Air pruning pot for rose bands

5 years ago

I am zone 5 (Indiana) with clay soil, and have ordered 11 rose bands (from Burlington Nursery and Long Ago roses) for spring 2021. However it seems that these need to be potted up first to in 1 or 2 gallon pots before planting them in ground. Given the short growing season here, I want to give them the best pot care and be able to plant them by September. I will be using MG Garden soil for Flowers ( MG soil for Roses is not available locally) in the pot - I already bought this as I did not want a peat moss based potting media - I think the roots will be more ready for my clay with this. Planning on adding some gypsum and alfalfa pellets to this a little in advance of receiving the bands.

I was looking into smart pots and air pots. Do you think they will help in getting the band ready for in ground transplants? Air pots are expensive though but willing to splurge in a few if they provide significant benefit.

One particular concern I have with root pruning pots - the concept seems to be that lateral root growth is encouraged by pruning of the tap root. Assuming own-roots have tap roots, will air pruning not harm the long term viability of the rose bush in my cold zone? Or do the tap roots develop later? E-how says "Roses grow on fibrous root systems as do other members of the Rosaceae family, including strawberries and blackberries, as well as apple, almond and peach trees." However, other online sources and also other posts on this forum mention tap roots.

Thank you for reading and providing any insights.

Featured Answer

seil zone 6b MI

5 years ago

Since these are own root bands you don't really need to bury them deep. Burying the graft in cold climates is to protect the graft from freezing and dying and ending up with just root stock. But own root plants do not have a graft to worry about.

IF you plant your small bands right into the ground be very sure to put markers/ flags something to show you where they are. When I got my first bands I planted them straight into the garden. They were very small and hard to find and I accidentally stepped on a couple and killed them because I didn't see them when I was working in the bed. Now days I pot them up until they get larger and easier for me to see, lol!

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Comments (7)

K S 7a Yakima
5 years ago
Hi Mehrin,

You could probably just plant them in the ground. That way they have the entire summer to get their root systems established where they will be over the winter, rather than getting transplanted in fall and having to get situated before the first frost. Of course you could pot them up and overwinter them in pots in an attached garage (being sure they don't get too dried out)... I've sent bands to my family in Illinois before and they just stick 'em in the ground in spring and those have mostly been fine.
Mehrin-Z5-midwest
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks K S. I am afraid of overwintering in garage as I lost my first two roses that way. I think I over watered them. I soaked them once a month.
How much water would a gallon pot need in a garage, roughly?

I was wanting to amend planting hole with gypsum and corn, which would need a bit of time to be ready as well.
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Mehrin-Z5-midwest
Original Author
5 years ago
Just got this from an article on The Spruce "Tomato plants grown from seed tend to send down a tap root, but those grown from cuttings will not."
rosecanadian
5 years ago
I have those resin pots that are popular here...not small, but not huge. I water them extremely well in the fall right before they go in the garage. And then I leave them alone until late January and henceforth water them 1 cup of water/month. Others water more...but that's how I do it.
Mehrin-Z5-midwest thanked rosecanadian
seil zone 6b MI
5 years ago
Mehrin, use that MG garden soil and plant them in the ground. That soil is not good for potting. It is too dense and will hold too much water in the pots. That's why they make special "soils" for potting. It needs to be lighter and drain very well or the plant roots will rot.

If you do winter pots in a garage, keep them up off of the cement floor and only water them a small amount once a month like rosecandadian does. They don't need a lot of water because they are not actively growing. You just want to keep the roots from dehydrating completely.
Mehrin-Z5-midwest
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you @seil zone 6b MI for your input. Do you bury rose crowns 4 in deep? Will the bands have enough top growth for that?

So my dilemma seems to be -

For in ground: more resilient for cold, no garage overwintering

For potting up: time to prep clay, enough size to bury deep

I might go half and half! The feedback here is helping me overcome my fear of overwintering. I have potting mix too. The tip for not keeping on concrete - assuming it is for cold. I have made note of that.