Oh no!! Tell us about those bags you have them in and also what kind of soil you used .

I don't think the soaking is the issue, I have soaked my bareroots, if they came to early to plant, for weeks. If did have them in a cool, dark place, not sure if you had them soaking outside. What kind of potting mix/soil are you using? Is there enough drainage in those bags, I have never used those bags, I use pots/containers. I think there is still some life in your roses, at least if there is still some green on the canes.

Thank you Lily, Ikayetw and MNDutchRoseguy.

I did use a fluffy potting mix, lots of perlite, that I mixed myself. I have a another batch of bare root roses planted in the same bags and same potting mix that are doing very, very well. So its not intrinsic to the potting mix or these grow bags. When I water the water runs out the bottom almost instantly. I will get pictures of the potting mix and the other roses later in the day.

These were soaking outside. Its been very cool spring. However these roses did soak for a long time and the others just 2 days I think.

Is there something I can do??

Are you sure those bags are draining? I have no knowlege of this, just my immediate reaction based on growing roses for 30+ years - I would get those bags up off the concrete (I would put them on those plastic things they make to go under pots which lift the pot up a bit to make sure they drain, and poke more holes in the bottoms of the bags if they do not have enough. Then, I would leave them alone. I agree that the problem is roots at the moment. I would NOT feed them or spray them or do anything except make sure they have water, as long as they water is draining out of the bags well. Then, WAIT, and see if they, or some of them, recover. I would put them in partial sun for a while, and only move them into direct sun when you see that they are no longer going backwards.

Jackie

thank you Jackie! I will move them in a shadier spot on to draining plates.

Transitioning roses from a 100% aqueous environment after three weeks to a soil environment is guaranteed to be a shock to the plants. I'm not surprised they are abandoning their foliage. Some will recover, some will not. I suggest you do not engage in this practice in the future.

I know roses have been known to soak that long and survive, but it sure didn't help them. Please don't do that next time. As Paul notes ... that was a terrible shock. Roses are pretty strong plants, but they have their limits. Next time, soak them for 2-3 DAYS. Or over-night.

That leafy growth was powered by the energy stored in the canes, after they were harvested in the Fall, and through their long period of cold storage. You don't say where you are located, but since you're planting bare roots now, I suspect you're in a cold zone, so your roses were stored for 6-7 months before they were sold. That's a lot to ask of a plant.

I also question those bags. This is a new "thing"? DO they drain? Is there some reason why you didn't just plant the roses in the ground?

To be fair, she go the soaking advice from posters on this forum.

Not to soak 3 weeks. Those advisors are outliers. Overnight is the usual recommendation.

She should have just taken your advice, but 3 out of 6 people telling her to soak indefinitely aren't really outliers.

I guess you have to know who to listen to. This applies to many things in life.

OP implied 3 weeks was not totally elective, in her defense.

It was raining out. I'm sure next time she'll go ahead with the putting them in pots in the rain vs what happened when she waited 3 weeks.

I don’t agree totally with the not soaking for a long time. Yes, I try to avoid it but sometimes you have to, for example you ask for a certain ship date and they send them out 2-3 weeks early. Regardless, I think the big thing is that you keep them dark and cool while soaking them. I have never had a rose die on me when I had to do this, I agree it’s not the ideal way but sometimes there is no other way. By keeping them cool and dark they will not grow leaves but stay semi dormant.

Thanks everyone. At this point I am hoping that some of those roses survive!

I do want to say that in my mind, in my heart, and from every personal experience, I know that people here advise/suggest in full good faith. It worked well for them so they mention it. Sometimes variables are missed or not mentioned so others get different results. This was just was an important lesson.

to everyone: those bags do drain well. They have holes at the bottom and holes all along along the sides near the bottom.

Here are some potted up bare root roses that are doing well: these were from Palatine and I potted them them in early April. I used the same potting mix and bags:

two rose de molinard and an ascot

And a Yolonde d'Aragon

the Yolonde d'Aragon already has so many buds on it:

I love plants so much I would have gone and planted those roses in pots, rain or no rain. I put a lower priority on it and delayed potting because I thought it is ok if they soak .

rifis: what is "OP"???

<3

"OP" just means "original poster" - that's you, in this case.

Jackie

I remember 25 years ago when I first started growing OGRs, and I met Joel Schraven of Pickering Nurseries. Seeking his advice on planting Pickerings bare root plants, I was told to soak the plants for no more than 48 hours before planting. And if they couldn't be planted within that time, then "heel the roses in" until such time presented itself. What does "heeling in" mean? That is the term to describe digging a shallow ditch where you can lay the plants horizontally and cover them (roots, canes and all) to keep them safe and hydrated (but not waterlogged).

Plenty of information about the process is available on the web. (this link is specific for fruit trees, but it applies to all woody shrubs). Most bare root nurseries offer instructions for heeling in. It is a much more beneficial option than simply leaving roses submerged to their crowns in water. Opinions vary, as you can see from previous statements, but why deviate from proven methods, I say.

Paul, I used to love shopping locally for bare root roses in December/January. In those times, those months were often chilly and wet, and good nurseries heeled roses in, in big wooden boxes of wood shavings, kept just slightly damp.

The air always smelled like wet earth, growing things, and that sharp smell from the wood shavings, and the plants were not stressed. When you pulled a plant up out of the boxes, you could look at the whole root structure -- 12-15 inches of it. If you didn't like the roots, you'd heel that plant back in the box and try another one.

