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Post by Michael Sloyan on Mar 24, 2008 12:24:27 GMT
I have a couple of established roses that I would like to move but I am not sure of the best method and don't want to damage them. Can anyone offer any advice?
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Post by clairebear on Mar 26, 2008 7:29:07 GMT
Hiya
I found the information below in abook at home - but my grandad says that you can move them whenever just soak them well after replanting to get all the air out.
2 Ways to Safely Transplant Rose Bushes of Any Age by: Jon Weaver
You will occasionally want to move a rose bush from one location to another, but fear shocking the bush too much and having it die. However, here are two effective ways to minimize the shock to the bush so you can successfully move it to another, more suitable place in your flower garden.
The first, and simpler way, is by driving a spade down vertically to its full length of blade about twelve or fifteen inches from the bush and repeating the process in a circular form until all lateral roots have been cut. This should be done in June or early July and the bush should be moved two or three weeks later.
Dig a sloping hole leading to the vertical spade-cuts on one side, remove some of the surface soil round the bush to reduce weight, drive the spade under the plant, and gently lift it in a ball of earth. The ball can be made more adherent by wetting and dabbing the outside of it. Slide it into its new hole by way of another sloping cut, fill the spaces round the ball with friable soil and water it heavily. The bush must be pruned and all leaves carefully clipped off to reduce loss of moisture and consequent shrivelling.
You see, by cutting any strong root at a reasonable distance from a plant, it forces the growth of many smaller ones of the feeding type. Roots feed only through their terminal points, and so the greater the number of small fibrous roots the better a bush can feed from the soil.
The second, and less simple way, is to prepare the rose for the move by digging a trench in early spring in a semicircle round the bush at a radius of a foot, or slightly more, from the stem, depending on the size of the plant. This will cut the roots in that part. Fill the trench with loam that is of good quality but does not contain fermenting manure of any type. A network of fibrous secondary roots will form and permeate the rich new soil. After three months, about Christmas time, complete the circle in a similar manner. In the autumn, about four months later, the bush can be lifted with a good ball of earth held together by a mass of fibrous roots.
The rose bush has been safely root-pruned in either method of transplanting, and will reduce shock ensuring the plants survival. You may be wondering why you would need to use that second, more involved method, when the first method is so simple. Well, the only time it is necessary is when moving a very large old rose plant.
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Post by Michael Sloyan on Mar 26, 2008 10:06:44 GMT
Thank you for that!
I will let the frosty nights end and follow that advice.
Thanks again,
Michael
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Post by bronzestaue on Mar 29, 2008 10:03:51 GMT
Very helpful post...thanks for sharing ;D
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