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Rose in pot
Guernsey Donkey2
Posts: 6,713
in Plants
We planted this rose about 3 weeks ago, & I noticed today that there were some buds already forming but on very thin shoots so I cut them off - have I done the right thing. I want the rose to thicken out a bit more before it flowers as I feared that the thin shoots were too weak to bare the weight of a flower. Am I right?
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Guernsey you'd be surprised how strong the stems are. Depending on the variety you'll get new flowering shoots from the leaf axils, but only if it's a repeat flowering rose. If you knew the name of the rose it'd be easier to properly advise you.
Sorry for not replying earlier, but I "lost" this thread - I have only just begun to receive notifications today. Anyway, thanks for the advice hollie hock - you are right the plant does look in good condition and I so hope that I haven't done the wrong thing by taking off three thin shoots with the buds forming. The Rose is Ruby or Ruby Anniversary I think Dave - yes we have been married that long! It has sunshine for about 5 or 6 hours per day at the moment.
I think the rose looks healthy but planting advice is generally that the graft union where your rose is joined to the root stock should be buried 1 or 2 inches below soil level as this increases vigour and reduces suckering from the root stock.
You may want to bear this in mind when the time comes to pot it on.
In the meantime, keep it well watered but not drowning. Feed it generously up until late June - no later as this encourages sappy growth that won't have time to harden off before winter frosts damage it. Consider a mulch of expanded clay pellets, slate chippings, chipped bark or some such to help retain moisture and prevent weeds.
Oh Obelixx, my rose is planted an inch or two above the root stock - can I just add more peat/mulch to bring the level up - there is still some room below the rim of the container to add more, after all I want to help the plant to flourish. There is horse manure mixed into the compost as you can probably see in the picture.
You should always leave a good inch or two between the rim of the pot and the level of compost to allow for watering generously as it's better to give one good, long drink every few days than a wee dribble every day. Wee dribbles encourage shallow, surface rooting which then gets baked to death in hot weather or frozen to death in winter so I would settle for just a mulch now and pot it deeper next time.
Last edited: 16 May 2016 23:04:51
Sorry to hear that you lost Val, but forty-nine years is a good number especially by today's standards Hortico. You were a lucky chap to have that length of time together.
Now to the rose - it is called Ruby Ruby and is especially bred for patios. We did think about putting it in the rose bed but the container we used was the biggest we could find. I looked at the label today which said that the rose should be planted to the top of the root ball which is what we did.
I have stopped dribbling Obelixx - I think it may have been Monty D that got me out of that habit, I am now trying to wean my husband. He usually falls asleep during GW so doesn't take all Monty's wise words in. However I will add some more mulch or compost. Thanks for the helpful information.