Moving roses

[kirsty b]

Hi all,
got a quick question. When is it too late to move roses? I have several rosbushes in my front garden but I am planning to move them to make way for a herb wheel that I plan to put on the larger half of the garden.

I have been incredibly lazy out there over the winter cos frankly I haven't wanted to get wet, muddy and cold. Also is it too late to give them a prune?

Kirsty

[smallblueplanet]

I presume the best time to move them is whilst they're dormant. Its not too late to prune, the OH has done some of ours and not others - there might be a rhyme or reason? Anyway the option to not trying to move the rose is what?

I think the only thing is you're not supposed to plant roses where there used to be a rose grown before.

[moggssue]

I would think that now is quite a good time to move them, while they're dormant but about to start growing. Mine will get pruned in another two weeks or so, always worked well for me at that time of year despite what the books might say! And no, you shouldn't plant a rose where one has just come from, apparently they can catch diseases that way?!

[kirsty b]

They should be fine then. No roses have been grown before where these are going to go. Once they are in I'm going to underplant them with herbs and spring 7 summer bulbs. Don't like to see Bare soil so will also be looking therough my books to find some evergreen ground cover plants.

THanks for the tips.

[smallblueplanet]

Roses and chamomile go well together, companion planting wise I believe.

[Snadger]

When my daughter was young she fell on some freshly pruned roses and cut herself rather badly! In a fit of rage I dug the whole lot up and swore not to grow them again! The other thing that I don't like about them is that for 4 or 5 months of of the year they have no decorative value and are just a pile of sharp dried up sticks in the flowerbeds.

This all happened 20 years ago and I have mellowed a bit now (takes me a long time to calm down when annoyed!) so now I have a scented Zephrin Droughin as a climber and I CAN understand what people see in them!

[Alice]

It might not be conventional wisdom KirstyB, but I don't go for the transplant while dormant bit. Or the plant in Autumn bit - but that might be about local conditions. Conventional wisdom would say you could move your roses now, but I wouldn't move mine. I would wait until I saw them growing and move them then - but as I said, local conditions.

[kirsty b]

Some of them have new leaf burst, so they are no longer dormant? Not moving them till the weekend because then I can get some toprose and compost (for the hole) and give them their feed at the same time.

[nick the grief]

When my daughter was young she fell on some freshly pruned roses and cut herself rather badly! In a fit of rage I dug the whole lot up and swore not to grow them again! The other thing that I don't like about them is that for 4 or 5 months of of the year they have no decorative value and are just a pile of sharp dried up sticks in the flowerbeds.

Your not my wife are you snadger ... she says the same thing

This all happened 20 years ago and I have mellowed a bit now (takes me a long time to calm down when annoyed!) so now I have a scented Zephrin Droughin as a climber and I CAN understand what people see in them!

Try getting hold of Kathleen Harrop - it's a pale pink sport of Zepherine Droughin and is just as nice.

My favourite is Ferdinand Pichard but is like Green razor wire so I'm going to move it to the lottie and grow over the shed

[smallblueplanet]

...My favourite is Ferdinand Pichard but is like Green razor wire so I'm going to move it to the lottie and grow over the shed

Just bought one of these from Aldi - £1.29. They had some other gallicas too, but no more room....

On the D Austin site it says 4'x4' - are you saying its a climber NTG?

[nick the grief]

Just bought one of these from Aldi - £1.29. They had some other gallicas too, but no more room....

On the D Austin site it says 4'x4' - are you saying its a climber NTG?

Strictly speaking no it's not SBP, but if you let it go rampant it will get up to about 6ft OK. Funnily enough I've just treated myself to some more roses ... don't tell Mrs G though - she hates them