SolveYourProblem
Roses Article Series
Barefoot
Rose Gardening
A barefoot rose is not actually something
that means you go barefoot in your rose garden. It
is a descriptor that indicates that the roots of the rose are
exposed. The
rose is, essentially, barefoot. Such rose are also sometimes
called bare root roses (but barefoot is a much more fun term).
Most people who choose to plant barefoot roses are those who
are looking for that “one” rose, the rose that is “just right.”
Sometimes a local nursery just will not have what you are looking
for. This is where catalogs and the Internet come in. Most
of these businesses that send your rose products through the
mail will not send the rose in a container filled with dirt.
Most of the time it will be a barefoot rose, roots exposed.
Such plants, though they can turn out to be very successful
and very beautiful, do require some special attention at the
outset.
Barefoot rose gardening can be a very
rewarding experience, as it allows you to personally choose the plants that you think
better reflect your personality and the feel of your landscape.
The following steps can help you ensure that your barefoot
roses survive and thrive.
First of all, when the rose arrives, you should immediately
look it over. Open the shipping container as soon as it arrives.
Be on the look out for broken canes and roots. Trim off damaged
sections of the rose with sterilized and sharp pruning shears.
This can help prevent diseases like rot and crown galls. Next,
you should soak the roots over night in water. Soaking the
roots will help them rehydrate. If you would like, you can
also add a diluted rooting activator solution to the water.
If you do add rooting activator or add other mild supplements
be sure to save the water to use when you plant the rose.
Proper
preparation of the planting hole is important for your
barefoot rose. Measure your root system and make the hole one
and a half times as deep and as wide as the length of the root
system. You should create a small mound of soil at the center
of the hole. This mound is meant as a support to the root crown.
A new rose bed or soil with a low nutrient value may require
that you add a small amount of bone meal or of phosphate rock
to the bottom of the hole. Powdered seakelp, though not necessary,
sprinkled on the sides and bottom of the planting hole, can
also provide the rose with more nutrients.
When you plant your rose, make sure that you do so according
to your hardiness zone. It is possible to find this information
on the Internet, at a local nursery, or from a local master
gardener or horticulture professional. The depth at which you
plant your rose is determined by the hardiness zone. For zones
requiring more shallow holes, simply fill in the bottom and
make your mound higher.
Place
the root crown at the top of the mound and arrange the
roots down and over the top of the mound. Try to get the roots
as equally distributed around the mound as possible. Rose roots
grow according to their placement at planting. You want them
to be spread and to create a good system. Roots should never
wrap around the rose. They should always be spread out. Hold
the rose while you fill in the hole with soil. Carefully water
the soil around the roots as you do so to ensure that air pockets
around the roots are removed. Do not let the rose sink as you
do this, as this will change its depth.
After, and only after, the rose has been watered in should
you apply root stimulator. If you used the activator in your
soaking solution for the rose, this is the time to use that
water. Applying activator before the rose is watered in can
result in root burn. After finishing with the watering, build
up soil around the rose plants exposed canes (make sure the
top two bud eyes are still exposed, though). When the first
new leaves appear and the bud eyes begin swelling, take the
soil away from the canes and create a watering well around
the rose’s base.
Now it is time to enjoy the blooms of your labor.
# # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
> Home
> Rose
Articles: Main Page
|
