When to plant roses in autumn

No wonder the rose is considered the queen of the garden, because even a couple of bushes can transform a flower bed, make it more luxurious and aristocratic. You can plant roses throughout the warm season (from April to October), but experienced gardeners recommend planting these flowers in the fall.

You can learn about when it is better to plant seedlings: in spring or autumn, as well as how to plant roses on your site correctly from this article.

Benefits of autumn planting

Many novice gardeners doubt whether it is possible to plant roses in the spring, or is it better to do this with the onset of autumn cold weather? There is no unequivocal answer to this question, you need to look at the condition and type of planting material, and also take into account the climatic features of the region, the weather and the rose variety.

It is believed that flowers, seedlings of which are sold in containers, are best planted in warm weather – from May to July. Such cuttings have a weak root system, so roses may not survive the winter. Those seedlings that at the time of purchase have bare, well-developed roots can be planted in the ground in late autumn or spring, as soon as severe frosts end.

Autumn planting is usually feared, as it is believed that newly planted roses will not have time to take root and will freeze out with the first frost. But it doesn’t: practice has shown that autumn is a great time for the reproduction of these flowers.

It turns out, autumn planting of roses is even preferable to spring planting for the following reasons:

1. When seedlings are planted in autumn, they take root before the onset of winter, so in spring the flowers immediately begin to grow. As a result, autumn roses bloom earlier than cuttings planted in spring.
2. In September and October, the air humidity is slightly higher than in spring. This has a good effect on flower seedlings, they take root faster in a new place.
3. Autumn rains are more abundant and more frequent than spring ones, the soil is moistened, the seedlings do not have to be watered regularly.
4. The land after the summer is well warmed up, the soil temperature is stable, there is no threat of return frosts (as is often the case in spring).

Another advantage of the autumn planting of roses is a wide range of planting material (cuttings and seedlings) that appears in nurseries at this particular time of the year.

How to plant roses in autumn

A lot of videos have been shot about the correct planting of roses in autumn, because every housewife dreams of growing these flowers in her garden. By themselves, roses are not whimsical at all, they do not need complex care and the constant attention of a gardener. Growing rose bushes is not difficult, the biggest difficulty is planting seedlings.

Flowers grown according to all the rules will delight the eye throughout the warm season, but for this, roses need to create the best conditions.

Where to plant roses

Planting roses in the fall is not much more difficult than planting asters or planting petunias. The whole process can be conditionally divided into several stages, and the first of them will be the choice of a place for the future rose garden.

Rose bushes are very whimsical to their habitat, the best place for them would be:

• openwork penumbra created by decorative lattices, arches, curly flowers;
• elevated area on the south side of the garden;
• roses prefer neutral soil, so acidic soil should be diluted with lime, and high-moor peat should be added to alkaline soil;
• groundwater should pass lower than one meter from the surface of the earth, and in the spring, melt water should not stagnate in the flower bed;
• the scorching rays of the summer sun are contraindicated for roses, because of this the flowers burn out, they are attacked by a spider mite;
• draft and dampness are the enemies of the rose, in such conditions the plant will get sick and quickly disappear.

Do not forget that stagnant moisture is detrimental to rose bushes. Therefore, if the soil in the garden is dense, you need to additionally take care of deep drainage.

Selection of seedlings

A good and beautiful rose can only grow from a healthy and viable seedling. Therefore, the purchase of planting material should be taken seriously:

• rose seedlings with an open root system are preferred so that the gardener can assess the condition of the roots;
• a strong seedling has at least three shoots and a lignified stem;
• the root of the seedling should be well developed, have white sections without rot and pests;
• the shoots of a healthy rose have a glossy surface of a rich green color, the thorns on the stems are also shiny;
• leaflets (if any) should be clean and even, without suspicious stains and damage.

Landing site preparation

The video, which can be found at the end of the article, shows in detail how to plant roses in the fall. An important step in the whole process is the preparation of the pit and the soil in it before the upcoming planting of a pink seedling.

You need to prepare the pit immediately before planting. If the holes were dug in advance, and the planting of roses itself was postponed due to the weather, for example, you need to refresh the ground a little – dig up the walls and bottom of the hole.

If it is windy outside, it is raining heavily, or, conversely, the weather is hot in Indian summer, it is better to postpone the planting of seedlings. So that the roses do not disappear, their roots are wrapped in wet burlap and plastic wrap, the seedlings themselves are lowered into the basement.

The dimensions of the pit should correspond to the root system of the seedling. It must be borne in mind that the rose in the garden should be deeper than it grew in the nursery – the grafting site is five centimeters below ground level.

The distance between adjacent bushes or other large plants should be about a meter – so the roses will have enough light and air.

The land for these perennial flowers needs fertile, loose, sufficiently moist. If the thickness of the fertile layer in the dug hole is less than 40 cm, the soil must be additionally fertilized. Compost or humus is suitable as a fertilizer for roses; you cannot use fresh organic matter in the fall – the roots of the flowers will simply burn out.

The dug soil is mixed with fertilizers, sprinkled on top with a small layer of ordinary earth – the pit is ready for planting roses.

Rules for planting roses in autumn

Details on how to plant roses in a prepared hole are described in this video:

Briefly, the whole landing process can be described in several points:

1. At the bottom of the pit, a small mound of ordinary earth is poured.
2. The soil is abundantly watered with one or two buckets of water (depending on the degree of soil moisture).
3. Planting cuttings are prepared: they cut the tops of the shoots, remove the leaves (if any), shorten the roots a little. Previously, rose seedlings are soaked for a day in ordinary cold water.
4. A seedling with shortened roots is placed on an earthen mound so that all the roots fit and do not bend up. Level the roots and carefully sprinkle the seedling with earth.

   

5. Seedlings need to be buried 5-10 cm below the graft so that they can better endure the winter. The soil around the bush is well compacted so that the roots do not end up in the air.
6. From above, a rose bush must be sprinkled with a 15-20 cm tubercle of earth, which will prevent the seedling from freezing. You can mulch the bush with sawdust, mowed dry grass or cover it with spruce branches.

Results

Autumn planting of rose bushes has a lot of advantages, and the main one is a high survival rate of such seedlings. If the roses are planted in accordance with the recommendations from this article and the video instructions, they will not be afraid of frost, shoots will appear on the bushes in the spring and the flowers will quickly grow.

You can learn more about planting prickly beauties from this video: