while I'm away could you lot find out some stuff on roses for me?

the new house has two, very tall (over ten feet) rose bushes in the front garden. they have huge hips (not unlike myself really ) and even a few blooms.
they look a bit neglected but I bet they were prize winners in their day cos someone obviously took their gardening very seriously in that house.

I'm probably going to have to move them at some point so need to know when will be a good time.
should i feed them now?
what about pruning? I want hips for syrup eventually so should i prune hard?

treasures in the back garden include a large fuschia, arum lillies, masses of irises, more roses, honesty (my absolute fave ) and a weird fruit bush....maybe quince?
and i think....(drum roll please) ...... a lilac bush! although it's not easy to tell in january

oh, and please can this be a sticky for a bit cos I'm not sure when i can get back to collect all the pearls of wisdom you're gonna give me

Now is a good rime Tara - but anytime up until they start actively growing will do.

You'll need to prune back hard anyway - for a couple of reasons

1. When you dig it up you are inevitably going to cut some of the roots, so the last thing you want is the roots struggling to maintain a lot of top growth.

2. While the roots are getting settled and establishing themselves you need to minimize the impact of the elements, especially the wind, so pruning hard will help prevent wind rock.

3. Roses are horrible things just desperate to poke you up the nose with their thorns - so the less top growth the fewer thorns (speaking from experience here )

Before you dig it up water well for a couple of days. Don't feed it until you've moved it, you don't want to encourage any growth now. But once moved feed it with a balanced fertilizer.
Don't replant it where a rose has been grown before if you can help it.

As with moving any established plant there is a chance that moving it will be too big a shock to the system and kill it, but in my experience roses do transplant very successfully.

And sounds like a great garden Tara - you're going to be kept busy

General advice on a new garden (which I never have taken any notice of because I'm too impatient) - don't do anything too drastic in the first year, prune and tidy up by all means - but you should let it have a season so you can see what you've got where, what you like and don't like etc etc. You don't want to be getting rid of any gems cos you are desperate to to "slash and burn" and put new stuff in. Make notes of what you've got as they appear and where they are.

But like I said I'm too impatient for that

Andy, that is probably the most informative post ever and I agree with everything you have stated. Your advice is spot on, the only thing I would try to do is take some cuttings from the rose before moving in case of disaster and when moved apart from blood fish and bone in the hole I would just generously mulch with well rotted horse manure.
Sounds a fantastic new garden,
Good luck D&T

You see and there was you all thinking I knew nowt about owt

I daren't say owt now...............coz I know nowt

I wouldn't do anything until you know where all the bulbs are! A lot will be sprouting now, but I would take digipics of all that come up and flower over the next three or four months, so you can either decide to move them in the summer when they're dormant (and thanks to pics you'll know precisely where and what they are!) or know not to dig in certain places.

On topic (!) I had a couple of roses to shift when I moved into my house. I made the mistake of letting Sir at them. Result - one broken spade. Don't underestimate the strength of rose roots!!! If you're going to dig one out, excavate as much as you can by fork and trowel, and if you still can't get it out, then you can use secateurs to cut through the anchoring roots and with luck you won't have to buy new tools...

moonbells

They are a sod to move if they're big and well established and you can kill em Their roots seem to go down for miles Our best rose puller upper was our Russ. Strong as a ruddy ox and as stubborn as hell. That was then Me and the old man, plus the neighbours were trying to remove a rose and we had all sorts of tools and a pick axe and managed to excavate a huge hole but the bugger still wouldn't budge. I was reluctant to attack the roots in case I killed it so just set the dog on it. Easy peasy

I have no experiance of roses, I decided that they weer a bit finicky for but I have read a bit about them when I was debating wheter or not to go them, I learnt that, to deter greenfly, plant a single clove ofgarlic the rose will take up s asubstance from the garlic tha the greenfly hate, it will not affect the scent of the rose, apparently all of the onion family is good for this purpose, chives would be more ornamental but garlic is said to be the best. Laid just below ther surface of the soil banana skins are apparently very good for roses, they rot quickly and have considerable ammounts of calcium,magnesium,sulphur,phosphates,sodium and silica.

I haven't tried any of these myself but have read them in Old Wives Lore For Gardeners by Maureen and Bridgit Boland, which I have now taking to quoting at length on several forums in the vain attempt to sound knowledgeable

well it worked WGA, you sounded dead clever

gonna give the garlic a go anorl......reckon that'll work with other plants too?

thanks everyone
might actually wait a year before moving stuff as so many bulbs and stuff are shooting up everywhere I don't want to interfere till I know what I've got.

so I'm gonna feed and prune everything this weekend, and plant the kiftsgate rose I brought with me

quick update.....pruned brutally and now each rose bush has about twenty beautiful blooms on

Excellent!

Most of my roses went mouldy after all the rain.... I've cut them all back, fingers and toesies crossed....

mine did too - specially the old fashioned blousy varieties. Not cut em back yet and they look horrible

Cut 'em, Watson!!! The ones I did while back are making buds again, gooo onnnn you know you want to...

I was gonna oik out a rose that is in the nottment. I chopped, sorry hacked, it to the ground last year and forgot about it. It is thriving now so I dont have the heart to grub it out.

Same here Baggy.... I have 4 or 5 rosebushes dotted on the half-plot, all inconveniently placed but since they're been thriving even through years of neglect, they're staying put

Oh they'll get pruned a bit when I have time I love the old fashioned roses but they are a bit floppy and untidy at the best of times. A bit like me really oh and prickly but smell nice

I just bought a gorgeousssss rambling rose to go over the shed... teeny liitle white flowers, loads of them and smells wonderful! Buggad if I can remember the name though...

oh you Remember, remember I want rosa Russelliana guess why

pray share, Watson me little fluffy duckling...

Russ he deserves a commemorative rose

Awww that's a lovely idea!!

Bit slow here... just for a change...

Could well be, if the flowers are small

I've got one....it's lovely and will soon make my side gate and boundary inpenetrable to burglars

but an inpenetrable shed?