Too late to plant minature rosed?

12 years ago

Hello! I have a grocery store tea rose that I received as a gift last spring at my job.

After repotting it two times and seeing it barely stagger along, I researched and realized it needed to be planted outside, and that it was not, in fact, an indoor plant. Derp, I'm learning!

However, if I plant now(ish), will there be enough time before the first fronts hit for it to establish itself, or should I save it in the pot until next spring? The place I'm considering is next to the house, which is brick, so it has the advantage of possibly being more insulated.

Comments (6)

tanyuu
Original Author
12 years ago
First frost, rather. I can't believe I missed the typo in my title too!
seil zone 6b MI
12 years ago
It's better planted outside than inside for sure even at this late date. I don't know where you are so I don't know when your first frost date is but in my zone 6 it's usually not until mid October or later. That would give it a good 6 weeks to get established and I think you'd be OK. Dig a big deep hole. You want to plant it a little deeper than it is in the pot now. When you take it out of the pot try to keep the root ball intact as much as possible. The less you disturb the roots the better.

After it goes completely dormant you can winter protect it by either mounding up with soil around the plant or with some kind of mulch. Leaves will work fine. Since it's a mini you can pretty much bury it in leaves but put a stake there so you'll know where it is come spring. And if you get a lot of snow it's OK to pile it on. Snow is a very good insulator and will protect and hydrate the rose all winter. In the spring when the ground thaws and night time temps stay consistently above freezing (that's April here but may be different for you) you can start to uncover it gradually. Once you start to see some new growth uncover it completely. Prune off any dead wood and she should give you a summer of lovely blooms!
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tanyuu
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you! I'll do that. I hope I do this right; I enjoyed the blooms it gave me when I first received it.
ken-n.ga.mts
12 years ago
Once it starts getting cold on a steady run, get a big pile of leafs and bury it for winter protection. I've got two (1 red, 1 yellow)grocery store mini's that have come through two hard winters with just leaf protection. Go ahead and put it in the ground ASAP. Just DO NOT feed it this fall. Wait until spring to start feeding it.
mzdee
11 years ago
I just planted one of my grocery store minis today. I "rescued"2 from the dollar bin. All summer long, they have been sitting in my flower bed in the original little foil covered pot getting watered when the bed got watered. And they have been Fabulous. They have bloomed and not one yellow leaf. I was reluctant to move them but knew they had to be in the ground by Fall. Learned a lot here, and hope I can come back in the Spring with success stories.
lookin4you2xist
11 years ago
I'm 9b but have a garden for minis in 5b. I'll try to help. mulch and cover the small amount you have is my best advice. They should adapt soon enough I do not get chill for all my minis believe it or not in TPA Bay. Good Luck