Did you put yours in the shade?

I divided up a tiny pot of 6 plants. I tore them apart manually (no knife), put them in normal potting mix, did not prune, put them in the shade, and watered them. They all lived, though they looked unhappy for a while. I just watered them daily and didn't look at them too closely. However, I divided these in early June when it was cooler out than it is now. I suspect heat stress could be part of the problem you are having.

Cheers,
Michelle

Transplant shock is common in roses. Can last for a week or so. If you followed fleursuzie's directions, then they should be OK. You say that you lost some roots, that will definitely cause drooping, those little guys didn't have much root to start with. No to cutting through them, you would have lost even more roots since you wouldn't be able to tell which roots went with which stem. Sometimes the part where you swish the roots in water to separate them can take awhile and you have to gently try to pull them apart while they are underwater. Kinda like badly tangled and matted hair.

Leave the leaves. Don't cut back. Don't over water but don't let the potting mix dry out. Don't fertilize. Green stems good, brown/black stems bad. Be patient. Even if only 2 of them survive, that is 2 more plants than you had before. Good luck.

By "Karina" do you mean "Karina Parade"?

Michelle-

Thanks for response! actually, because its 110 outside, the pots are indoors, lined up next to my sliding balcony door. they get indirect sun for abt 6 hrs day, none direct.

D.

Thanks, diane nj! Will be patient, will just test for moisture. 6 are still green, 2 brown. Took my time (i thought, lol) separating, but was afraid of drowning them.

Yes, the other one mentioned is Karina Parade, had it for abt 6 mos, is happy, healthy (inside for now til it cools) and is actually 4 of them in the pot.

D

If your roses are inside, watch for spider mites. You will generally see yellowing leaves near the bottom of the plant at first. It's good practice to wash the plants at a minimum of once a week, when they are inside. If you do find that you have spider mites, wash them daily to break the breeding cycle. As soon as you can, you need to get these plants outside, even if you put them in the shade of another plant. Roses do not do well when grown inside without a lot of work.

Smiles,
Lyn

Thanks for the advice! At the time, they were brand new plants that I had just "rescued" from a grocery store to try the method on them before using it to separate my year old Karina Parade. As the temps on my balcony can go past 110, root ball temp was a big concern, which was why they were inside. Sadly, they didn't make it, but they could've been sick anyway...

My Karinas (all 4) are still potted together (got scared, lol), looking fairly healthy, but I know I'll have to separate them. They've been inside this summer, but are going out a bit now its cooling. Hopefully , as they've been acclimated to my conditions, they will have a better chance. I will definitely give them a daily washing down, though, and put them out afterward for a couple of hours in the a.m. to sun and dry!

You actually do not need to separate the roses, if they are the same variety. Nurseries use the multiple-stick method to guarantee a better propagation take out of the mist houses. I have grown minis for years from many different sources and have never bothered to separate them. I didn't want to disturb the roots. I found that the roses take off just fine and don't know that there are more than one rose in the planting hole.

Smiles,
Lyn

Hi all!

I finally decided to separate one pot of Karinas (I had done so just before Lyn's last post). They WERE beginning to suffer from spider mites, and looking a little peaked.

As I had potted them up to a 6" pot several months ago, they had developed new, healthy roots that were not so tangled. I watered them the day before, and was able to gently separate them just by shaking off excess soil and teasing them apart, without having to use a water rinse. I repotted each of the 4 of them in 6" pots using moistened Kelloggs potting mix, and tapped the pots on the table to settle them in, rather than watering right away. They did lose leaves, but within 2 weeks, they took off like rockets- even the stunted ones.

I put another mini (3 stems) up from a 3" to a 6" without separating 3 weeks ago, and its grown to half again already!

Thanks so much for all the help and advice!

(next challenge will be here in 2 weeks- a "Peace", "Roseberry Blanket" and a "Double Delight" to be put in 18" containers-a glutton for punishment, lol)

You're going to need something larger than an 18" container for Peace (is it own-root or grafted?). I don't know Roseberry Blanket. Is it supposed to be a groundcover? DD might be OK, but in your zone I would think larger again.

Hi Diane

Not sure whether Peace is own root, it's a 1 gal J&P. Figured 18in. would be a good starter for it- if it makes it, will move it up as you advise. Bayer's website recommended Peace as container-its rated at abt 4ft. tall. Raspberry Blanket is anothe J&P, one qt. Its groundcover, but used in hanging baskets as well, 12-18in. tall, 2-3ft wide (or drape). DD is about 3ft. I may have made a mistake on DD-ordered from a place that has a VERY spotty rating according to Garden Watchdog...Didn't discover that until last night. May order another from the highly reccommended place-the time to plant roses here is NOW..

My biggest challenge has beem aeration and too much moisture ie, needing a coarser mix, ensuring drainage, so I'm leery of putting a small plant in a big pot yet, until I get this challenged licked. Drying out has never been a problem, and if I'm lucky enough for them to thrive, they shouldn't get root bound for(hopefully)a year...? I'm looking forward to applying what I've learned from you all here as well as local gardeners

Thanks as always!

Here is a link that might be useful: Bayers roses in pots

Peace isn't 4' tall here, a good one can get 6', I can just imagine what a beast it would be in z8!

LOL, yikes! J&P lists it as 4ft as well. I called, but it was too late to change-and any other compact, scented roses were sold out.. I'm going for fragrance and have potted rosemary, lavender, and salvia.

I think the 8a rating is deceptive in a way. Local gardeners give it a higher rating, and we have a short dormancy period in the winter depending on micro-climate, and a late-Jun to mid-Sept time where the heat will stop them in their tracks and they just pant. Unless, of course, you have a large garden with shade and breezes all afternoon. On a south facing balcony, its basically triage-but the beauty of it the rest of the year makes it worth it. Sun is brutal here, so full sun still requires some shade unless they are desert plants. I have a shade cloth awning, and slat railings, so it helps. According to local garden columns, we feed late Aug, then Feb-not too late, the new growth will fry.

Well, I was thinking of a 4-6 foot shrub or tree of some kind for the SE corner of the balcony...if Peace thrives, I guess found it, lol, and I'll be searching the posts for pruning info, both branch and root ( already learned shovel)...or bonsai..