Soaking bare root roses

[mowglika]

I just took delivery of some bare root roses which were supposed to come last month when I was less busy!

Any idea how long I can soak the bare roots for before I have to plant them?

don't know! i never have, ever....i just plant mine and away they go!

i'm adding to my rose garden every year, waiting for the bare root roses to come in store as i work in a garden centre.

My David Austen rose book says a minimum of two hours. Maybe do that then water them in well?

I bought my first bare root rose this year. It was in its packaging until late evening the day after it arrived (I was away, DH didn't know what it was). Then I stuck it in a bucket of water overnight and planted it out the next afternoon. It's thriving and looks better than the two roses I already had in the garden.

I had some bare root last autumn, I didn’t soak them before planting and that’s the reason they didn’t take according to my mum
So I’m overcompensating. They’ve already been in the water for 1.5 days, and I’ve only planted a quarter of them so far

Has anyone soaked theirs for days on end and everything turned out alright in the end?

@Bluebird2021isnt bare root season finishing?

That’s the other reason I’m wondering how long I can delay planting for, they might come out of dormancy while they’re still unplanted (is that a bad thing?)

I stored ours in moist compost then soaked for a couple of hours before planting.

I didn't soak ours at all, didn't know you had to, though it was left in the rain for two weeks after it arrived. It's taken brilliantly.

Look on the David Rose website. Tells you how long to soak and how to plant. Think I soaked mine for a day. Pretty sure it said to plant in feb/march.

I had mines shoved outside soaking in a bucket for three days before planting and it's now absolutely thriving so you should be fine for a few days anyway.

Oh this is great to hear, I’ll just keep plugging away 1/4 at a time then (there are 16).

I didn’t know about soaking either back in nov and only half of my bare root roses survived the winter.

David Austin says bare root season is nov to April and considering it’s pretty cold still I’m hoping I’ll catch the tail end. Says minimum of 2 hours soak but no maximum...

The roses 'take' even better if you sprinkle the roots with this before planting:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rootgrow-60-Empathy-Mycorrhizal-Fungi/dp/B00J4LIEF4/ref=ascdff_B00J4LIEF4/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=230204386967&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15411789152317205374&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006510&hvtargid=pla-475980067327&psc=1

I planted some bare root David Austin roses last month.... think I soaked them for around three hours beforehand as well as sprinkling the roots with mycorrhizal fungi I purchased at the same time. They look really healthy now. I'm sure yours will be fine, OP 😉

I really need to stop browsing David Austin's website/handbook of roses as we've got over fifty now, lol, but there's always another one (or three 🙄) that catch my eye!

@Hebeee Fifty! Wow, you're so lucky. My DA Lichfield Angel bare root turned up with the postman today (OH hasnt seen it yet luckily) and I still haven't really decided where it's going to go. I should stop buying them really

I wouldn't leave them more than a couple of days - roots need oxygen as well as water. If you can't plant them immediately, you should "heel them in" - that means, use a spade to open a slit in the soil, slightly slanting, not vertical. Then tuck in the roses with their roots in the slit, and gently firm the sides back together with your foot. Don't do this if the soil is frosty, wait till you can do a slit free of ice. Heeled in they can last weeks or months.