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minniemousem

New -- Need to save some great roses before I move

Minnie Mouse
9 years ago

Hi, I am new to this forum. A few years ago I found some roses at a great local nursery. I bought them because I do not have a green thumb and these beautiful roses were grown from bushes found growing wild on the side of a road in Texas. I bought three different ones, planted them in our poor soil and just left them.

Now, seven years later, I have only fertilized them two times, once with fertilizer and once by throwing a couple of bags of "rose soil" on the base. In spite of the terrible Texas heat and my neglect, they are now huge -- about ten feet across and six feet tall, all three together in a jumble of gorgeous pink roses. You should see them in the spring -- so breathtaking.

We sold our home and we are moving in a week. I just realized -- I have to find a way of keeping some of these amazing roses for our next home.

How do I do that? What is the best way to give me hope of growing these roses? it's in the 90-100s here right now. They have hundreds of hips on them, and a few dozen blooms.

As you can tell, I am not much of a gardener. I don't even know where to start. I looked at some stuff online but I need something that I know will work.

Thank you.

Comments (7)

  • roseseek
    9 years ago

    With all you've written, your safest bet is to know the identities of the roses and repurchase replacements once you've moved and are ready for them. The next safest choice would be to make good friends with someone there in Texas who would be able and willing to either root or bud them for you and hold the plants until they, and you, are ready. There is no method, period, which can be guaranteed to be successful the first time it's tried, particularly when added to a major move. You need to find someone who is already set up for propagation who can accept the appropriate material from you, propagate it and get the plants back to you when you're ready. Either a hobbyist or a nursery who either uses mist for rooting or buds would be your best alternatives. Might there be someone at the nursery from which you purchased them who could identify them for you so you can replace them later? If you open an account on either Photobucket or Flickr, you can post numerous photos in one post here. Otherwise, it's one photo per post, but at least seeing them in living color, perhaps someone might recognize them, making your job of replacing them easier. Good luck! Kim

  • bluegirl_gw
    9 years ago

    I've been running mist for the past month to root a BUNCH of cuttings that *someone* (see above) sent me.

    It works great--not 100% success on every rose, but vastly better than any other method I've tried.

    I'll be very happy to try to root some for you, or to explain, in detail, my set up. It's not a professional thing--just a line of those "porch cooler" mister sets you can pick up at a Home Depot or Lowe's.

    They're not big water wasters--each mister head uses ~ 1/2 gallon per hour & I have a cheapo timer set for them to come on 15-20 minutes per hour. I like to root cuttings in coarse #3 blasting sand with some coir.

    Not everything roots, but many do--some in an astonishing short period of time.
    Here's a pic of Clotilde Soupert cuttings, an old polyantha rose, at 15 days:

  • thonotorose
    9 years ago

    Beautiful roots, BlueGirl.

    I would add to Kim's suggestions... that you contact your local rose society and ask someone there to assist you. If they are like ours here, you will probably not only get an ID, but also get rooting assistance and maybe babysitting, too. Good luck!

  • Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
    9 years ago

    I would google propagating roses, take come cuttings and give it a whirl. There is something about sticking the end in a potato, burying that whole potato and cutting, and just keep it watered. Evidently the potato feeds the roots when they emerge, plus it keeps them moist.

    A 5' bag of russets, and a few cuttings in ground in your new place could do wonders!

    Suzi

  • roseseek
    9 years ago

    Find organic potatoes which are not treated with chemicals to prevent them from sprouting. That same chemical will prevent the rose from being able to make use of what the potato might be able to do for it. Kim

  • seil zone 6b MI
    9 years ago

    I know people who have actually dug up and potted roses and transported them cross country. It can be done. You will need to cut them back and get some big containers for them to transport them. It will set them back some for at least the first year but they should survive the move.

  • luxrosa
    9 years ago

    I would move the bushes, I've moved a full grown O.G.Tea in 80 degree weather by watering it heavily before moving it and it didn't even drop any flower buds, let alone foliage.
    1. . prune them back to 3' by 3', (unless they are Old Garden Tea rosebushes)
    2.. water the rosebushes heavily and deeply until the soil is moist at the bottom of the rootball. (an hour after you have watered, dig a small hole outside the canopy line to be assured of the depth of moisture.)
    3. bare root the rosebushes, then soak the roots in water with B1 solution for 24 to 36 hours. this is essential.
    4. pot them up in containers with a soil retentive potting soil .

    I'd plant the rosebushes within 48 hours.
    Hydration is an essential method.
    Good Luck.

    Lux

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