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Did I plant my roses too shallow?

matt_fendermatt_fender Posts: 169
in Plants
This is really to help me going forwards, as I planted these 7 x David Austin Queen of Sweden roses over a year and a half ago, and they are thriving. When I planted them, I left the bud union just above the soil and I have since seen lots of examples of people putting this below the soil by an inch or more. Looking at the DA pictures for this rose here you can clearly see a multitude of stems coming from the soil, with no visible single union. So did I stuff it up, and does this mean I won't get new shoots from soil level? It's probably too late to do anything about these plants, although I do prefer the look (and spread) of the multiple shoots in the DA pictures as these plants form a hedge.


Posts

  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    The official advice by DA is to bury the graft just below soil level https://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/advice-and-inspiration/how-to-plant-a-bare-root-shrub-rose/ and it looks like you have planted them not deeply enough. But other growers advice otherwise. If you wanted to replant them it should be possible when dormant to trim them down and treat them as bare roots once more...but wonder if the upset to the plants and the removal of so much growth is worth it.

    Lots of rose specialists on here...so I'm sure they'll advice further, probably a good idea to supply a few more photos of the overall plot and the bushes in their entirety.
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I had the same conundrum when I planted my first rose with the graft union above ground, then learned I should have buried it - it encourages more shoots from the base if you bury it. Personally, I wouldn’t disturb them now, just deeply mulch over the top - my first one’s graft union was subsequently buried that way.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • matt_fendermatt_fender Posts: 169
    Thanks guys, that's my feeling as well having seen a lot of examples since. I would like more shoots from the base, as this really suits this style of rose, I think, and would enhcance the "hedge like" effect. I wonder if it is worth the risk/effort of lifting and burying them this winter? I don't mind the loss of growth, particularly, but I wouldn't want to harm them. The other option is to build up the soil, as you say @Nollie, but the bed is already a little raised from the surroundings so I don't know how viable that is.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    ... what's done is done.. there's nothing really wrong with that.. the 2 main reasons for planting at or below soil line is to discourage suckering, which it does, and to stabilise the roses in case of windrock… I also think it looks better.. but it's up to you.. it won't hurt them too much being quite young roses...

    ..some of us who grow lots of roses will tell you that, if a rose hasn't been moved  at least 3 times, then it should consider itself very lucky indeed... I've moved half a dozen this past month..
    East Anglia, England
  • matt_fendermatt_fender Posts: 169
    Thanks @Marlorena so you think that it wouldn't be a problem to lift them and put them in a bit deeper over winter? I must confess I moved them once last winter (they'd been in about 6 months at that stage), just a foot or so back in the border so I didn't really need to even lift them - just slid them back after cutting all around with a spade. I think they do look better deeper so I am tempted to do it! Moving them last winter certainly didn't seem to harm them at all.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    edited August 2019
    @matt_fender … they should be fine during the winter...I suggest late October actually - only 8 weeks away,  and get it over with...  I always say if you're not happy with it then do it, because it will just keep staring back at you.... they've not been in that long and these are not huge roses...
    East Anglia, England
  • matt_fendermatt_fender Posts: 169
    edited August 2019
    Thanks again @Marlorena. Now that the idea is planted in my mind, I have no doubt that I will do it! I could (maybe) do it fairly non-invasively if I dig behind the plants and excavate underneath and just push them down a couple of inches. That's probably easier said than done but I'll give it a go.
  • jgalarza2275nuxKpVBHjgalarza2275nuxKpVBH Posts: 1
    Im new to roses , i just bought a few climbing roses n didnt bury graft either.  They r planted in half wine barrel containers a few weeks ago as bareroot an are leafing out already......should i adjust them now or wait till winter ?
  • newbie77newbie77 Posts: 1,838
    If there is any space left in barrell, top it up with compost for now, you can adjust in winter.
    South West London
  • clarke.bruntclarke.brunt Posts: 215
    I've not planted roses, but I note that the advice to bury the graft-union is different than for fruit trees. With a fruit tree, the union is usually kept above ground - the grafting stock is usually selected to give a tree of the desired size, so you don't want the scion (the fruiting variety) to put down its own roots, as it would then grow to its natural size (which might be enormous - like with most cherries).

    With roses, you don't care if the variety puts out its own roots - it's probably desirable. With roses, the grafting is for speed of propagation (cuttings are slow and unreliable, and seed doesn't produce the same rose variety).
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