Do you know how to move a rose bush? No? Neither did I until last fall. I did some research, but there was a lot of conflicting information. Use this soil, no that soil…cut the roses all the way down first, wait don’t do that! I do like to research, but sometime I prefer to just do and learn as I go. As my 80 year old neighbors say nature has a way of fighting back. With that advice in mind, I wasn’t too worried about killing the rose bushes, the I had inherited with the house I bought, to my backyard. It also helps that I have a good friend who is a very professional amateur gardener.
Digging up the rose bush
It is easiest to move the plant when the flowers are not in bloom. We moved them in late fall, but I think early spring would be even easier. Early spring is when you are supposed to cut the plant way back so moving would be a breeze. First thing you are going to want to do is use some twine to tie the plant up so it is easier to work around. After it’s tied up, get to digging out the plant. You’ll want to be careful to preserve as many roots as possible. It’s okay if some don’t come along, but the more the better.
Preparing the ground
Once you have the plant out of the ground fill up a bucket with water and soak the roots in there. I don’t know if this step is at all necessary. Giving the roots a good drink before going back in the ground just felt like a good idea. While the roots are soaking, dig the hole where you want the plant to live. Make sure the hole is big enough to accommodate all of the roots. You don’t want the roots to be all squished together.
Amending the soil
After the hole was dug we added a plant food by Whitney Farms, I found it at my local Ace Hardware and it seems to have helped keep the roses happy so far. I would highly recommend adding a plant food to the ground where you are planting your roses. Again I’m no expert but with the bit of research I have done on plants having soil with the proper nutrients is SUPER important. Which this makes sense to me, humans need the proper nutrients to grow so why wouldn’t plants?
Planting the Rose Bush
Now that you’ve prepared the new roses new home it’s time to plop it in. Cover up the roots with some of the soil you just amended and give the bush a good long drink of water. I watered the rose bush everyday for several weeks after it was moved. Once the roots were reestablished back into the soil I just let nature take over and stopped watering the rose bushes since I had not been watering them at all in their old home.
How my rose bushes are doing after their big move
Like I said previously I moved my rose bushes in fall of 2020. I had tied them up and without cutting anything back on them and then let them hang out all winter long. A few weeks ago in March the were cut back and are now looking amazing and happy as ever in their new home.
The roses look so full and beautiful! Post when there are lots of blooms! 🌹