Consulting Rosarian Report
May 2026
By Royal Krieger, Morcom’s Rosarian
The quality and quantity of spring rose bloom is influenced by how roses were prepared starting with their winter pruning. When I complete my winter pruning, I thoroughly clean debris from beds and spray a horticultural oil on my roses and surrounding soil. When the plants start to leaf out, I give them a chemical fertilizing with a bias toward nitrogen. If some plant’s first leaves are diseased, I remove them. Yes, it may make the plant look a bit naked but often the replacement leaves will be disease free or close to it.
Deadheading. When a bloom is almost spent I remove, “deadhead.” I’ve found the best way is to put my left hand over the top of the spent bloom, which keeps the petals from falling. With my right hand, I generally cut approximately a quarter inch above the first or second node at the base of a five leaflet. While deadheading I also do plant shaping such as removing weak canes and, where appropriate, remove certain canes growing into the center. The objective is to keep the centers more open for better air circulation in order to reduce disease. This time of year plants often generate “scrub” growth at their base. I remove this growth up to 8-12″, depending on plant size. Doing so greatly reduces the risk of spider mite that often attack with early heatwaves.
Regarding roses purchased earlier this year, most are now sold on line or in nurseries in pots. As such, most are easy to plant. Just dig a hole a bit bigger than the pot’s soil ball and plant adding potting mix to secure.
The healthy development of newly planted roses is greatly influenced by location, ample sun, soil condition and adequate consistent water. Generally I don’t fertilize a new rose until the following year. The most important factor is adequate consistent soil moisture. Occasional dry soil is very stressful for roses, especially young ones. Some garden watering systems might only water part of the soil around the rose. This must be corrected.
New roses generally have one or more larger roots plus the start of fine feeder roots. Once planted, the larger roots both anchor the plant as well as store nutrient and manufacture sugars. The fine hair roots absorb water and nutrient from the soil.
I’ve noted that most gardeners incorrectly dig out established roses when transplanting which often causes unnecessary shock and plant damage. The gardener takes their shovel and digs around the plant, usually much too close to the base, and, because of the natural slant of the shovel, cut under the plant rather than straight down. Below describes a better way I’ve found to transplant, although it takes a bit longer.
The rose’s roots, especially the large roots, grow out from the base in unknown underground directions. To avoid cutting these long important roots, I gently dig down just a few inches with each shovel stroke parallel to the roots, not the plant. In doing so I soon uncover the main roots without damaging them. Once found, I continue to carefully dig along the root until it becomes much smaller, sometimes 2.5-3+ feet out depending on plant size. I continue doing same around the plant. The main root structure is now exposed along with the smaller feeder roots, which may be white in color, and are closer to the base of the plant. Generally there will also be a “tap root” at the bottom of the plant growing close to straight down. I try to save as much as possible, but usually not the length of the other main roots. At this point I sever the ends of the major roots and prepare the plant for relocating.
I do not dig a hole where the rose will be transplanted until I’ve moved the rose to its new location. I either carefully carry, put in a wheelbarrow or drag the rose on a tarp with as much attached soil as possible to its new site. Once there, I place the plant on the ground where it is to be planted and face it in the direction that best shows the plant to viewers.
With the plant in place, I carefully outline the root system and then set the plant off to the side. Next I dig a hole to match the root structure, not a big round hole. I make the custom hole approximately 3-4″ inches wide on each side of the major roots. With respect to where I cut the major roots, they are likely bleeding. I can usually see a wetness at the cut. Because of the dreaded crown gall common in our soil, it is important that cuts callus (1) to minimize risk of crown gall infection. I use sterile potting soil to fill in a space of at least six inches around the cuts. This will generally protect against the crown gall getting to the cut before it calluses. As I add soil around and below the roots I carefully pack and add small amounts of water to help eliminate air pockets. During the planting process I continually step back six plus feet and view the plant from all angles to be sure it is at the right height to the soil line and has proper posture.
(1) Rose callus: If we skin ourselves a scab forms to protect the wound. With roses, and some other plants, the protective “scab” is called a callus.