Transplanting Roses

There are few garden chores that I dislike but I would put transplanting near the top of my list. There is always the sense of "am I harming this plant" and I especially hate the awful sound of the roots coming loose in the soil when you dig it out of the ground. Unfortunately, unless you are a really good planner, plants are often put in less than ideal spots. I have already transplanted about a dozen plants this year and many of them are roses.

In this case, the rose in the above photo, is in a good spot but it seems to want to be a climber and the blooms have a tendency to nod down. The rose is 'Golden Celebration' and I've decided to relocate it next to a gate and arbor so that it can become the climbing rose it wants to be.

In my early years of gardening, I killed more than one rose when transplanting it. Since then, I've learned a few tips and thought I'd share. First of all, the best time to transplant is around the time you would prune roses. This is not a deal breaker and you can transplant a rose at other times of the year but this is the least stressful time and you will be getting it ready for the upcoming growth spurt. Another good reason for doing it now is that the ground is usually moist from winter rains.

The first thing I do is get the new planting hole prepared so that once you dig the rose, you can get it back in the ground quickly. Dig a hole slightly wider than the rootball of the rose. Ammend the soil with aged manure or compost. You can also add bone meal. DO NOT add fertilizer.

Prune the rose heavily even if it is a climber or large shrub rose. Transplanting will create a lot of stress and shock to the plant and the more growth that it on the plant, the more the plant will have to work to support all those canes and leaves. Therefore, cut it back about 1 - 2 feet. The rule of thumb is to make your cuts right above an outward facing bud. It always seems to me that most of the buds are facing the wrong direction. My advice is not to stress too much over this because you can always cut wayward canes later when the new growth begins.

Some experts recommend that you water the rose a week or a few days in advance with a vitamin B1 liquid. I have never done this but I think it is a good idea so if you are unlike me and can plan ahead, do it! If you don't use the B1, do water the plant well beforehand.

Now the fun part, the digging. Push the shovel in all around the rose and gently rock it back and forth. After going all the way around the rose, go in a bit closer and continue to cut around the rose. You can usually tell when the rose has loosened enough (again, that horrible sound) and it can be lifted completely out of the ground. The goal is to keep the root ball intact, a task that is not always an easy one. Even thought my soil was moist, the root ball did not stay intact and some of the soil fell away from the roots. It this happens, don't panic.

After you've carefully moved the rose to its new home, place it in the hole at about the same level it was before. Press the soil down firmly and create a dam around the plant. Water it well - I would give it a 5 gallon bucket full, sometimes more. Water slowly so that it does not run off and the water stays inside the dam. Mulch around the base of the rose. Bark chips, pine straw or whatever you have on hand is fine. I have learned that gravel works really well here in the Pacific Northwest because it keeps the soil moist during our dry summers. Continue to water every few days or even daily if the weather is hot and dry. After new growth begins, the rose can be fertilized (my favorite is a liquid fish or kelp fertilizer). In less than two months, you should have new blooms.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy