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Bare root rose wrapped in compost?

ElizaRoseElizaRose Posts: 121
in Plants
Hi all,

i bought theses really cheap roses. I have bought one before and the stems are coated in wax and the roots are wrapped in a type of soil. With the one I bought last year, I left the wax coating on and I think the rose suffered from it (I thought it would come off, but it just melted on the stem and killed it). So with the two I just got, I carefully lifted the wax off. I'm now going to soak them. Should I take off the compost stuff around the roots? (Last year I left it on and I don't think it broke down enough so the rose struggled to grow.)

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  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    The compost keeps the roots damp and protected, but I have found it usually falls off anyway during planting. I don't think it would be the reason why the rose struggled to grow. Did you water it during it's first year? It was a very hot dry summer.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • ElizaRoseElizaRose Posts: 121
    Thanks Busy-Lizzie, I did water every day - about a gallon and a half, but perhaps I should have started earlier than July when it started to get really hot. 
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Roses often take a year or two to settle in.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Looks like a sphagnum moss wrapping around the roots which is only there to keep them damp and is best removed so the roots are in direct contact with soil when planting.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • ElizaRoseElizaRose Posts: 121
    Busy-Lizzie said:
    Roses often take a year or two to settle in.
    Yes, I have heard that. It looks totally sad though as there's only one living shoot.  :( 

    Bob, yes, it does look like that; if I remember it was more cork-like. With the one I planted last year, when I watered, I could swear I saw that the stuff still hadn't broken down and thus was months after I planted it. So this time I'll do as you suggest and make sure to take it off.

    Going to unwrap and soak now. Fingers crossed they live. :D
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I saw those in Lidl yesterday , I don’t know why the stems are coated with plastic/wax whatever it is. It’s just a fibre stuff to keep the roots protected. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • ElizaRoseElizaRose Posts: 121
    Hi Lyn, I didn't get mine there, but from a local DIY type place. I buy them as a challenge more than anything. I was going to ask why they are coated in wax. I guess it is to keep the stems from drying out. It took me awhile to get the wax off.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I wouldn’t like it either, just wondered why they do it.  I would pick it off. Surely the stems can’t breath. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    edited February 2019
    These 'body bag' roses, and there's a reason why they're called that - most are dead within a season - are covered in wax to stop the canes from drying out... it's difficult to remove but you can run the canes through warm water, or try flaking it off... however, if the rose is in good condition [unlikely]… you should be able to just plant it, as the new growth will appear through the wax regardless..
    ..other people soak the canes fully immersed for 24 hours, sometimes that helps..

    These types of roses covered in wax are at risk in hot summers as the canes suffocate..

    Remember... you get what you pay for.. even experienced rosarians have problems with these,... they may have gone without water for weeks after being dug from the fields..

    Also, it's a false economy to buy these types of roses [I've bought them too]… you're going to spend the same amount of time on them, preparing the soil and the usual t.l.c. that one gives roses, only to find that it fails within a short time...   better to spend the extra on a quality rose to start with...  many of these are also wrongly named unfortunately...     just my view on that...


    I should at least add:... best of luck with it though and of course I hope it grows well for you regardless.. you can sometimes get a nice one...
    East Anglia, England
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    I had not heard of or seen wax covered ones before. I was curious (led a sheltered life). :D
    Looking online it says parafin wax?
    And do not scratch or scrape it as you can damage the cambium layer. Another site said prune it a bit if it is thick it should or would make it crack?
    I can't imagine it is thick though, is it?

    Another site said just cutting a tip or down to a bud would break the seal and the thin layer would break down.
     
    You would think it would be bad though eh?
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