When do I plant roses in Georgia? What’s the best time to plant roses in Georgia
When to Plant Roses in Georgia? For roses – for bare-root roses or for garden transplants (moving a rose already planted in your garden from one spot to another) in Georgia, the planting season is November on through March.
But the later in the season the more questionable the pursuit becomes. Why so? Is it wrong to plant bare-root roses in Georgia in, say, early April?
I would say the only time that you may wish to avoid late-spring rose planting in Georgia is when the weather has been good to date. If the weather has been good and the roses are already in full growth mode then it’s not ideal.
So, if this is the case for you – you wish to plant bare-root roses in late spring, it may be better to opt for container-grown roses.
With container-grown roses, you can plant anytime throughout the growing season and the rose bush should be perfectly happy about it.
I would also say try to avoid very late-season planting of container-grown roses, though. Ideally, you’ll want your roses to be in place well before fall frosts occur. This will allow your rose or roses to become nicely established in their new home before they become dormant on account of cold weather.
You also need to ensure the correct selection of where you plant your rose – or roses. For roses to be at their best, they’ll need plenty of sunshine – as much as six hours on a daily basis.
If there is shade in the planting area, ideally, you’ll want the area to receive morning-time sunshine and shade during the afternoon. This is because most roses are susceptible to various leaf-located diseases. Hence, if the sunshine occurs during the morning hours this helps to dry any moisture associated with early-morning dew or rainfall. Moisture on leaves encourages disease.
Up next? Good soil!
What your roses want – what you will also want to enjoy a good rose-bloom showing, is that your soil is well-drained and the pH is slightly acidic – 5.5 to 6.5 is great!
Well-drained soils mean that there is ample movement of air and water. A heavy clay soil might require organic matter or sand added to aid with aeration. However, if, in general, your soil is poorly drained, you might consider planting your roses in a raised bed.
If you’re starting out with a brand-new rose garden, it’s pertinent to test your soil and send that test to the UGA Soil Test Lab. This way you’ll find out what the pH level of the soil actually is as well as what sort of nutrient content it has and that reduces any guesswork on your part.
When you’re making preparations of the ground, go one foot deep. Remove any larger stones, any wood that might be there, and any form of debris.
Your soil may benefit from the addition of some peat moss, preferably from a sustainable resource. Add 3 or 4 inches of peat moss and gently dig this into the topsoil layer. On the other hand, you can add leaf mold or composted pine bark as an alternative to peat moss.
After planting your roses, you will then want to understand when to prune roses in Georgia. Click the link to the article to find out!
