Planting a bare root rose

Planting a Bare Root Rose

Bare root is the best way to buy roses, and they're easy to plant with a few simple tricks to give them the best start, which we'll cover in this lesson.

Bare root roses can be bought and planted from November to March. Having cold, wet clay soil, we delay planting until as late as possible - early March.

Preparing the rose for planting

• I bought this double-flowered white Rosa spinosissima in autumn and heeled it in elsewhere until I'm ready to plant properly.
• Check if any formative pruning is needed. Cut off any stems that are too low to be useful.
• You can also prune the roots. The thin fibrous roots are the important ones that absorb water and nutrients, so if there are thick roots that are too long, you can trim them.
• After digging up the rose from where it's heeled in, I protect the roots with a hessian sheet, but you can also put it into a bucket of water to hydrate the roots before planting.

How to plant a bare root rose

Take your time to plant well, as you only plant once, and if you get it right, the rose will thrive.

1. Dig a hole about twice the width of the root ball and deep enough to contain the roots.

• You can check depth by putting the plant in, laying your spade across the hole and checking that it is level with the right point on the rose.
• The depth needs to be such that the soil is level with the knuckle-like graft join.

1. Break up the soil at the bottom of the hole.
2. Hold the rose in place and backfill with a mixture of soil and homemade compost.
3. Lift the rose in and out slightly to allow the soil to settle among the roots.
4. Firm down the soil around the base of the rose using your hands; using feet can be too much for a small plant.
5. Water the rose well with a half or full can.

I don't add mycorrhizal fungi or fertilisers, knowing that the soil is healthy and naturally contains microorganisms that will help the rose thrive.

Planting bare root plants

Bare root roses are cheaper and establish better, with less maintenance after planting, since they're planted during the dormant period.

Plant Directory

Rosa spinosissima 'Double White' double-flowered

Double white Scotch rose

Hardy deciduous shrub

Rosaceae

Glossary

Heel in

To temporarily plant a plant, especially a bare root tree or shrub, until it can be planted in its ultimate location. Covering the roots with soil protects them from drying out and frost.

Sucker

A non-grafted shoot that grows from the rootstock of a grafted rose plant and has the characteristics of the rootstock rather than being true to the rose you planted.

Mycorrhizal fungi

A network of fungi that live symbiotically (in close physical association) on plant roots and are important for the health of the plant and soil.