The Perfect Time to Plant: Bare Root Roses

Elizabeth Sawday
Nov 22, 2012
2 min read

Updated: Oct 17

The nights are drawing in, the temperatures are dropping and our boots are heavy with mud, it can only mean one thing, the Bare Root season here and is in full swing!

The perfect time to plant roses

Despite the cold weather, and the temptation to lock yourself inside by the fire for the next few months, now is in fact the best time to be thinking of next summer, now is THE ideal time to plant your roses. and here is why and how.

3 Minute Planting Bare Root Guide

Why it's a great time to plant roses

The roses are dormant

You will have noticed that the roses in your garden are dropping their leaves and have stopped flowering, or nearly have. This is because they are going dormant for the winter.

Over the next few weeks they will stop growing completely and go to sleep. This makes it ideal to move them. So that’s what we do, we move them from our field to your garden, and they don’t even notice.

More choice of roses

As a gardener, the bare root rose season offers you so much more choice than the flowering season. At Apuldram Roses, we have a full stock list of over 250 varieties in November, whereas by the spring and summer months, a lot of varieties have sold out. So planting bare roots in November/December gives you the chance to plant exactly what you want.

It's more economical

Because of their size, and the fact they are dormant and don’t have to be potted, bare root roses are very easy and much cheaper to send to our customers. Unlike the potted season when each plant needs it’s own individual packaging, bare roots can be bundled up and sent together, making it much cheaper for those of you planning a bigger project like a rose border or collection. So fill your cart!

Your roses will establish over the winter

Dormant bare root roses establish themselves well over the winter and are therefore ready to put on growth as soon as the weather begins to warm up again in the spring. This gives them a slight advantage over anything planted in the spring or the summer as they require a little more time to put some roots down before they really grow and flower.

Roses planted in the autumn will often flower slightly earlier than those planted in late spring after they have already started to grow. So get your roses in before Christmas to give them the best possible start next year!