Chapter 3 - Planting Roses

The great variety of Roses is much to be admired, being more than is to be seen in any other shrubby plant that I know, both for color, form and smell. I have to furnish this garden thirty sorts at the least, every one notably differing from the other, and all fit to be here entertained...JOHN PARKINSON, 1629

Preparations for planting

In planting roses one must realize that a plant taken out of the soil in which it has grown is in the nature of a hospital case. Virtually, as soon as a plant is lifted, and the roots exposed to air, it begins to die in the same way as a fish taken out of water. There is a certain lapse of time in both cases before death takes place. The fish would probably suffer no ill effects if put back after a few minutes, but a longer time might mean its death. It is the same with our roses, except that the time involved is much longer. Accordingly, if we want our roses to get over the shock of having their roots broken and dried, we must do all we can to get the plants going again on their task of forming new roots.

If the plants are received from the nursery in November, on unpacking the bundles it will be found that the plants have a considerable amount of foliage and perhaps some buds and blooms. There is no hope whatever of trying to save either, and if the bushes are planted as received the foliage will shrivel and so also will the stems of the plants. In these conditions the bushes make a slow recovery. If, however, the roses are treated in the following manner they will settle in more quickly and recover sooner from the shock of being dug up and transplanted.

On taking the bushes from their packing material, each one should be examined carefully. The snag, if it happens to be present, should be cut off with a sharp pair of secateurs. The snag is the top of the briar stock which extends beyond the point where the rose joins the stock. The removal of this will give the cut surface an opportunity of healing over, as it could not do if a dead piece of wood was present. Many of the nurserymen do this before the plants are sent out, but some, I am afraid, are not so particular. The foliage should then be cut off; do not tear it off, but just cut off the five leaves, leaving the leafstalk on the plant. After this, shorten back the ends of the longer shoots, including those that have recently borne flowers or have buds. The roots of the plants should now receive attention. Shorten the longest back to about a foot in length and trim the ends of any that may be damaged. A sharp knife is the best tool for the roots, but secateurs would do if they cut without bruising. The trees are now ready for planting; before doing this it would be very beneficial to let them soak in water for twenty-four hours. However, do not do this if it means missing an opportunity of planting in good weather.

Standard roses should receive the same treatment as the others, but extra care should be taken to see that the snag at the top of the stem is cut very closely. If the stem is thick and therefore difficult to cut with secateurs, a fine saw should be used, and the cut afterwards pared with a knife. This is a very important matter and the life of the standard is very often determined by the healing-over process which takes place after the cut has been properly made.

There are two kinds of wild stock used for standard roses, the common hedgerow briar and the rugosa. Of the two the briar is to be preferred if the stem used was young and lusty, but I am afraid many of those pressed into service are anything but that. The difficulty of obtaining suitable stems has given rise to the popular use of the rugosa for the purpose, and, given the correct treatment, it can be just as good as the briar. Where there have been failures with roses budded on this stock it has been due, in most instances, to the planting. The rugosa is a very fibrous-rooted stock and prefers a medium to light soil; it also dislikes a soil with a high lime content, and so should be avoided if the soil is of a chalky nature. If the root system of one of these plants is examined it will be found that the roots are more or less in tiers, making planting in heavy soil a very difficult matter. In its wild state this stock is a semi-woodland plant and its habit is to send out underground shoots just below the surface of the soil. This gives us a clue to its requirements, and its dislike of deep planting.

When planting standards budded on rugosa stock, the top tier of roots should be cut out entirely and those in the next tier shortened back to about two inches, leaving the basal roots in their entirety. It will now be possible, not only to plant the rose more shallowly but also to make the job an easier one. It will also be found that there is a kink in the stem just above the roots and, because this is considered unsightly, it is often covered when planting. This is a sure indication that the tree is planted about three inches too deep; it will also give rise to persistent suckering, the reason for which will be discussed in the chapter on rose stocks.

Planting

Now we come to the actual planting. Let us take as an example a bed five or six feet wide and nine feet six inches long, or twelve feet long if the six-foot width is preferred. Having raked the soil level, peg the bed out with some short pieces of stick to indicate where all the plants are to go. The pegs should be one foot from the edge of the bed and either eighteen inches or two feet apart each way, according to whether the smaller or larger bed is used. Then take the kitchen poker or something similar, also a stick cut out of the hedge which has a fork (see photograph on page 26). One of the prongs should be pointed and should be about four inches long, the other should be cut off to about an inch and a half.

If the bushes to be planted are mixed varieties, see that the tallest and most vigorous are allotted to the centre of the bed. Should the weather be dry, protect the roots of the plants by covering them with a wet sack. By doing this more time and care can be given to the planting without the plants suffering.

Beginning at the top left-hand corner, take out the peg and drive the poker in, in its place, and with the back of the spade touching it, cut the soil so that behind the poker it is undisturbed. Then proceed to dig a hole about a foot square, removing the soil to the far end of the bed. The hole to receive the roots of the bushes should be about three or four inches deep near the poker, sloping gradually to about six inches. An examination of the bush will show that all the roots tend to run in one direction, owing to the method employed in the nurseries for planting the briar stocks. It is very important in planting to ensure that bushes are not planted any deeper than they were in the nursery. This is why the soil level at the back of the hole is undisturbed.

