When should you plant roses in Louisiana?

When to Plant Roses in Louisiana – Gardeners in Louisiana and elsewhere frequently hang on until April and also May before they buy roses that are in bloom. After which these roses are planted in the garden. 

It makes sense to do that. After all, who doesn’t wish to invest in a beautiful-looking rose bush that is in full bloom? It’s a bit like investing in an orchid for your home. You’d, for obvious reasons, want to purchase the orchid when it’s looking at its best. And that’s when the orchid is in full bloom – or when the flower buds are just about to open. 

Fact is, though, planting roses earlier in the year comes with important advantages. 

You can buy roses either in bare-root format or in containers. Roses, for the most part, are usually available to buy from local nurseries in January. 

Go for roses that are of the highest quality. You may have to pay more for the quality, but it’s worth it. If you get a plant that is healthy and vigorous it will produce more flowers and possibly larger flowers as well. 

So, certainly for bare-root roses, it’s best in Louisiana to make your purchase and to plant either in late winter or in early spring. This timing is because you’ll want that your roses become nicely established in your yard before they start to bloom.

Don’t be tempted to invest in bare-root roses once February has come and gone. By then, because of the rise in daily temperatures, roses that are sold as bare root will already be sprouting come March or April.

As for container-grown roses. Container-grown can be planted right up to May in Louisiana. Nevertheless, it’s best to plant earlier in the season.

Why plant container-grown roses earlier than May in Louisiana?

Well, that’s because when you plant earlier the roses can become nicely established in their new home. Particularly with regard to root growth. So, they put on root growth well before they start to bloom.

Further, summertime temperatures in Louisiana are very high. If you plant your roses earlier in the season they can become established before the heat of summer descends. 

When roses bloom it places stress on the plant. When roses are subjected to high temperatures, again, the plant becomes stressed. When roses get stressed they don’t establish well – they don’t grow well, if at all. So plant earlier on in the season and your roses will be well equipped to deal with the double stressor of blooming and high temperatures.