Bare root roses, what should I expect

I have a Euatacia Vye in a big half barrel. Planted it June last year. I can't believe how well it has done. I hope this doesn't grow behind it's limits either

 

Looking very good actually, plenty of room in that pot.

 

I grow all my roses in big pots and they are all doing well. A bit of extra care is needed but good soil and plenty of food and water and they are happy and beautiful.

 

Sorry to bring this post back to life. I thought I'd share some photos and see what you think

So - the first one is a sheltered isle, planted bare root last autumn. It threw out a few blooms, but doesn't appear the healthiest compared to pictures 2&3 (gentle Hermione and generous gardener). These seem to have really flourished - both sending strong new stems up from the ground with lots of healthy looking growth. These were both planted early spring, bare root.

The soil is the same, the feed and watering and improvements are the same. Used mycorrhizal fungi the same etc.. Why such a difference? Or is my sceptered isle more of what you expect from a year 1 rose, and the others have just done much better?

Love to hear your opinions

 

Hi,

I think it's a combination of things. The Generous Gardener is a vigorous climber and Gentle Hermione is a large shrub, more so than Scepter'd Isle, so I'm not surprised that the growth is not as fast. Different roses grow at different rates anyway e.g. my Emily Bronte took a while to establish itself -and that's normal for her - whereas The Country Parson was a little rocket.

Having said that, there are some yellow leaves which could indicate a bit of disease or that it's not fully happy with something. I would remove the yellow leaves to promote new growth and keep an eye on it. The top part of the plant looks very healthy and overall I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

@Nickoslesteros , do you remember what your bare root Sceptered Isle looked like on receipt?
Good bare roots from DA should have at least 3 -4 strong, healthy canes and a long, healthy looking root system.
I have sometimes found some rose purchases look less robust than others (and am too lazy to return them) . They take longer to establish and can look a bit ropey in their first year.

Some rose enthusiasts on the old GW rose thread were advocating used tea leaves (sans bags)
as a mulch around rose stems to ward off insect attacks instead of spraying. If I remember rightly, the theory was that the rose takes up the tannin ? from the tea leaves which the insects apparently don't like the taste of so leave the roses along. I tried it all last year and didn't seem to have many problems. Unfortunately it doesn't cure black spot as well!
Warning - it is a bit tedious collecting used tea bags, waiting till they are dry then tearing the bags open. On the other hand, it's recycling at its finest.

 

@CostasK I've removed those leaves, thanks for that. Hopefully it will look better in a few weeks

@lizzie27 I can't remember what that rose looked like, but I do remember some looking weedier than others. I do recall generous gardener had roots like a tree!! All of my bare roots had 3 canes as a minimum. I also got 3 Susan William Ellis. They look perfectly healthy - in fact pristine, just small. Maybe they will kick in to growth in their second proper year.

 

Sorry to bring this back to life, but better than create a new thread. I have updated with a photo of one of the Susan William Ellis at one year old.

Wondering if I should move it to see it it fares better anywhere else? I guess now is almost the time to do it.

 

Meant to add - before I took the photo I had cut away a bit of die back..

 

I thought I could see a few Black Spots on the leaves on the leaves of the sickly one. You may well lose that bush, Black Spot is the scourge of roses. Removing and burning every leaf affected, especially from the surrounding ground and starting spraying against it very early in the year helps.

 

It is actually extremely rare for blackspot to kill a rose (it would need to be extremely weakened, over a prolonged period of time). I hate it, but sadly you probably have to make peace with a little bit of blackspot and focus on keeping it under control, rather than spray heavy chemicals systematically. It is just bor worth obsessing over a little bit of blackspot, if you keep it under control. The key is to make sure there is good nutrition (especially after it's has a flush of blooms and it needs to make up the nutrients), good watering (and never in the evening, always at the base) and airflow. Then you should be removing infected leaves and if the situation is getting out of hand, then consider spraying (in the evening so as not to affect pollinators as much).

As for this rose specifically, when was it planted? It doesn't look amazing but if it's getting enough sun I wouldn't rush to move it. I do think it's crying out for plenty of well rotted manure on top of the soil and I would consider pruning the plants around it to improve airflow, if the area is congested (though it doesn't seem like it in the photo).

 

On this particular one there isn't really any black spot - though others have suffered. I am wondering if this endless rain and damp weather has had anything to do with that.

This particular rose (in fact a couple) just seen stunted. Wondering if its worth asking DA for a refund, as I believe I have done everything as they suggest.

Or I am impatient. Could well be this!

 

I think there might be an element of this if I'm honest (being impatient) though I do get it..

Susan William Ellis is said to have a rather untidy growing habit versus being very bushy and well rounded. As someone else has pointed out, it should probably have been planted a little bit deeper, but I think the best way to address this while also giving the plant more nutrition would be to add plenty of well rotted manure, instead of disrupting the roots. That is unless the spot is not great for a rose e.g. it's not getting enough sun.

P.S. I LOVE David Austin roses..

 

Roses are best moved when in winter dormancy. It's normal to feed them three times a year, the first being late winter/early spring, the last around the end of July. Roses need time to slowly shut down before winter so feeding them late will create stress. I'd leave this rose where it is for another year and see how it performs next season. It normally takes roses two to three years to establish and moving it now would not help it at all. Don't feed it now but surround it with manure come late February. Roses prefer approximately six hours of sunshine a day (when we see it) but will be happy with three.