How to Temporarily Transplant a Rose | Ask This Old House, by This Old House on YouTube. 8 min 56 s.
- Video length
- 8 min 56 s
- Time to do it
- 2 to 3 hours
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Tie the canes of the rose bush to a wooden trellis with jute twine so the plant stays supported. Trim the bush to 6 to 8 feet tall with bypass pruning shears.
Dig a 24-inch-diameter hole around the bush with two transplanting shovels. Cut straight down to sever the outer roots, then dig in at an angle and pry the root ball out.
Fasten two 30-inch-long 2x4 stakes to the inside of a 24-inch plastic pot with 1 1/4-inch drywall screws.
Mix topsoil, compost, sand and rose fertilizer in a wheelbarrow. Add 6 to 8 inches of the mix to the bottom of the pot.
Lift the rose bush and trellis together and set them into the pot. Fill around the root ball with the soil mix, then screw the trellis to the 2x4 stakes.
Carry or wheel the pot to its new spot. Dig a hole as deep as the pot and a little wider, set the pot in, and backfill around it with the excavated soil.
Fill a 5-gallon bucket with water, add liquid organic fertilizer and mix well. Pour the diluted feed into the pot around the rose bush.
Spread 12 inches of bark mulch around the base to insulate it, and water the bush once a week until winter arrives.
Spray the leaves with an antidesiccant, then wrap the whole bush in burlap just before the dead of winter to shield it from cold, wind and snow.
Leave the potted rose in the ground until next spring. Then dig it up, remove the pot and plant the bush back in its original spot once the construction work is done.
Tips and common mistakes
Get a helper before lifting a large root ball or a full pot, and lift with your legs to protect your back.
Keep the pot's drainage holes clear so winter rain does not sit around the roots.
Do not skip the weekly watering, even in cold weather, because a dry rose suffers more in frost.
Cut roots cleanly with a sharp shovel; torn roots heal more slowly.
Questions
When is the best time to move a rose bush?
Late winter or early spring while the plant is still dormant is easiest on it. A dormant rose settles into a pot with far less shock than one in full leaf.
Can the rose stay in the pot longer than one season?
It can survive a season, but a 24-inch pot limits root growth. Replant it in the ground as soon as the work is finished, ideally the following spring.
Do I need to prune the bush before digging it up?
Yes. Cutting it back to 6 to 8 feet makes it lighter and easier to handle, and it reduces the leaf area that loses water while the roots recover.
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.
