How to... grow bare-root roses
Bare-root roses are cheap to buy and easy to plant at the start of the year… By Ann-Marie Powell
■ Open roses as soon as possible. Check for broken canes and roots, and trim off all damaged parts with sharp secateurs.
■ Place roots in a bucket of muddy water and soak overnight.
■ Dig your planting hole roughly twice as deep and wide as the root system is long. Fork the base of the hole and add half a handful of granular fertiliser, before lightly firming the base of the hole.
■ Mound a small pile of soil in the centre of your hole to support the rose's crown, and then spread the roots over and around the mound. The rose should be planted at about the same level it was grown and with the bud union above ground.
■ Add a spadeful of compost to the soil dug out of the hole and mix it. Use this to fill in around the roots, firming in layers with the heel of your foot.
■ When the hole is full, mulch well with a thick layer of bark chip, before watering your new rose well.
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