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What have I done?! Moved climbing rose from soil to pot for privacy screen...

GGarethGGareth Posts: 7
in Problem solving
Hi all. 

I'm going to bite the bullet here and put out a question to the GW community to see if there is anything I can/should be doing in order to save my climbing rose - or whether I've killed it.

We liked the idea of having a privacy screen between ours and our neighbours joint balcony. 

We also had a climbing rose in the garden which was in a spot by a fence that we wanted to remove.

So, we fixed a trellis, we bought a huge trough. I followed steps from an online guide; carefully removing the bush at early morning whilst not sunny or hot, I made sure the trough had plenty of drainage holes, lined it with terracotta pieces, added a layer of compost - then began inserting the climbing rose bush. I then filled in with compost, compacting as I went. I secured a few core stems to the trellis itself and avoided pruning as I read it was better not to, as the root might already be suffering from the move. Finishing with a good watering, a tiny bit of rose feed.

At first (that day) it seemed happy. Everyday since - its seemed very unhappy.

The flowers shrivelled and dropped. The leaves now wilting, limp and crispy.

I have dead headed the flowers, and started to prune a little as I read this encourages the plant to focus on getting better... but  I am wondering what you all might think.

Have I made a huge mistake here?

I realise this is a better move to do make the bush is dormant, so I can accept defeat if thats an absolute must. I also realise this is better done before June. It was June 3rd when I potted the bush, so its been 4 days.
South-East London. North-East facing garden.
Soil type: Gault clay (Fertile and neutral pH)
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Posts

  • RoddersUKRoddersUK Posts: 537
    My thoughts:

    Wrong time of year to move it, too hot and dry and plant is actively growing.
    You lost lots of the small fiberous roots that pull up the water.
    Pot too small you've put it in.

    I don't know if  cutting it back hard will help, as I'm not an expert rose grower.
    But it will be less plant for the roots to sustain.

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I agree with @RoddersUK. It's the wrong time of year, best to move roses in winter. The new fibrous roots will be fragile now. Also it is best to prune the rose before moving it. It will find it hard to keep all the top growth going when you've dug it up. Another thing is don't plant it in just compost, it will need something more substantial mixed in with the compost, such as garden soil or John Innes No.3.

    How deep is your trough? It looks wide but roses, especially climbers, need to get their roots down. 60cms minimum for a rose like that.

    It may survive but it may not. Give it a bit of time and see what happens.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    I agree with the other posters ,you would have done better by buying a whole new rose . It’s like putting a free lion into a cage ! It really doesn’t like it . The only thing you can do now is to prune it all down and re grow it ,or , put it back where it was in the soil and get maybe a clematis which will grow quickly to get your privacy .
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I'm not sure that the container is deep enough for a climbing rose (even a new one) or any other permanent climber except maybe the smaller types of clematis. If you can't fit a large deep container there (60cm depth and diameter, or more), annual climbers started from seed each year might work better. The trellis itself provides a fair amount of screening and is most likely enough for the winter months (a rose would drop its leaves then anyway), and annuals like ipomoea, cobaea, thunbergia, maybe sweet peas if you could feed them, would do better (assuming it's a sunny position).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • GGarethGGareth Posts: 7
    Thanks everyone, for your comments. Seems clear I've made a rookie error. (I could cry)

    Would it be silly to try and place it back in its old position? Anything I can do to help transition it back?

    The spot gets sun from v early morning to around 1pm - so about 5-6 hours.

    @JennyJ Thank you for the suggestions.

    I will google what each look like. I think the brief is lots of leaves, colourful flowers, happy in that pot (its 90cm wide, 40cm deep), unless anyone knows of deeper troughs?





    South-East London. North-East facing garden.
    Soil type: Gault clay (Fertile and neutral pH)
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited June 2023
    The rose will struggle to recover with all that top growth (it's wilted because it's roots aren't able to supply enough water to the leaves, and it'll probably lose them) so the best thing to do is to cut it back hard before you move it again. It'll be easier to physically move it as well. Then make sure the soil around it is kept moist (but not soggy) all summer after you replant it. It might or might not recover 🤞.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    More ideas for annual climbers
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • GGarethGGareth Posts: 7
    That's perfect. Thank you.
    I'm tempted by a Climbing star jasmine. 
    https://www.muddytrowel.com/shop/climbing-jasmine-140-160cm/
    Seems good coverage and pretty. I can't seem to find out what depth pot they like though.


    South-East London. North-East facing garden.
    Soil type: Gault clay (Fertile and neutral pH)
  • GGarethGGareth Posts: 7
    Or even potentially this clematis, but it looks like a medium - not a smaller - clematis
    https://www.muddytrowel.com/shop/clematis-piilu/

    South-East London. North-East facing garden.
    Soil type: Gault clay (Fertile and neutral pH)
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Sadly I think star jasmine (Trachelospermum) would need at least as big a container as a climbing rose. There have been a lot of posts about them on here over the years and particularly this spring. It seems they tended to suffer from the combination of hot dry summer/wet autumn/early cold snap at the start of the winter, and the worst affected seemed to be the ones in containers.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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