November - Roses

Bare root roses will start to be delivered around now and it's a great time to plant them. First hydrate the rose fully by immersing in a bucket of water for at least 4 hours (I usually do this overnight). Prepare the soil by forking over and removing any weeds before digging a hole which is at least 40cm wide and a similar depth. Roses are gross feeders so after forking over the bottom of the hole, it's good to add plenty of organic matter and maybe something like blood, fish and bone or similar organic fertiliser. Next, I always cover the wet root system with Mycorrhizal Fungi by shaking over the roots in a plastic bag before putting the rose into the hole and spreading the roots out well. Placing a bamboo cane across the top of the hole gives the right level for planting and the graft union (the swollen part on the stem) should be just below the cane, i.e. just below the soil surface, and not proud of it. Then backfill the soil, heel in firmly and give it plenty of water. Job done!