Having trodden the soil in the hole fairly firmly (if the soil is heavy very little of this will be necessary), with the bush in the left hand and the pronged stick in the other, place the bush in the hole. The stock will be about one inch below the soil level, but it will afterwards be found that by the time the bed settles down the bushes will be just about right. Now peg the tree down with the pronged stick just by the collar. The pressure on the roots will then enable the planter to spread the roots well out in the planting position. Now take a little soil from the planting place next to it which will be in the centre, and cover the roots with an inch or so of soil, tread it down and remove the prong and poker. Proceed right through the bed in the same way. When the first three bushes are planted it is advisable to make the soil level so that all the roses will be planted at the same depth. When planting the fourth bush, unless you are ambidextrous, go over again to the left-hand side and pass the soil over to fill the hole of the third bush. Of course, if you have an assistant who is willing to undertake the often cold and thankless task of holding the bushes in position, while you keep warm with the spade, the prong could be dispensed with, but it is the only satisfactory means of planting roses single-handed.

Staking of standard roses

One very rarely sees standard roses staked in a neat and tidy manner. More often than not, staking is not carried out at all until the trees are waving about in the late autumn gales and then any piece of wood that comes to hand is pushed into the soil some inches from the tree for fear of damaging the roots, the whole presenting a sorry sight. To make a really good job it is necessary to use a straight stake of ash or oak, about six inches longer than the stem of the rose. Put the stake in position and then plant the rose close to it. A piece of sacking or similar material is then bound round the main stem and tied neatly with tarred string. The top of the stake should come just below the head of the tree. If the stem is not quite straight, one or two more ties will straighten the stem and improve the appearance of the rose.

It would seem that there is some objection to the use of iron for staking, as it is thought that the cold metal would have an injurious effect on the trees. For very many years I have used iron stakes, and so far I have never observed any ill effects from their use. The kind I like best are small angle-stakes, as the stem of the rose fits snugly into them, and there is no movement even in the strongest wind. Old water piping can also be used, but it is advisable to place the rose on the east side of the stake so that the westerly gales do not blow the rose round the stake. For weeping standards I like to see angle-stakes that are used for fencing, as they are much stronger and are able to support the very heavy heads which these roses are apt to make.

After the planting is finished the bed should have a layer of manure spread over its surface. Here again there are a number of growers who insist that the practice of putting manure on the beds in the autumn is bad, the objection being that it prevents the beneficial effects of the frost on the soil. My answer to that is, that it is a matter of opinion whether frosts are beneficial, considering that nature does her utmost to ensure that the soil is always covered by herbage, decayed or otherwise. Then there is the fact that the worm population in the soil is more active in the autumn and winter, than at any other time. Accordingly, if the application of the manure is left until the spring the time is lessened considerably for them to do their useful work. In any case, if one has the manure it is far better to put it in a position where the fertilizing matter will be washed into the soil, than to leave it deteriorating in a heap.

Time of planting

Although the period for planting roses is a fairly long one, about October until April, provided the soil conditions are right there is no time as good as the last week in October and the first week of November. At this time the soil has not lost all its summer warmth and newly-planted roses should begin to establish themselves quickly. One other thing of some importance is that roses obtained early in autumn from the nursery are not only in most instances the best plants and have not been hanging about, but are lifted and sent off straight away. In consequence they only experience one check, whereas those purchased later on may have been lifted and laid-in until sold, which means two checks. I do not want to give the impression that roses planted at any other time than the autumn are very much inferior; quite the contrary, as I have seen many instances where spring-planted roses have been superior to those planted in November, owing to bad weather conditions at planting time in the autumn, or severe winter conditions. I do advise, and I am quite emphatic about this, that should one miss the best autumn planting weather, the plants should not be put in, but a trench should be opened in the driest part of the garden and the plant roots laid-in, covered with soil and firmed. The bushes can be placed quite close together. In this manner they can be left until weather conditions are more favorable for planting.

Growing other flowers among roses

Although this is not a practice I should recommend in a general way, it must be realized that in many gardens it is a problem to find room for all the plants one would wish to grow, and it usually means that some plants encroach on the domain of others. This brings up the question—is it harmful to roses to have other plants growing in the same bed?

The answer to this depends to a great extent on whether the roses are given a fair amount of room, and also whether the beds are in grass or stone paving. Where rose bushes are not less than two and a half feet apart other plants could be grown; in the same way, plants could be grown near the edges of the beds where stone paving is used. This would not be possible where there was a grass surround.

Care should be exercised where the roses are newly planted, since competition from the roots of other plants would seriously impair the chances of the bushes getting established. The great thing is to ensure that before other plants are introduced there will be adequate food for both.

Of plants which can be introduced into the rose beds that can be relied upon to do the minimum of harm to the roses, bulbous flowers must come first. These will be in bloom before the roses have had time to make much growth. I think the early flowering tulips would be the best choice, for the Darwins coming as they do at a warmer period, are very susceptible to greenfly which would transfer their attentions to the roses. Then anemones could also be used and would find the rich soil of a rose bed much to their liking.

Of all the plants that may be grown in company with roses, violas and pansies would be my first choice. The colors are never obtrusive and varieties can be selected to conform to any color scheme that may be desired.

It would be very unwise to attempt to grow perennial plants, for whatever is grown should be cleared from the beds during the autumn so that the necessary cultivation such as renewal of top soil or the forking in of manure, can be carried out.

If some of the dwarf annuals are desired, especially those that do not transplant successfully, a good method which I always employ is to place a few short pieces of stick where the plants are to grow and then to sow a few seeds close to the stick. When the seedlings are up and large enough to handle, they can be thinned out to one or two plants. The distance between the sticks would be governed by the plants used, but they should never be closer than nine inches.

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