With their promise of vibrant, fragrant blooms from spring to autumn, planting bare-root roses is an easy way to make certain your garden is a success whether you are just starting out or your thumb is as green as lush grass. Roses whether a hybrid tea, floribunda, or climber, these plants, adapt quickly to new environments allowing them to produce an abundance of green growth and stunning flowers.

Our comprehensive guide will walk you through the necessary steps and tips to successfully plant bare-root roses and, guaranteeing you a thriving garden.

Learn how to successfully plant bare-root roses with our 7 steps to successful planting including plant care and soil requirements

What are Bare-Root Roses

Bare-root plants are dormant and soil free making them easy to handle and a quick way to start or expand your garden. They are available during late autumn to early spring. They should be planted after the dangers of the last frost are gone when the soil is not too cold, waterlogged or too dry.

Bare-root roses are a great way to add to gardens as they have many benefits. They are cheaper than potted pots as there is no soil or pot involved. Grown in the ground for a couple of years, they are more developed with an advanced root system which enables them to adapt to their new home quickly.

Types of Bare-root Roses

Roses come in many sizes, shapes and colours. While roses are loved for their perfume, not all are scented so if perfume is important for your love of roses, check for scent before making a final selection.

As well as the familiar hybrid tea roses, there are floribundas, which have clusters of smaller flowers; climbing roses, rugosa roses and many old-fashioned species and cultivars. Some of these old-fashioned roses are only spring flowering.

Roses come in an endless range of colours so why not pick a few and add a rainbow to your garden. Look at white, yellow, pink, orange, red, lavender, plum purple, burgundy, and everything in between. Some blooms are available in bicolored or multicoloured.

When considering a bare-root rose, look online at specific rose nurseries who specialise in growing roses or visit your local hardware or garden centre who have horticultural staff available to give you tips on planting and growing bare-root plants in your location.

Before you Plant

Before you start looking for the species you want to plant, the first step is to make sure you have the proper location for your rose or roses. Make sure that your rose bush will not be competing with any other plants, giving them plenty of room to thrive.

Roses need at least four to six hours of sunlight daily. As long as the climate is not too hot they can handle more than six, but you want to position them for shaded afternoons if you live in a hotter climate.

In a perfect world, you will want to plant your rose(s) within 24 hours of receiving it, but if that is not possible there are steps you can take to ensure your rose survives while you wait. Bare-root roses are shipped with their roots packed in damp shavings, peat moss or hay and then wrapped in plastic.

Once in your care, unwrap your roots and check if they are still moist. Rose roots that seem to be even slightly dry will need to be soaked in a bucket of Seasol (mix 40mL of concentrate per 9 litres of water) and water immediately. After fully saturating your roots, repack the tree with the same materials it came with. If those materials are no longer usable, anything from soaked wood chips to newspaper will suffice.

Make sure once you have either checked on and approved your root’s moisture level, or soaked them, that the tree stays in a cool place until you are ready to plant. Once you are prepared to plant, remove the roots from their protection, and inspect and prune back any roots that are broken, dead, or diseased.

It’s Planting Time!

Follow the steps below and purchase the recommended products to ensure your garden is set up for success.

Step 1 – Dig the Hole

Remove your bare-root rose from its packaging as described above and soak the plant’s root system in a bucket of Seasol while preparing the hole. This will help to reduce transplant shock.
Remove any weeds from the area you are planting your bush(es) in.
Dig a hole thirty to forty-five centimetres deep and forty-five to sixty centimetres wide depending on the size of your bare-root rose.
Make sure the soil is cultivated well as roses need loose soil to grow successfully.
Improve the soil by adding home-made compost and organic matter and/or Seasol Super Compost. Dig it in well to revitalise soil and plant health.

Step 2 – Place the Rose Bush

Start by adding a small amount of topsoil mixed with Seasol Plant + Soil Booster to the bottom of the hole to allow your roots the greatest chance of survival.
Mound the amended soil into a cone shape in the middle of the hole and drape your roots evenly on the mound.
Trim back any roots that are too long as overlong roots are inefficient.
Bare-root roses have a graft union. In warmer climates, it is imperative that you plant your roses with the graft union above the soil.
Remove your tree from the bucket of Seasol and place it into the hole just deep enough that the trunk flare is surface level.

Step 3 – Backfill the Hole

Once your rose bush is in place begin filling the hole with dirt incorporated with Seasol Plant + Soil Booster making sure that there are no air pockets around the roots
Continue to fill the hole with soil mixed with Seasol Plant + Soil Booster, lightly tamping it down to not pack the soil too tightly until the soil is surface level.
Create a ridge of soil around your filled hole.
Water well with the Seasol in the bucket and allow ample soaking time.
Apply a three to five centimetre layer of mulch around your rose bush.

Step 4 – Stake standard roses

If planting a standard rose it will need to be staked with a stake close to the main stem.
Drive the stakes into the ground behind the main stem watching not to damage their root system.
Tie a soft material or padded wire between the stake and the main stem at intervals up the main stem to make sure it’s secure.
Leave some slack around the standard rose to allow for growth.

Step 5 – Early Maintenance

Once planted, trim any cane that is longer than fifteen to twenty centimetres. Canes must be on the shorter side when first planted to direct the plant’s energy to the roots to maintain growth.
Water your rose bush every other day if it does not rain until you see new growth.
Add a three to five centimetre thick layer of mulch around the tree making sure it is not touching the main stem.
Water the rose weekly with Seasol over the next season.

Step 6 – Regular maintenance

Apply Seasol regularly every fortnight throughout the year to boost plant health and a strong root system.
Check for weeds growing underneath and around the bush and remove them.
As roses starts to grow, they will need to be fed with a balanced nutrient fertiliser (food) such as PowerFeed PRO SERIES for Roses & Flowers. This specific plant food gives roses all the nutrients they need for a long season of beautiful blooms.
Ensure the rose is receiving enough moisture and water as needed. A long watering, less often will force roots deep looking for water and nutrients.
Top up mulch as needed each season to keep the soil warm in winter and cool in summer.

Step 7 – Look out for

Check regularly for pests and fungal diseases that can affect your rose bush such as aphids or thrip or black spot and treat them with the appropriate organic or horticultural oil such as EarthCare White Oil Insect Spray.
Prune your rose every year depending on its requirements, this could be for shape or to remove dead and diseased foliage or to get better flower production.
Inspect the soil at the base of the rose and each season improve soil health by applying Seasol Plant + Soil Booster or Seasol Super Compost.
Check out our rose guide for more tips and information.