Marn talks about transplanting plants and, indirectly, explains why most of the new roses we planted this spring are dead.

Ahh… me understan’ now. Mebbe next year we try ‘gain.

I found you in my referral logs, and, well, I couldn't resist babbling a bit more about roses to you. Feel free to roll your eyes.

Here in Canuckistan most roses are shipped bare root. I'm not sure if they do that where you are, or not. The minute they arrive, it's important to get them in a bucket of water so they can rehydrate and to also protect the roots from air.

If your tap water is chlorinated, have a bucket of water ready for them a day or so in advance. Chlorine is basically diluted bleach and it will evaporate. I know the quantities are minute, but I figure it's worth it to give your plants every chance possible.

Let's see, I mentioned watering after transplanting in the hosta post ... oh yes, fertilizing. DO NOT fertilize right after you transplant. It actually stresses the plants. Give them a few weeks to settle in. I like to plant things after supper when I can because it gives them many hours to get acclimatized without being stressed by sun. It's a bonus if it rains the day after they're transplanted, but we can't expect the world, eh?

First time you fertilize, mix the fertilizer at half the strength recommended on the label. After that, you can go with regular strength.

I'm an organic gardener (when I read your Round-up post I made a little anti-vampire cross with my fingers). I can't speak too highly of Wegener's Organic Plant food that comes from Lee Valley (yep, they have an on-line presence). I feed my demanding precious things (roses, honeysuckle vine, clematis vines, lilacs, and anything in a flower box) with it every other week and the payback is stunning.

Let's see, have I been bossy, wordy and all around annoying? Why yes, yes I have. Well, then, my mission here is completed. Feel free to go back to whatever it was that you were doing.

Let's do the checklist of what we did wrong:
Fertilized with Planting.
4ft of snow a few days after planting.
Maybe it isn't us, well we did play a tiny part but hey two lived out of six.

Don't forget "didn't really pack the dirt in very well around... oh, say, the ones that have died.

Somehow, I had it in my head that you didn't want to pack in the dirt too tightly... hence, air on roots.

From there to dead roses in three weeks.

You have my every sympathy. I, too, have the sap of many innocent plants on my hands.

One more thing, and then I'll leave you in peace.

If your roses came planted in pots, and if they were rootbound (ie, if you saw the roots in loops around the outside of the dirt when you tipped them out of the pot) then it was important to break the roots up. (This rule applies for anything you're transplanting that's rootbound/potbound).

Plants seem to have a death wish or something. If you leave them rootbound and plop them in a hole, then the roots will continue to hold the shape of the original ball and not fan out sideways into all that wonderful new soil you've prepared for them.

Annoying stupid ingrates.

Depending on how severely rootbound/potbound they are, you can just tease the roots open with your fingers or, if things are bad, you have to take a knife and actually score down the length of the root ball. Go in about half an inch or so, do it three or four places. Make sure you break up the bottom, which can be the worse place.

Busting open the root ball encourages the plant to send out new feeder roots. I know. It seems brutal, but trust me, it's necessary. Pack 'em in well, water thoroughly and for God's sake STOP DUMPING FOUR FEET OF SNOW ON YOUR NEW TRANSPLANTS.

Sheesh.