in the ground.  My mother inherited a garden with a mature Peace rose when we moved to Suffolk in 1957 - it was still going strong when my parents moved in 1978 

Alina W

The only thing I'd add is if you plant out your rose now, you must continue to water it as if it was in its bucket for at least six months - the roots won't have spread far enough to support it until next spring and even then, don't let it dry out next summer, either.

It's quite a large rose, and does need adequate water. Don't worry about pruning it hard back - that is really for bare-root roses not pot-grown ones.

Just prune it normally to stop wind rock in autumn, and as normal in spring.

thecatsmother

Thanks all - for obvious reasons I really want this rose to flourish. I tend to buy cheap/small plants, use cheapest compost, and then see what takes and not stress about what doesn't thrive.  But I'll definitely do the JohnInnesNo3/fishbloodbone and Rootgrow to give this every chance of thriving on the transition from pot to ground. Thanks for the watering/pruning tips too.