It may be obvious to state, but transplanting a rose bush requires that you first dig it up. Unlike planting a rose, which you will only take delivery of, during the appropriate time of year, transplanting a rose from one area of your garden to another is left to your own good judgement. You can dig up a rose, as indeed, you can dig up any plant, with the intention of transplanting it, but to maximise your chances of success, you would sensibly only attempt this task during the plant’s dormant season, sometime between late fall and mid spring.
The method I outline here is a lot of work, but it will give your rose its best chance of survival, should you need to move it mid season, for reasons that dictate it can’t be left until fall.
Roses, unlike some other plants, don’t form a thick tangle of a root system, so digging up a rose with the intention of keeping a root-ball of soil intact around its roots, will be difficult to achieve. But, whatever time of year you decide to lift your rose bush, it’s still worth attempting this.
If you really must move a rose during the growing season, I advise that you prepare for disappointment. But here’s the best way to do it.
You’ve selected the new location for your rose, and it meets the rose’s requirements:
• The location receives a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight each day.
• The pH value of the soil is between 6.0 and 6.9
• The soil has been enriched with garden compost or well rotted manure.
The evening before lifting (digging up) the rose you intend moving, water the soil around it thoroughly with a hose pipe, making sure that the soil is well saturated. Depending on how much lush growth is on the rose bush, you’ll probably have to prune it back somewhat, otherwise it may lose more water through its foliage than it can take up through its roots, causing it to flag and wilt. If you are in the middle of your summer and there’s a lot of new growth, then I’d be inclined to reduce it by half, at this stage.
It’s the evening of the following day now and the worst of the sun’s heat is over. Water the rose again; making sure that the soil around its roots is really well watered. Now dig your hole at the planting site. Doing this first, will mean that your rose is out of the ground for the shortest time possible. Obviously, the size of the hole will depend, to some degree, on the size of the rose you’re moving, but don’t simply dig a small hole thinking that you can squeeze the rose into it and it’ll be OK - it won’t!
Dig a hole large enough to accommodate the estimated size of the rose’s roots, leaving a gap of 3 inches between the roots and the rim of the hole, all round, and about 18 inches deep (again, this will depend on the size of the rose). This is an opportunity to run a hosepipe into this hole and allow it to soak the soil while you dig up the rose bush.
Now is the time to dig up your rose, using a spade not a garden fork. Hold the spade in such a way that the blade is vertical and kick the spade into the ground as deep as possible. Do this all the way around the bush. If the rose is 2 feet wide, dig down around the plant, about 14 inches away from the stem, as the spread of the bush will, to some extent, determine the spread of the root system below. This vertical cut will sever any roots beyond that initial 14 inches (you are going to have to sever roots but keep as many as possible intact). After having done this, dig a trench all around the rose in front of this vertical cut and finally try and dig under the rose to sever any remaining roots there.
If you’ve been successful, you should now have a rose with a substantial root-ball ready for transplanting. With the aid of an assistant, manoeuvre this root-ball onto a strong tarpaulin that will be used to carry your plant to its new home.
Sprinkle a little bone-meal over the bottom of the new planting hole and lightly fork it in. This is a good source of phosphorus to encourage the growth of new roots. The planting site should be deep enough for the rose to be transplanted to its original depth, adjust this as required. Gradually backfill the hole allowing the soil/compost/manure mixture to fall between the exposed roots and continue this until the soil is a couple of inches below its final height. Press the soil down firmly with the heel of your boot, and now play the hosepipe into the shallow trench that remains and soak the rose again. Fill in the remaining trench to the correct depth and level the soil around the plant.
The following evening check on the condition of the rose bush. It will probably need a drink again especially if you see the new growth flagging. If the growth isn’t flagging, simply keep an eye on it over the summer, and water as required.
This would be for me, a last resort time and method for transplanting any plant, but if it must be done and you’re determined to do the best for your rose, it really is hard work.
Keith Berwick is a rose growing enthusiast who has been growing roses both professionally and for pleasure for over 40 years and enjoys helping others to get started in this rewarding hobby. For more great information on transplanting roses, visit www.rosecaretoptips.com
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