Tips for Planting a Bareroot Rose with Monty Don, by Fine Gardening on YouTube. 2 min 40 s.
- Video length
- 2 min 40 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Choose a sunny spot and dig a hole deep and wide enough to take the roots spread out flat. Keep the soil you dig out in a pile beside the hole.
Leave the planting hole empty of compost. Rich compost in the hole can stop roots pushing out into the surrounding soil, leaving the rose effectively pot-bound.
Find the graft on the rose, the swollen knuckle where the top growth meets the rootstock. This point tells you how deep to plant.
Set the rose in the hole with the graft at or just below soil level and spread the roots out over the base.
Dust the roots with mycorrhizal fungi before you backfill, so the powder coats the roots and links them to the soil.
Backfill around the roots with the native soil you dug out. Firm it in layers as you go so no air pockets are left.
Prune the rose back straight after planting. Cutting it down pushes vigorous new top growth, which in turn builds a bigger root system.
Water the rose well and spread compost over the surface of the soil around it, where it will work its way down over time.
Check the soil through the first growing season and water whenever it starts to dry out, keeping it evenly moist.
Tips and common mistakes
Do not mix compost into the planting hole, however good the soil looks.
Water before and after planting if the roots look dry when they come out of the packaging.
Firm the soil gently with your boot rather than stamping hard, which squeezes out the air.
Keep sharp pruners pointed away from your hands when cutting the rose back.
Questions
How deep should a bareroot rose be planted?
Set it so the graft union sits at or just below the soil surface. Planting too deep buries the graft and can weaken or kill the rose.
Why should I not put compost in the planting hole?
Roots stay inside the rich pocket instead of reaching out into your soil. The rose then grows as if it were still in a pot and anchors badly.
When is the best time to plant a bareroot rose?
While it is dormant, from late autumn through winter, as long as the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. That gives roots time to settle before spring.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