When everything moved to "body bags" what we'd find when we unwrapped them was that the roots were chopped off at maybe as little as 4 inches. I hated that.

Katiajini, I'm sending you lots of empathy! We've all been in the position of looking down at the remains of a precious rose or a collection of precious roses and wondering if we have murdered what we love most. I have a bumper sticker that says, "Oh, no! Not another learning experience." My students used to get a kick out of it, but it's something I sigh to myself on a regular basis. In fact, I might put the word "painful" in parentheses before the word "learning." Early in my rose collecting days, I also soaked a few roses too long. Some recovered and some did not. I'm guessing that you will not lose all your plants, but it will be a wait and see stretch of time before you discover which are still standing. The ones that survive the shock will be a bit vulnerable for awhile and will need extra coddling and health checks.

I am another advocate of heeling in, which for me is nothing fancy or tidy. I always keep a couple of large garbage cans filled with soil and another couple filled with compost. I use these stored materials for planting and mulching whenever needed in the garden, but they also come in handy for heeling in. When worst comes to worst and life gets in the way, I just dump a bunch of soil on a plastic tarp, "plant" all my bare roots spaced along the pile, pack the soil down around them, throw some pavers around the sides to prevent landslides and throw some mulch on top. I currently have several plants tucked into a mess of soil, mulch and "ground cover" weeds which have created a cozy blanket of green. My heeled in plants have overwintered in my improvised driveway plot...for two years. Jacques Cartier finally decided to make itself at home and is sending out shoots galore, the Abellia grandiflora that my neighbor ripped out is thriving, violets are seeding themselves, etc. Most of the heeled in plants are destined for my sister's new garden, but her move to Portland has been delayed by the coronavirus.

Soaking roses: If I decide to soak bare root plants post arrival, I do so for an hour or less and I do so just to give extra dry roots some much needed rehydration. Then I either pot up my plants or heel them in until a good planting time.

Sending good thoughts for full recovery of your new roses! Carol

Jacques Cartier heeled in.

portlandmysteryrose: thank you for such touching, supportive thoughts and words.

But you have heeled in roses for 2 years??? that is just fantastic!

I have learned my lesson regarding soaking time!

Ikayetwv: thank you for those two potting soil recs. I will find them. Can you tell me anything about the long section under the graft, what concerns you? It does not feel right to me but I dont know why.

Thanks!

Katy ... That long section is what holds the graft above soil level here ... where we don't usually bury a bud union. I think it's usually pretty thoroughly de-eyed, and shouldn't be a problem.

For cold areas it means digging a much deeper hole when planting which can be difficult. In cold areas planting the graft 2-3 inches below grade can help a plant survive cold winters. On Long Island, Katya, hopefully you won't need to do that.

Thank you Jeri. Thank you Sheila...thats mostly what I thought. I have quite a few questions about grafted bare root roses.. I will start another post.

You might consider spraying the tops (briefly) with a fine spray of water every day or so to keep the canes hydrated in addition to whatever watering you are doing. I, like Jackie, would keep them in shade to partial shade until thy recover.

Cath

You are so right Cath! I realized the canes are dry and doing my best to hydrate them. None of these bare roots have died so far. And they all have stopped going backward. Some are even progressing forward. Last night there was a tremendous storm and huge amount of rain. That hydrated these guys remarkably. They look so much better now! Putting them in the shade and some tlc is really working!

great to hear your updates that they are surviving!

So glad to hear that they (and you) are hanging in there and looking hopefully better!

It's amazing what some extra hydration can do. So glad, Katyajini! Carol

Showing some progress.

I did everything you suggested I do, good drainage, shade, no spraying, wait.

I did one thing more, right or wrong. Three times I added to their water a root growth promoting product, in addition to the kelp which I have been always adding. It is called KLN by Dyna-gro.

The pictures above showing the hurting bare root roses in grow bags were taken may 18th

I took the update pictures on june 9th, a little over three weeks later.

These definitely have moved forward and will probably make it just fine:

then

now

then

now (I cut off one of the canes, it had turned black)

then

now

then

now

The following two hadnt moved forward but hadnt moved backwards either.

then

now

then

now

HOWEVER! I looked again on june 18 and 19:

the three caned one:

a small shoot is emerging from below the bud union. But I think it belongs to the main rose, not the root stock.

and the one cane one:

a baby shoot is emerging i this one too from the bud union.

maybe this will bw enough for these to recover and become strong.

I missed this one altogether, and put it in the sun along with the healthy bare roots.

on june 9th, it does not look good but I am not throwing it out just yet.

I think the shade was very important for the recovery.

Overall things look better for the roses and me. I think the root enhancing pdt helped. Things seemed to pick up after using it. Putting the stressed plants in the shade was critical, very critical.

I did that with my struggling roses too. Some are still in part shade. Good job in saving your roses!! :)

The two that have shoots coming from the bud union are almost definitely shoots from the rootstock variety, below the graft. Be prepared to deal with two very enthusiastic plants of Dr. Huey.

Carol, now I vaguely remember being told to put plants in the shade right after transplanting but completely forgot about it. It really works! Thanks! Its working for you too?

Paul, the leaves on the shoots coming from the lower area are totally distinct in the two plants. So maybe they are not the same root stock at least. And the new leaves on the rose with three canes are the same as those on the upper part of the cane which leads me to think it is the grafted rose and not the root stock. I will know for sure soon enough.

Just curious did those plants come from Regan?

Yes, yes, yes.

Katyajini - Yes...but, I only have 3 roses still in the shade...I've transitioned the others out to full sun. :)