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I live in central Maine and would like to plant more roses.
I've had really good luck with Marmalade Skies! Would you advise
planting in the fall or waiting until spring?
Liz |
| 9/14/06 Hello Liz, This is a good question....and I have to say there are pros and cons to fall planting. We have a member who grows mostly Old Garden Roses that really likes to plant bareroot roses on their own roots (not budded or grafted) in the fall. He has had very good luck doing this. As far as planting Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, Grandifloras, and some shrub roses (such as Austin roses) I, personally prefer to plant them in the spring. I feel it gives them ample time to grow good deep roots to be ready for our cold winter. If I have grafted or budded roses, I always plant so the graft/bud is 4" below the surface. I also protect my roses for the winter, I find the more I can protect them, the more of my plant I can save. Congratulations on your Marmalade Skies, I have planted that rose twice, and lost it both times! I live in Woolwich, on the coast, zone 5. I will stick my neck out here, but if you want to plant roses in the fall, you could wait till the plant is dormant, then plant it and really protect the whole plant, as much of it as you can, with mulch, or compost, or soil, or manure etc. I use a covering of manure over the plant first, say at least 2 shovels full. This should keep any stray rodents out of your rose, we wait till the ground is frozen before we put on the protective layers, because by that time the rodents should have found their home for the winter elsewhere. Then after the manure, mound up the soil, compost mulch, or whatever else you are using. I do this to the base of my climbers also, but then I wrap the canes and arbor or trellis and all in burlap to keep the cold wind off them. Some people take the canes down, and lay them on the ground, then cover them with soil. The cold freezing wind is what kills your roses, all roses, the most. One of our members grows nearly 200 roses mostly in large pots which he keeps in his garage all winter, with no further protection, and his roses are just beautiful. They stay frozen in the garage, and the wind does not get to them. The other thing that kills roses in winter is the freezing and thawing that we experience during winter. This is why we cover the rose well, as much as we can, to protect against wind and freezing and thawing. In the spring, uncover the roses by gently and gradually pulling the mulching back from the bush making a well around your plant to hold the water and fertilizer you will be using. Hope this helps you decide whether you want to try fall planting or will wait till spring! Whichever you choose, I wish you success.
Sincerely,
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