Question
we live in reno,nv we plant a purchased rose bush in the spring followed the directions on the protective plastic.  it has been 3 months and there is no activity.  the bush looks the same as it did the first day.  how long to start to see any kind of growth.  the stems are not brittle and feel solid.  we are almost ready to start all over but i don't like to give up on a plant that is not brittle. please help us.

sincerely,

peter dorigattib

Answer
Hi Peter-

It would help if I knew what type of rose you bought.  Was it in a 1 or 2 gallon pot, or was it in one of those slender packages wrapped in plastic?  The latter is a bare-root rose, and unfortunately in order to fit the rose in the narrow package, the roots were butchered when it was harvested from the field.  For this reason I never buy a bareroot rose - as it is very hard for these roses to fully recover - some never do.  I have bought several bareroot roses that may live a few months, rarely do they perform well, and then if the weather gets too hot, they sometimes die.  I much prefer to buy roses in pots - usually 2 gallon or 5 gallon as they have more roots intact.

If you do decide to start over - try a rose in a larger pot - at least 2 gallon.  You can order roses on the web - there are some excellent nurseries in California - in Texas I like to order from Chamblees roses and the Antique Rose Emporium on the web.  I have good luck with Antique roses (teas and chinas).  They also sell some modern roses on those websites.  For a really good rose that blooms well, and is a Texas A&M EarthKind rose - try ordering Belinda's Dream from one of the above mentioned websites - it is one of the best roses ever.

Now - if you did buy your rose in a pot - and it was a good quality rose to begin with - you need three things for a rose to prosper:  sun, water and fertilizer.  In Reno, Nevada - due to the heat - I would use a time release fertilizer (granules - like Osmocote) or any good granulated time release fertilizer available at Walmart, Lowes or the garden center.  The kind I buy is usually good for 3 months.  Make sure you water enough - probably twice a week at least for your area.  Make sure the site gets at least 6 hours of sun a day.  If you already use a chemical fertilizer, try well composted cow manure or fish emulsion or compost to stimulate growth and bloom.

Good luck-

Carlene