YES I would...6 inches or so away...

Not a serious problem, especially if it is not deep. It wouldn't hurt to move it back a bit, though. Go by how the roses are growing. If they look good, leave things alone.

A young bush, especially an own root liner growing in the ground, has to be watched so that mulch does not encroach on its baby, developing crown. New basal canes emerging from young rose bush's crown will have an easier time of it if they don't have to push their way through chunks of deep mulch.

Now if your mulch is very fine, like mushroom manure, and deep, 3" or more deep, keep it away from the crown. Air circulation in that region is important.

The general rule is to have a ring of bare soil immediately around the crown of a rose bush, regardless of what kind of mulch you use.

In my garden I attempt to observe this rule, but loose, freshly applied mulch can settle in and move about a bit. Mulch eventually touches most of my bushes' crowns a bit, and I cannot see any negative effects. Now, my mulch is not mounded up around the rose bushes! Nor do I purposely let it go up to the crowns.

When I put mulch down, or top it off every year, it is placed down away from the crown, going by the rule, but through the process of time it moves around a bit.

If I see the mulch encroaching upon a bush, especially a mini, it gets pushed back. Usually, I put it down according to the rule and ignore it thereafter.

My rose bed is level, so gravity is not at work shifting mulch downhill. I could see the need to periodically move mulch away from the crown of rose bushes growing on a sloped bed.

Moses

I've recently found this subject perplexing as Chris from Newflora recommends mulching up new roses, even young bands, to encourage basal breaks. This is during the growing season. What am I missing?

Thanks Moses. I get very few basil breaks so I think I will pull the mulch away from the stems

Mulch keeps soil to wet and causes problems here...Depends on the climate, soil, etc. I guess...

There is a tiny rose bush in there...lol...But i have to mulch like this here..

I am feeling confused on this subject as well. How does this fit with the advice to bury the graft several inches down? I think that I have a couple bushes where I have soil and mulch over the crown. Do I need to raise those bushes up?

vaporvac- I tried Chris's recommendation for this on my 'Kosmos', 'Madame Anisette', and other Kordes that didn't have many breaks. I mounded up mulch with a bit of Rosetone fertilizer mixed in and kept it moist as she suggested. In around 3 weeks I saw quite a few basal breaks and pulled the mulch back from the canes at that point so the new growth wouldn't die. It worked really well. I've often wondered at how this mulch theory makes sense. If soil is against the canes or mulch I don't really understand the difference as long as the mulch is not mounded up around the canes. Roses that grow untended have leaves piling up against the canes and seem to flourish. I know "volcanos" of mulch, like you see a lot of landscape companies do, can suffocate a plant since the roots are now too far below the surface and can cause rot problems but that is where the mulch is applied way too thick. I apply about 2 inches in the bed and thin it down to maybe a scant 1/2 inch under the roses. My roses seem to be fine. Now if I could only figure out a way to get them more sun. That is my biggest challenge.

Sharon

I think a lot of this would have to do with your soil. If your garden was heavy clay with a lot of moisture, many plants would suffocate in that type of soil due to lack of air flow. Extra mulch on top wouldn't help things in that department either, development of canker, rot & fungus may be more of an issue. Whereas, I have very sandy loamy soil. I can bury my roses deeper when I plant them, water runs through the soil quickly. And the top 4-6 inches of soil dry out quickly in hot weather even with mulch on top. And my mulch (compost & shredded cedar) ends up touching my rose canes over time due to movement from weeding & watering.

HalloBlondie- thanks for the clarification. I din't think of that. I have some roses planted in raised beds so drainage isn't a problem there and my yard drains well. Maybe that's the difference :-)

Sharon