How to Easily Plant Bare-Root Roses

Many times when you order roses from online nurseries and gardening centers, they are shipped in bare-root form. Bare-root roses don't have any dirt around the root area and they require the use of a special planting technique to ensure that they survive and thrive.

Things You'll Need

• Bucket
• Pruning shears
• Shovel

Instructions

1. Remove all the packaging material.

2. Fill a bucket will cool water. Put the rose in the water roots first and let the rose plant soak for up to 12 hours.

3. Remove the plant from the water and cut off all broken stems and roots. Remove any cane that is thinner than a pencil, but try to let at least three to five canes on the plant.

4. Dig a hole about 3 to 4 inches deeper than the length of the root and 3 to 4 inches wider than the width of the root.

5. Form a small mound of soil in the middle of the hole.

6. Add about 2 to 3 inches of compost to the bottom of the hole and mix compost into the soil dug out from the planting hole.

7. Put the roots into the hole, making sure that the bud union remains at soil level, and fill the hole with the soil and compost mixture.

8. Water the rose bush. Let the water absorb into the ground and add more soil-compost mixture to form a small mound.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Our Rose Garden -- Planting