The wax is to keep the canes from drying out. It should not prevent the rose from budding out. Are the canes still green?

It helps keep the rose from drying out. It doesn't prevent growth in my experience. I have never bothered removing wax from rose canes when it was one them and it has never been an issue.

No, there's no green on the canes

Is there any way you can post a picture of the canes, Gary? If they're all black the rose might be dead. However, sometimes older canes will get a brown bark like look and they are still alive. That is usually on thicker canes. Smaller, thinner, younger ones should still remain green in color to be alive.

It’s best to not plant wax-coated plants in the desert Southwest. While wax does protect buds and canes from drying out, warm weather and intense sunlight can cause heat build up under the wax and kill the plant. It can be removed by flaking it off, or you can run the waxed portion of the cane under warm water and gently scrub . Bare root roses you should keep them in a cool, dark, moist place. It dried out .

How long after the bareroot roses are planted should they be kept "in a cool, dark, moist place"? I thought roses are supposed to grow in full sun. I have no control over the sun's temperature. The roses did not get "dried out" and "cooked" because I kept the roses well watered. And, I did NOT walk on the soil.

Your soil has no organic amendments to hold moisture. You could use a bucket with slits and barkmulch over top until they started to keep them dark and moist. Some people hill up bare roots. Move on . Many have given you good advice for improving soil. Use your gardeners instincts. Roses are no different then growing anything else. What you call weeds are plants too. They are telling you what your soil is. Get your soil to look like soil that roses like.

To sam 4b Adirondacks: My soil is NOT "full of Preen". In fact, it has NONE.

To Buford_NE_GA_7A: I soaked the bareroot roses in a bucket of water for 12 hours before I planted them.

OK Gary . I am sorry. I am sorry your rose died.

I had read somewhere about tying a white plastic grocery bag over them. I did that and all mine then leafed out. I am in a much colder zone than you though so I don't know how this would work for you.

Hi Gary, sorry about that. These roses are referred to as 'body bags' for a reason. I'm sorry your rose died. If it makes you feel better, even very experienced rose growers lose about 1/3 to 1/2 of these bagged roses. The wax is troublesome. I did break my 'no body bag' rule and got some this year. I have noticed that soaking them in the bag helps. I have also noticed that keeping them submerged in water helps get the wax off the canes. I don't think the wax is what killed the rose. I just think they are not great roses sold in not great conditions and that makes it harder to keep them alive.

BTW, preen would not harm a bare root, it's only for seed germination suppression. I use preen and never had a problem with it around my roses.

In late December, I ordered 5 bareroot roses from Edmunds Roses.

In mid-January, the Edmunds Roses were delivered and I also bought the "waxed" bareroot rose from Lowes. I soaked all of the roses in a bucket of water for 12 hours. While the roses were soaking, I thoroughly and diligently pulled every weed in my garden. I then planted the bareroot roses per their instructions.

At the same time, I contacted Preen customer service and was told NOT to apply the Preen until after the bareroot roses had become "established" (i.e., after leaves had developed).

In the intervening, two months, two of the Edmunds roses and the "waxed" rose from Lowes roses have not developed leaves and, since I have not yet applied the Preen, my garden is once again full of black medic (Medicago Lupina) weeds..

Two weeks ago, I contacted Edmunds and they shipped me two replacement bareroot roses which were delivered two days ago. I soaked those roses in a bucket of water of 12 hours and planted them yesterday. (I have not yet applied the Preen).

Gary, I would dig up and return those two bareroots to Lowes if they have a return policy on them and replace with potted roses

It is too late in the season to add bareroots those were dug up last fall. It has been hot and dry

For your new Edmunds roses read about mounding them with a paper sack with the bottom cut out and filled with mulch to see if the replacements can make it

Personally I skip the "body bag" roses and only buy bareroots from a local nursery that has a large variety of healthy plants but I buy as soon as they set them out usually January 2nd or 3rd

Good luck with your roses

Gary . Due to lack of organics in soil. The weed you have is a soil improver. It is one of the 16000 type of legumes. If you dig the roots you may see the nitrogen fixing nodules which are pink inside. You are fighting with a plant which is trying to help you.

In early December, my local nursery said bareroot roses would be delivered about January 8th (which was perfect timing).

But right before Christmas, when my nursery called saying that the bareroot roses had just been delivered -- three weeks early -- and the roses had already put them into cans and the price was now $7 more per rose, I told them that that was not what I had wanted and that my garden wasn't ready for the roses yet (I first needed to remove gazanias, weed, relocate existing roses, etc).

I then ordered the bareroot roses from Edmunds and they were delivered about January 20th.

To sam 4b Adirondacks: Last week, I sent a sample of my garden soil to UMASS for a soil test; I should get the results later this week and that should tell me what I need to add to my soil to make it healthy. (I should've done that back in December before I ordered the roses).

Not sure what you were paying but the potted up roses might have been a better deal rather than have them die

The bareroots I buy locally run about $20 each

The bareroots from my local nursery and from Edmunds cost $20 each.

