Ensure good year for roses
Roses can die when their roots are not kept moist during and after transplanting.
Any roses not bagged up or in containers (called bare-rooted and often purchased out of displays with roots in wet sawdust), submerge their roots into a bucket of water as soon as possible.
Leave them in the bucket for a day and then plant. If not ready to plant then, heel them into a patch of garden where the soil is moist to wet.
For roses in a bag or container, ensure the mix is kept moist until planting. It is fatal if the roots dry out for any length of time.
There may be sufficient sap in a bought dead-rooted plant to produce some growth, but it won’t be sustained.
If new roses or fruit trees bloom and die, it can mean the tree was already dead at purchase because the roots had been allowed to dry out after lifting. Take them back for replacement.
An old nurseryman’s tip to rescue dying roses is to soak the plant for a day in a tub of water before burying it deep with just the tips of the canes showing above ground.
When planting a rose, fruit tree or berry cane, fill the hole with water and wait until most of it drains away (don’t do this if the water table is high). Even if the topsoil is moist, the subsoil may be dry, and the soil around the roots needs to be nice and wet.
To assist growth, put sheep manure pellets and or Bio Boost, a good sprinkling of Rok Solid, a little BioPhos and some Wallys Neem tree Powder into the planting hole.
For the first year in its new location, the rose must have adequate root zone moisture. A new rose will need about a bucket of water a day during drought times or when the soil moisture level is low. Cut the bottom off a plastic cordial bottle and insert the bottle neck into the soil above the root zone to keep roots watered when the topsoil is dry.
Be aware new roses have not been pruned, they have been cut back to make transporting easier, so 4-6 weeks after planting do a final pruning.
In the garden
When pruning or opening up a dormant fruit or ornamental deciduous tree, stick the removed branches in the ground and later on they will flower, as there is sufficient sap to open the dormant buds. Even better, put them into a bucket of water.
To prevent disease, spray the plant and surrounding soil with potassium permanganate at a quarter teaspoon per litre of water with 1ml of Raingard added to each litre. This also deals to black spot and to curly leaf in stone fruit. Make this part of a monthly preventative spray programme.
At the first sign of aphids, spray with Wallys Super Neem Tree Oil mixed with Key Pyrethrum. Repeat when new aphids come along.