I moved some rose bushes yesterday and they're not happy. How can I help them?

[franke]

I knew they wouldn't like it especially at this time of year, but it had to be done. They've gone all droopy, especially the top bits and buds. Should I prune them back a bit? I know they're probably scuppered for this year bloom-wise, but what can I do to ensure their longterm survival? Any ideas?

I'm just watching with interest. I attempted to move an acer yesterday and I just know it's going to go very wrong.

prune right back I reckon

Did you feed them and water them when you moved them?

lots of soil preparation before you move em and take as big a root ball as possible.

course, thats no good to you now.

do what mp says. hack the fucker back. roses love it when you play hardball.

Yes, fed and watered copiously. I've just done a search and there seems to be a debate about whether to prune or not. What worries me is that if I do prune I'll lose all blooms in the future.

You could do half pruned and see what happens

Seriously if they were only moved yesterday I would give them a couple of days to "settle in" before taking any action.

lol @ playing hardball

Okay, I agree. I'll give it a few days (may have to anyway as I should be giving birth some time this week). If there's no improvement then it's out with the secateurs. Thanks all.

take the buds off AT LEAST

It's probably not a good idea to move any plant in a heatwave. Prune and water, water, water.

blimey at digging and rose bush moving at 9m pg [impressed]

Ahem when I say "I", what I actually mean is I delegated the job of digging up and moving some rose bushes to long-suffering dh. Delegation - it's a valuable management skill

I have been out and snipped all the bushes a bit which I think has outraged them even more. Will monitor over the next few days.

Use a spray foliar feed as well.

if spraying a foliar feed, pay ettention to dilute instructions and dont think ' oh, a bit more will be even better for them'. coz it wont. it will burn it.
doh.