In hindsight, I think you're right.

I also live in CA and never had good luck with bare root roses, I now buy potted own root roses and plant them in March.

Heirloomroses.com is a good place to buy own root roses, they have excellent customer service and guarantee their roses for one year.

The own-root, potted roses from Heirloomroses.com cost $25 for a 4" pot and $36 for a 1-gal pot. (Both are with "Free Shipping")

Gary, In your area due to the high temps I would consider ordering bands in the fall and growing in 1g pots until December and then plant

Gary -- In SoCal, we used to be able to count on cold weather in December, January, February -- but in the last few years, with our climate growing warmer -- we've had temps in the 90's in January and February (alternated with brief cold spells) and little rain. It's not a good "recipe" for succeeding with "body bagged" roses, even WITHOUT wax. And I doubt the wax helped.

If they're dead, by all means return them to Lowe's. No way you should "eat" that cost.

As far as keeping them in the dark -- that was BEFORE planting. Mounding the plants with mulch for a few weeks, and keeping the mulch damp might have helped. But maybe, to give yourself a good head start, buy replacements plants locally in 5-G, in another couple of months.

Here are the UMASS results of my rose garden's soil test:

Soil pH (1:1, H2O) 7.1

Macronutrients - ppm
Phosphorus (P) 201.2
Potassium (K) 626
Calcium (Ca) 4195
Magnesium (Mg) 448
Sulfur (S) 38.3

Micronutrients - ppm
Boron (B) 2.6
Manganese (Mn) 15.4
Zinc (Zn) 15.2
Copper (Cu) 1.3
Iron (Fe) 5.9
Aluminum (Al) 6
Lead (Pb) 0.0

Cation Exch. Capacity, meq/100g 26.2

Exch. Acidity, meq/100g 0.0

Calcium Base Saturation 80%
Magnesium Base Saturation 14%
Potassium Base Saturation 6%

Scoop Density, g/cc 0.94

Soil Organic Matter (LOI), % 6.9
Soluble Salts (1:2), dS/m 0.32
Nitrate-N (NO3-N), ppm 11

Comments:
Soil pH is too high for Acid-Loving trees and shrubs. (When pH is greater than 6.8, Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) tends to be overestimated).

Soil test values for phosphorus and potassium are above optimum.

Only a source of nitrogen is necessary this year.

Phosphorus is excessive!!!

The lead level in this soil is LOW.

========================================

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO IMPROVE THE SOIL?

WHAT CONDITION WOULD ENCOURAGE THE RECURRING BLACK MEDIC (MEDICAGO LUPINA)?

regular additions of organic material can lower the soil PH. Also sulphur or ferrous sulfate and aluminum sulfate can help.

I understand the various Medics thrive in soil that's low in Nitrogen, so your soil report goes a long way towards explaining this chronic infestation. If left to grow and turned into the soil when they come into flower, well before the seeds set, these helpful 'weeds' will add nitrogen to the soil from those nitrogen-fixing nodules Sam mentioned. For more Nitrogen, you could also add ordinary (green) garden compost and/or alfalfa in some form, as I think (?) others have previously suggested (unless I'm getting your threads mixed up with someone else's - that's quite possible!...)

Looking at the soil report, alfalfa may be a good choice since it's relatively low in Phosphorous, which you apparently have too much of, as well as adding those fantastic natural growth-promoting hormones Jeri has described on another thread. Around here you can buy bales of alfalfa hay which makes an excellent mulch, since it gradually adds the nitrogen and other beneficials as it rots down, while at the same time discouraging further airborne weed seeds from taking root. Getting the nitrogen levels up as per your soil report, by whatever method/s you choose, should naturally discourage the Medic. There are plenty of high Nitrogen organic alternatives, including blood meal (NOT blood and bone though), cottonseed meal and coffee grounds - Google for more ideas and find out which are available locally and affordable or free.

Other Medic-friendly conditions you may need to address are insufficient soil aeration and moisture retention, which could arise through a lower than optimal level of organic matter in the soil. Amending with any solid organic materials will improve the soil's physical STRUCTURE - as distinct from its chemical make-up - making it less hospitable to the Medic as well as being beneficial for your roses in all sorts of ways! (An organic mulch that rots down over time, like the alfalfa hay, would do the same thing, only more slowly.)

I hope this helps. Look, there's rarely if ever just one 'correct' or 'final' solution to gardening problems, so don't expect to be presented with some single, simple magic formula - I may be quite mistaken, but I sort of get the impression that's what you MAY just be hoping for. Please do forgive me if I've misunderstood!

What I'd suggest is, if it makes sense to you, to try the above, see how that goes, then decide on your next step. For example, if you find more Medic seeds that are already buried in the soil start coming up through the mulch next year; you could simply do the same thing again; i.e. turn them into the soil when they come into flower along with any remaining decomposed hay (or whatever) mulch, before applying fresh mulch. However, as always, I'm sure others will have other excellent alternative suggestions, corrections, and additions to my thoughts.

Good luck!

Comtesse :¬)