Smooth Touch Rose Planting Guide

Sun Exposure

Roses bloom best where they have full fun for 8+ hours a day.

Spacing

Determine the mature width of the roses you have selected, and ensure a gap of 6-8 inches between the mature size of roses to be planted side by side to ensure good air circulation between the plants. Feel free to plant lower growing bulbs and plants to fill in this space lower down, as this still ensures good air circulation among the rose canes.

Soil Type

A rich, well-drained soil with nutrition provided by compost and a ph level around 6.5 will be ideal for your growing healthy roses.

Pre-Soak Bare Root Roses

Soak the roots of your roses in water for 2-24 hours prior to planting. This plumps up the roots and gets them ready to put on a spurt of new growth. Several can be crowded into one bucket for this soaking period.

Planting Bare Root Roses

Dig your hole about 12” deep and wide. Using the loose soil you just removed, form a cone shaped mound inside the hole, with the tip just an inch below the soil surface. Place your rose on top of this cone, spreading out the roots around this mound, and sprinkle some time release fertilizer around the base of this cone. Back fill with the additional loose soil, and tamp it down.

Watering

Water the rose you have just planted with the water its roots had been soaking in.

Your roses are now planted perfectly! Expect to see new growth in the next 1-4 weeks. During this period, please water your roses by hand, treating each plant as an individual. Water only when the soil appears dry. Those roses showing active top growth should be watered regularly, while those still dormant should be allowed to sit dry for a few more days. Water each plant in proportion to the amount of active top growth each has, more water for actively growing plants with a lot of foliage, less water for those with little or no growth yet.

Follow the above watering procedure, and within 6 weeks, all of your roses should be well on their way to vigorous top growth and can be placed on the same watering schedule.

Winter Care

When planted within their hardiness zones, of 5-11, Smooth Touch® Roses can remain in the ground, undisturbed over the winter. In zones 7 and colder, a thick organic mulch covering the bottom 12 inches of the plant is recommended.