Good to know, Zuzu. I think the reason Dr. H is generally soaked is that the plants are held in cold storage after harvest and the roots need to be rehydrated. I wonder if that is true for roses budded to other root stocks.

That could be the reason that Manetti appreciates soaking too, Lyn. Jackson & Perkins and Wayside Gardens used to use a lot of Manetti rootstock before they switched over to Dr. Huey.

The prettiest rootstock is De la Grifferaie, which is used for tree roses. My neighbor was really upset when one of her tree roses snapped in half and she lost the whole top, but this is what grew from the bottom.

Is a tree rose what in England we call a standard?

Yes, Mika, and it's actually called a standard here too. "Tree rose" is just another name for it.

Thanks - for a moment I thought I was discovering the existence of a completely new form.... We have just three standards, Graham Thomas, in a small parterre. The Austin standards here are taller than other standards. I'd love to plant more but they're SO expensive and there are always lots of other demands on my garden budget!

Weeks used to sell 60" standards that were magnificent, but now the tallest ones are only 48" and most standards are only 36". I have a lot of standards because they take up less "floor space," so I can fit them into crowded beds easily.

Your garden must be a really wonderful sight! I don't think I've ever seen a 60" standard. I'm not sure how tall ours are, but I'll go out and measure them today (I presume I'm measuring to the point of graft?)

I'm not as sore this morning as I expected, maybe I'm not in as bad a shape after winter as I thought I was

zuzu, I was just about ask about how long plants can soak- thanks for that tip! I still have 8 plants for the lady I do gardening work for and I'm not sure if the weather is going to cooperate and allow me to get them planted today. I actually have had them soaking over night, but just ran outside and put them back in the plastic wrapping in the box. Hope that wasn't long enough to cause harm If I can't plant today I'll put some moist compost around the roots until I can.

Neal ....

I had a bare root rose, years ago, that ended up getting soaked in a 5 gal bucket, without any water changes, for over a month because I became very ill almost the day after I brought the bare root rose home and simply could not get it potted up ! It even bloomed ...

Of course, I was living in San Diego at the time, better known as "Rose Heaven".

Roses are tougher than we think they are.

Zuzu ... 'De la Grifferaie' is a strong rose up here. There is a guy who has a home down on Main Street and he has a whole hedge of D la G that he whacks back every year so that tourist walking past is home during the summer don't get grabbed by a wandering cane. It's a beautiful rose.

Boy ! The things we learn here about root stocks, soaking vs. non soaking, etc.
I never knew any of this and thought everything got soaked for 24 hours.

I, too, wish they'd bring back the 60" tree roses. Maybe they discontinued them because they get top heavy ?

Neal gets a gold star for getting all those roses planted ! LOL

Yesterday I was at Home Depot and they had two huge bins of those "body bag roses" that they were emptying and putting out on a table with a 50% off sign. They should have said "FREE" as every one of them was totally dead. Black brittle canes, dried up foliage, etc. It looked like one of those war scenes of mass carnage.

Thanks Mike! It really bothers me too, seeing all those poor, languishing roses. They hack so many roots off to make them fit into the bags its a wonder they survive as often as they do.

I got the other 8 planted this morning. I had her garden (the lady I do garden work for) ready for them last fall, so the digging went fast. It's supposed to start raining this afternoon and be rainy for several days and I really wanted to get them all in the ground before it starts, so I'm breathing a sigh of relief.

If you think the bare root roses and their abused root system is a fright when you get them, you should see how they just rip the entire plant out of the ground when they harvest them ! It's brutal ! Yet, like you said it's amazing they grow back.
I'm mainly referring to the ones that are grown in fields out on this side of the country.
You'd be amazed at how many people handle them before they get to the consumer.

Mike you are right about the way roses are harvested. Really brutal!

Don't know if this has been posted before, probably, but Rosas Dot have a couple of very interesting videos on Youtube. They are all in Spanish but you get the idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Their video showing how they prepare their seed for rootstock is also quite interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Sunnyvalley, that is really eye-opening! - And to think how careful we are in handling our roses...

Yes, Mika. Measure to the point of the graft.

Neal, I'm glad you got those 8 roses planted, but your plan to pack the roots in moist compost was a good one. Anything moist (compost, peat moss, soil, sawdust, etc.) that covers the roots is a better choice than long-term soaking. When I'm going to be delayed in planting my bare-root roses, I dig a shallow trench, lay the roses down horizontally with their roots in the trench, and cover the roots with a few shovelfuls of garden soil.

Lyn, I'm not surprised about your rose living in water in San Diego. The landscaping in the parking lot of one of our local hydroponics stores consists of huge rose bushes growing in tanks of water.

Yes, JD, they did get top heavy. I lost some in rainstorms when the blooms were too heavy with rain and the stalk couldn't hold the weight. The combination of rain and strong winds would break the trunk. They're "fair-weather" roses and don't stand up to the elements well unless they're surrounded by supports,.

Interesting about the use of De la Grifferaie for grafting standards- something I'd always been curious about. Does it naturally grow long, tough canes? Are they grafted onto another rootstock?

It used to be a three-step process. The top rose was grafted onto a tall De la Grifferaie trunk, which was grafted onto Dr. Huey rootstock. Later, the Dr. Huey was eliminated because De la Grifferaie worked just as well for the rootstock. And yes, it does naturally grow tall and thick canes.

I measured my standard roses - 43 inches to the lowest grafted branch. Perhaps a stunted 48 incher? I bought them (three Graham Thomas) on one of my visits to David Austin at Albrighton and chose them to be similar in shape and size.

I love the look of standards. The hassle of winter protection in this area has kept me from trying them. I have considered using one in a container near the entrance. I have a small basement that stays between 45-55F through winter where I would try to overwinter one.

UPS just delivered my Austin order, ending a day of embarrassingly childlike anticipation. I opened the box, took a photo, and plunked them into a tub of water. They look great.
But...then I noticed that one tag says "The Generous Gardener". Uh oh. That's not one of the 4 I ordered. I also indicated NO SUBS. So, I'm missing The Dark Lady. Dang it. This is the same thing that happened last year, and I swore I was done ordering from them.
I called and had to leave a message and I did let them know this is 2 years in a row that they made a mistake and I want the right rose.
I'll report back after I hear how they are resolving the problem.