I believe my roses may be in shock. One came from my husbands grandmother's house and it was originally a wild rose bush. It quit blooming a few years ago so I did some reading on it and found that I needed to cut it back and also get rid of the weed roots. Right or wrong, I don't know but now, a month later, no new growth but a few less leaves. Not looking good. My other rose bush is a big climber that I saved from a burnt out house. We dug it up with its original dirt and replanted in my back yard three weeks ago. I pruned a little bit here and there but scared to shock it too much. Now the leaves are kinda wilty and not responding well. Should I prune more? Really need some advice, my husband will be really upset if I kill his grandmother's rose. Thanks!!
Hello and welcome, Sarasjeep. I have always found transplanting roses to be a tricky business. They have the tendency to not do well, or 'take', sometimes. While they are extremely hardy plants that can withstand the harshest of pruning, somehow transplanting seems to be a trauma that is more difficult for them to recover from. Well your two are already in the ground, so I shan't comment on how to do that. I assume that you looked it up before transplanting them and so that part was probably done correctly. But now--the wilty state they are exhibiting. Your mother-in-law's rose may well simply be trying to recover by shedding leaves (through which quite a bit of moisture is lost). Newly transplanted plants of most sorts need frequent watering for this very reason--they need to maintain a certain internal moisture level so that the roots and re-establish, recover and to produce new ones. So, perhaps it is simply sulking. With reasonable watering it may well recover. You could scratch-in some rose food (fertilizer) at the base of the plant. Further it will simply be a case of just waiting and seeing. The rescued rose needs the same care as your m-i-l's. I do not know if pruning it was wrong. I usually do when transplanting roses also to cut down on water loss through the leaves and to help stimulate more root development. As I said, Saras--transplanting roses can be tricky and I always have the feeling that is the luck of the dice, so to speak when I attempt it. It doesn't help that it is technically not the ideal time of year to attempt this (late winter or early spring is the best). I wish you all the best of luck with this. Let us know how your transplants fare.
Hi And welcome Sarasjeep. Grandma's rose stopped blooming because it needed a good prune job and possibly some food, roses are heavy feeders and wild roses are often pruned in nature be wildlife. Feed and water till September and see what happens. Wild roses are a different creature than our grafted plants. If need be, you could prune this all the way back and have it live. Be patient. The new climbing rose........... If you got a decent sized root ball, it should be okay in time. While many of the feeder roots were lost, it can still make new roots, I suggest giving this rose a good dose of a root booster that is formulated just for new plantings and transplants to encourage new root growth. Research has shown that the more foliage you can keep on a new transplant, the better. While new plantings go into shock and at one time it was suggested to cut back as much as 2/3 of the branches, it is now recommended to leave as much of the foliage as possible. Why, foliage makes food to feed the roots and roots bring it back to the foliage. Without foliage to feed the roots, the plant is in worse shape than if you pruned it back to reduce stress. You are actually putting on more stress by pruning back to far. Do keep it well watered until you see signs of a come back and continue to give it at least an inch of water a week. Feeding is dependant on where you live. Ron
Good luck with your roses. I wanted to add that providing a little lathe shade for the newly planted/moved roses couldn't hurt. I've started roses from cuttings and along with the ample moisture not having direct sun helps them take off. Especially if its been warm/hot. Hope the roses all blossom for you in the future.
