As far as I know the recommendation is to plant the bud union 4" below, and up to 6" below in very harsh climate. I lost my M. Centennial that was not planted below at all (lesson learned!) What to do...... not sure, I guess for the winter I'd mulch up as it is hard to move them down now!

Good luck
Lori RosesRred

First of all, what does it say on the pot? Own-Root or Grafted? With own-root roses there is no need to bury deeper. Although its a good idea to mulch the base with loose straw when the ground freezes in its first two winters.

Here is a link below that will explain why Own-Root roses are idea for the cold zones.

Sharon

Here is a link that might be useful: Own root roses vs Budded/grafted roses

Sharon - wow,my bushes just have about 12 roses each, yours look great! The tag on the pots that I bought just say Morden Centennial, sub zero,etc. It mentions the number of petals ,LOL. Product of USA ,I got them at earlys in Saskatoon.I may call them to see if the rose is grafted or own root, but I should of asked when I bought them, I am afraid. I will spread the straw and hope. Thanks - Linda

Thanks Linda!

One way to tell if they are grafted is you will see a swollen hump/knot at the base of the main stem which is bigger than the stem itself.

Good luck and welcome the the FN forum...hope you'll enjoy our company ;)

Sharon

Linda, welcome to the forum.

Have a look at the link here, as well. I know that Morden Centennial is not a tender rose, but there's interesting information about planting roses in a severe climate. The rose experts in Calgary swear by the slant method of planting grafted roses. The explanation is in the article. It may not be necessary to do this with MC, but you might want to keep these tips in mind for other roses you want to try.

Good luck, and good gardening.
Doris

Here is a link that might be useful: Tips for growing roses in severe climates.

Sharon, I can almost smell your roses from here. Wow!

Doris

In general, if you bought a rose and it doesn't say it's own-root, it's probably grafted. (exception being minis - they're usually own-root) It's faster and more efficient for nurseries to produce them on rootstock. Also the customer usually sees quicker growth on a grafted bush (this depends strongly on many things, this is just in general). It has been noted that an own-root rose bush is often more vigorous in the long term once it gets established. There are also different species of rootstock, which are suited for different climates. Multiflora is generally considered best for Canadian conditions.

To your original question, I would say that 2" will probably be ok. Especially for a hardier rose. You should mulch around them for the winter anyway, and if you ever have the chance to build the bed up a little, you could just increase the soil depth at that time.

Sharon, your roses are gorgeous, I never knew you had so many!

Wow GrazyGardener, your roses are wonderful. Where is the best place to order own root roses. I'm tired of babying roses.

Thanks for all the nice comments you guys. I do indeed take pride of all my roses ;)

Not all, but youÂll find more and more companies/nurseries selling own-roots nowadays, as well, purposely labeling own-root right over the pot in a yellow banner for the consumer to know what they are buying.

Years ago, for the life of me, I could not understand why a "supposedly" hardy rose was not surviving the winter for me, every year, year after year I would buy 3-4 hardy roses and yes a few tenders to boot ;) not knowing what I was buying and would disappointedly end up with dead roses the next winter or the following year, even when I dug deeper or covered with mulch they still would not survive for me in this zone. Then one day a wonderful gardening friend from a rose garden club that I once belong to and all the oodles of research on the Internet told me that I was buying grafted/budded hardy roses which are really not that hardy after all.

Some years are not so great even with growing own-root roses, just depends on what kind of winter we have. I remember the worst was a couple of years ago with the lack of snow, actually no snow that winter, a lot of the roses had severe cane-winterkill, although they looked totally dead that early spring, they vigorously came back from their own roots.

Two places that I order my own-roots are from Cornhill Nursery in NB, and Cedar Hollow Rose Farm in BC, although I have found some real good deals at Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire ;)

By the way Linda, I used to live in Saskatoon, love to shop at EarlyÂs!

Happy Rose Gardening!
Sharon
@))---))----

That's great to know, as Cornhill Nursery is only about a 30-45 min drive from where I live. Haven't been there this year yet. Must check them out.

I got some beautiful own-roots from Old Rose Nursery in BC this spring. They are really growing fast now! Can't say I would recommend them for the Maritimes though, shipping would be a killer.

My new roses are still kickin. My Morden Sunrise had a really bad Sawfly problem... I thought it was a goner for sure. Broke down and finally used an insecticide on it and it is managing a recovery.

-Andrew

Sharon your rose hedge is awesome...savona