Rose Planting Time: The Best Time For Planting Roses

Roses (botanical: Rosa) are classics among garden plants. Already in the spring they are offered for sale in stores. In many places, problems with starting after planting appear. This may be due to the time of planting, if it was chosen incorrectly. In order for these rose plants to thrive ideally and enchant beds with countless, colorful colors, amateur gardeners should know when it is best to plant their specimens.

Like most other plant species, a rose in new soil must first be able to provide itself with nutrients and moisture so that the roots can grow and take root in the soil. For this purpose, the soil must meet certain requirements, which depend mainly on the weather/season, but also on the growing rhythm of the roses. If the wrong or a suboptimal time is chosen, this will make it more difficult for the roses, which have already been weakened by potting, to grow. As a result, growth disturbances, withering and/or stunting can quickly be noticed on the above-ground parts of the plant. In many cases, they never take root and die before a bloom could form.

Best time to plant

Spring?

The growing season begins for the rose. As soon as the temperatures go higher, the days get longer and the sun provides more warmth, it awakens from its winter dormancy. It pushes up the energy from the roots and provides a new sprouting and flowering. If you buy roses now, you can certainly plant them, but it is not recommended for two reasons:

No “fresh produce”.

As a rule, the goods for sale in the spring are “older” specimens from last year or even the year before last, because young plants begin to grow slowly in the spring at the earliest and usually need a few weeks until they are robust and strong enough to be transplanted or planted again. Then the spring would be practically over. “Older” rose offerings can have the following disadvantages:

• Increased risk of diseases
• Goes on worse and often not at all
• Possible germs/pathogens can migrate to neighboring plants and infect entire beds
• Poor growth
• Reduced flower formation

Tip: Planting can be done in spring, but if you want to be on the safe side, wait or do it last year.

Summer

The summer months between June and August are not particularly suitable for planting. The heat stresses the rose plants. This, combined with the stress of planting, decreases the chances of the roots taking root quickly. Furthermore, they need a lot of water to start, which is usually not naturally available through rain in the summer. This is where amateur gardeners are called upon, who do not shy away from the effort of meeting the water requirement daily by means of watering. Once forgotten watering, in the worst case, this can already be the death sentence of the pink. Therefore, do not plant in the summer, unless the following exceptions!

Tip: Especially bare-root rose varieties react quickly with plant damage if they do not receive sufficient water. Since water storage is not/barely possible through soil, they very often dry out in summer, which is why these specimens in particular should not be planted in summer under any circumstances.

Exceptions: Container and climbing roses

If the roses are well-rooted container and/or climbing roses, they can be planted in summer. The root system is then so well established and developed that it can cope better with heat stress and planting. But hobby gardeners still can not avoid additional regular watering. The soil must be continuously slightly moist so that the roots can move/spread in it. Those who do not have or do not want to spend the time should also prefer not to plant container and climbing roses in the summer.

Autumn

Autumn is the best time for planting roses. When the days get much shorter and cooler in late September/early October, the last flowers wilt and they shed their foliage. Now they begin to gather energy and nutrients before going into winter dormancy.

If the pink is planted in the fall, the roots can recover much faster and more intensively, as well as anchor in the soil, thanks to the “saved” energy and nutrients for the foliage and flowers. Due to its winter hardiness and winter dormancy, it shuts down its supply to a minimum, so that the following spring it still has enough energy and nutrients for vigorous growth and abundant flowering. Therefore, fall is the ideal planting time for roses.

If you want to create a blooming garden oasis with roses for next year, you should start now in autumn and plant new roses.

The cool weather is optimal for good rooting of the noble plants. We provide tips on location, soil conditions and planting roses.

Best time to plant roses: October to November

The autumn months of October and November are best for choosing new roses for the garden and planting them. It is no longer too warm, so the roses root well instead of forming new shoots and flowers. Roses, in themselves, do not know periods of rest and are guided only by external conditions. Planting too early would result in the formation of new shoots, which could then cause damage to the rose during winter frosts. Therefore, autumn pruning should also be refrained from roses, it would make the rose too susceptible to frost. It is better to prune roses in spring, as soon as the plants have rooted.

Location: Sunny and humus

Roses like it sunny. However, it is better to choose an eastern or western location; very few varieties can tolerate blazing midday heat. If no other location is available, provide at least some partial shade around the trunk. Rambler roses do well under trees and can grow up into the tree.

Roses like to be in unconsumed, humus and clay soils. Since they root deeply, the humus layer should be sufficiently deep. If there has been a rose at the site before, it is advisable to completely renew the soil to a depth of 50 cm. To prevent waterlogging, you can loosen the soil with compost and gravel. Earthworms also have a loosening and aerating effect, making the soil additionally more humus-rich. When mixing in compost, a few earthworms can also be transplanted.

Planting roses: This is how it works

• First you should remove dead and damaged plant parts, crossing or weak shoots can be cut off.
• The rose should not be frozen when it is transplanted, otherwise you need to let it thaw gently. The soil itself should not be frozen either.
• Bare root roses should be placed in a bucket of water to moisten the roots for about 3-4 hours.
• Carefully shorten the roots. When doing this, do not cut the important fibrous roots, otherwise the plant’s nutrient supply could be disrupted. Cut damaged roots back to the healthy part.
• Loosen the soil sufficiently at the planting site and remove other plants.
• Dig a sufficiently large planting hole.
• The grafting point – the bulge-like thickening on the stem – should be 2.5 to 5 cm below the soil after planting.
• Now place the rose in the planting hole, a 45° angle is recommended.
• The roots should not be bent in, as they will not push themselves to the right position on their own.
• If you plant several roses next to each other, you should leave enough space between them. This is based on the growth size of the rose species. Planting spaces that are too narrow can quickly lead to disease or pest infestation.
• Mix humus-rich soil, such as compost, into the planting soil.
• When filling, shake the rose so that the soil can also reach the cavities in the root ball and tread the soil carefully.
• Now water the plant with plenty of water, preferably using a watering trough around the root of the rose, then top up with some soil and tread it down with the tip of your foot.
• Younger roses need to be watered more frequently. Older roses already have better root systems, so on hot days you only need to water once a week.
• In autumn, you should mound up to 15 cm, so that the soil is protected from the weather. In addition, fir branches or brushwood can protect the roots from frost.

Note the following

Regardless of whether it is decided to plant in the spring or in the fall. Basically, the following should be observed at planting time:

• Planting before or after prolonged frost.
• Do not plant in frozen soil
• Temperatures should be well above freezing point
• In mild winters without frost, planting can be done until the end of December/beginning of January.
• In case of sudden/unexpected frost, provide cold protection after planting (cover soil with straw, leaves or pine needles, for example)
• Do not plant bare-root roses later than October/November to allow enough time for rooting before frost begins.
• Recommended planting time end: April

Best time to transplant

If roses are to change their location in the garden, this can also be done throughout the year during frost-free weather, but again the months between October and December offer the best planting time.