It is important to regularly water your newly-planted rose, at least bimonthly for two months. You should also ensure adequate spacing between bushes, which is determined by a rose's eventual height and spread.
Bare root and containerised roses have differing planting requirements, detailed below:
- Watering: Bare root roses should have their roots soaked in water for up to 2 hours before planting, while with containerised roses, it is important to drench their root ball before planting.
- Pruning: Another difference is that for bare root roses, it is useful to prune their woody roots back a few inches. However, for containerised roses, you should free any spiralized roots growing around their rootball's circumference.
- Planting: With bare root roses, you should dig a hole to enable the graft point to be above the soil, but with containerised roses, the pot should sit no lower than an inch below the ground.
Bare root and containerised roses also share planting requirements, detailed below:
- With both, you should dig a hole that is twice the radius of their rootball. Stake your roses no more than 2 - 3 inches from the stem, and make sure that they are pointing away from the prevailing wind.
- Fill the planting hole with a mix of compost and garden soil, finishing with fertiliser and mycorrhizal fungi. Take care to not compress the soil.
- Provide your rose with a generous watering.
- Add mulch on top (this can be bark and wood chippings, compost, manure, leaf-mould, and stones), and ensure that these do not touch the stem of your rose.
- Apply fertiliser and replace decomposed mulch come spring.
Advice on hot and droopy plants
If your plants are looking a little wilted right now, don't worry! Plants like to be filled with water to keep their structure, and when it's hot that water evaporates.
Just give them an off-schedule watering and they'll be right as rain in no time! Be careful not to flood them - plants don't like extremes.