Planting PNW Roses 2024

Choose an area with at least 6 hours of sunlight, good drainage, and no intruding roots from other plantings. Good air circulation at the site will minimize diseases like black spot, mildew, and rust. If existing drainage is poor, consider installing raised beds.

If you have purchased bare-root roses, they should be soaked overnight in water before planting. Any damaged roots should be removed, and all root ends should be snipped to promote hair root growth. If your rose is in a container and well-rooted, follow the instructions below – but try to keep the root ball intact.

You can plant your rose either in the ground or in a container. The hole should be about 2 ft in diameter and 2 feet deep.

This, roughly, corresponds to a 15 gal nursery container. If you plant the rose in a (large!) container, plan on repotting with fresh soil & amendments every 3 years.

The regular repotting is a “do-as-I-say” not a “do-as-I-do” bit of advice. However, the regular repotting of container roses is a common practice used by people who have achieved exceptional results with the roses they grow in containers.

After removing the soil from the hole, replace it with 1/3 garden soil, 1/3 organic materials (maybe Super-Doo, Prep, or Cedar Grove Compost) and 1/3 sand. If your garden soil is particularly bad, substitute a strong potting soil like Tagro potting soil.

For best results, add the following 1 cup amendments to the hole:

The most essential of all of the above amendments are the alfalfa meal & Super Phosphate.

If your soil has a low pH, be sure to add the lime. Having a low pH is the usual situation in our locale and roses like a pH of 7.5 on average.

• Form a mound of soil in the center of the hole and drape the plant over this mound with the bud graft at ground level.
• The roots should be spread out naturally.
• Gently back fill with soil while holding the plant upright.
• Firm the soil gently with your hands – not your foot.
• Water thoroughly. (Frank Herbert in Dune: “Water is life”)
• Mound soil over stems to 10 inches to conserve moisture.
• Remove the mounded soil in about 3 weeks time (or when danger of frost is past) with a gentle stream from your water hose.
• Replace the wire from the name tag with monofilament (fishing) line or better yet, put the nursery tag on a stake away from the canes.
• Don’t use commercial fertilizers on new bushes until after the first blooming period. They’re too harsh for these new & tender plants . . .