Planting Bareroot Climbing Roses (Video)

How to Plant a Bareroot Climbing Rose against a Fence

Bareroot planting season is November - March, and bareroot roses are all planted about the same way.
Head Nurseryman Andy will show you how to plant a bareroot climbing rose against a fence; you would plant a bush rose in the border the same way.

You will need your bareroot climbing rose, a spade, some rootgrow and a watering can filled with water.
 

TRANSCRIPT

Today, we’re going to plant a bareroot climbing rose. We're in November, the ground is still warm, so it'll establish a little bit before winter. So we’re going to get it planted. Choose your spot, we’re going to plant it up against this fence, it’s nice and sunny. First we'll dig a hole, just loosen to soil in the bottom a little bit as well. Grab some rootgrow, sprinkle it in the bottom of the hole and on some of the soil when you fill it back in. Bareroot climbing rose - grafted onto a rootstock.  It's done by a chip bud. So the chip bud has been taken, the rootstock has been pruned off and now you're left with the rose. So what you don't want to do, is plant right up to here. What you want to do is plant just below where the chip bud was taken. So kind of just underneath where it's been pruned off. So once you've got that, put in the ground.

Give it a bit of a shake, so the soil settles down in between the roots. So we've got your rose planted. You’ve got to face the fence - turn it round a bit and you want it to be about a hands width away from the wall. So it's kind of six to eight inches away from the wall. Angle it in giving it a good shake. Firm it in and what you'll see once you spread the soil out, you've got the soil level just below where that graft union is.
And that's fine.

I wouldn't worry about pruning these top bits off just at the moment, they can be done in the spring. It's what you want to do underneath the soil at the moment. You want the roots to establish before winter and then it'll kind of come on. So after you've planted it, make sure it’s firmed in, last thing to do, just give it a water, give it a good soak. And with the amount of moisture left in the soil this time of the year, it shouldn't need much more than that over the winter.
 

*How Deep Should I Plant My Rose?
 

The short answer is that it really doesn't make a huge difference in most cases! 

Your roses are mostly grafted: a general rootstock on the bottom, and scions of the named variety that you are buying growing on top.
The graft union is a clear bulge and scarred mark where the rootstock and scion have fused together.

You can plant so that the graft union is:

• Above soil level 
• At soil level
• 2-3 inches below soil level

Advantages of burying graft union:

• Stability, won't suffer from "wind rock", which tends to affect taller shrub roses, especially in exposed locations
• Scion wood will eventually root, which tends to increase vigour and longevity

Because climbing roses are fixed to wires or other supports, wind rock is not a concern, and controlling vigour is often desirable, so there is no benefit to planting them deep.

Advantages of keeping graft union above ground: 

• It will always be clear which shoots are root suckers that need to be removed
• Scion wood cannot root, which will control vigour
• Climbing roses are fixed to wires etc, so don't suffer wind rock, and controlling their vigour is often desirable, therefore they are usually planted this way

Root sucker growth has plain green leaves, and the majority of roses today have some hue or colour, so you can tell them apart quite easily.