I think I'm doing this wrong...

Moved into a new house recently (the house was vacant for several years before we moved in so gardens completely neglected). There was a rose bush, still in its original pot, that had been dumped on top of a container used to screen bins, and left in an almost entirely shaded spot for at least five years.

"Right", thought I. "Let's give this rose some TLC and see if we can bring it back to life and give us some beautiful flowers this year!"

So I very carefully cut it from its pot (although a few of the roots had grown out of the bottom drainage holes and had burrowed down right through the wood of the planter, so I couldn't rescue them) and put it into a big new pot in fresh compost in a nice sunny position, with some Empathy After Plant Rose Food around the roots. I then gave it a bit of a prune (not too much) to take off all of the dead bits of stems. I didn't take too much and some of the leaves were left. I gave it a good water.

It has been a couple of weeks now and the leaves have shrivelled up and it's not looking happy! I'm wondering whether I've pruned it too much at the wrong time of year (although I only really took off the dead bits and about 1/4 of one stem that was really long and unruly, nothing more), or if I've upset it because of the damage to the roots in getting it out of the planter (the pot was easy to cut from around it though so didn't do any further damage there), whether it's in a sensible position (sheltered, gets sun most of the day, but it's not been too hot since it was moved to its new spot), or if the pot itself is the problem (it's big but it's one of those 'self-watering' things that collect the water at the bottom (instinctively this doesn't seem right to me - aren't they meant to get plenty of drainage? Surely it isn't good to have the bottom of the compost sitting in moisture all of the time?). I also gave it one extra feed of Rose Focus in case it needed extra nutrients (I did this after the leaves had shrivelled so the damage had already been done) but I don't know if that has helped or hindered either. The rose isn't buried too deeply in the pot and there is plenty of room all the way around for its roots to spread.

I potter in the garden frequently so am keeping an eye to make sure the soil is moist but not waterlogged and after the heavy rain here the past few days I've even carefully wiggled a blunt kebab skewer in places to make sure the compost is nicely aerated.

I'm not sure where I'm going wrong. I have three other (bigger) rose bushes planted in really silly places in what was once flower beds (windy, no sun, heavy clay waterlogged soil, been abandoned for around five years). I was hoping to dig them up and pot them in large containers and bring them into a better spot, or failing that temporarily pot them so I can clear the garden and dig up the flower beds, starting from scratch with all new compost, fertiliser, etc. Is it the wrong time of year to do that? Given that my first rose re-pot isn't going so well should I give up now and leave everything alone??

Thank you for any advice you may have!

 

2 weeks is no time at all...give it 2 months and see it pick up.

 

Ah, ok thanks. I was worried I'd killed it!

Should I brave moving the others yet or leave them until later in the year? I figured if I do it now it'll give it time to pick up a bit (and the Rootgrow to do its job while it's warm) before it gets cold again... or do I wait until the plant is actually dormant? Sorry, this is all new to me.

 

I don`t know @wiseowl will though.

 

The rose is probably suffering from shock! TLC is not what it's used to. It will probably put it's roots down and you will be surprised by the end of the summer; keep it well watered and next year it will probably reward you amply.

 

Thank you. I'm finding myself getting surprisingly attached to my new garden and its inhabitants so I'd hate to actually cause them any harm.

 

Roses are best moved when they are dormant, late Autumn through Winter. If the roses are stopping progress with your garden they can be moved now but don't expect to much from them this year. Don't forget to keep them watered until they re-establish themselves and if you use a fertiliser around their roots mix it in with some soil so it doesn't burn them.

 

Thanks, that's really helpful advice, Sheal. I didn't realise the fertiliser could cause damage like that. I did give it a mix when I was repotting it but I think I might give it an extra one tomorrow to be on the safe side!

I'll see if I can work around the roses then for now.

 

You're welcome. Any fertiliser that isn't water based or watered in should be mixed with soil when used around the roots of any plant not just roses.

 

Thank you again for the confidence boost. When I wrote my first post I really thought I'd killed my roses, but I'm happy to report that they're doing really well!

The TLC seems to have paid off because I've been treated to a sudden flourish of new leaves and growth over the past few days. I'm absolutely over the moon and really excited to see if we get some flowers over the summer!

Thanks again!

 

I'm glad to hear they are doing well. If the weather is mild they could produce a few flowers right through until the end of the year but it looks as if you may see some sooner rather than later.

 

Thank you, I hope so. These were totally bare stems just a week ago! It's got a long way to go but it's a good start.