Tisha said:RpR
So you dig a trench 2 or 3 feet long and 2 feet deep, bend/ stretch the root while laying the plant down into the trench. Then cover the 2 foot wide plant with dirt. Is that about right?
The trench has to be longer and wider than the rose . Width will be more important than length and you will probably be best to compress the branches rather than get overly wide as in spring if you forget to uncover a branch there is a fifty-fifty chance to break it off.
Two feet deep give or take should be enough to cover the plant.
If your rose is a foot wide, sixteen inches will do; if you rose is a stiff sucker that looks like a small tree, a lttle deeper is better.
It almost seems, to me, that if you bury it x deep, when you lift it up it is x plus five more inches , so when you lift it make sure you get under it, and depending on your soil type, rock the fork or shovel or what ever you use, The ground will raise or move where the rose is. Now if it does not lift easily use multiple spots to find out where it is and is not.
If you have softer soil this will not be too much of a problem.
Now I also put leaves on top of mine so I do not worry about any exposed tips.
You make sure the dirt is not blocking the side of the root ball in the direction the bush will be tipped and loosen the rear half of he roots, dig under them and lift, rock the tool, a little to make sure you can see the rose lift a little, then push it over into the trench.
I do not wear gloves so some times I use a stick or what ever is handy to push on real pricky roses.
I step on it if necessary when I start to cover it or put a large chunk of dirt, or any thing to hold it down if need be.
Make sure the root is covered with dirt and MARK, by what ever means you choose where the end of the rose is, the root, the direction you tipped it.
I tip som roses into the same hole, one from each direction, or three into a common, commons etc. as space provides.
When I started doing this I did not mark anything, and when I uncovered them all I saw was a blank black slate that gave zero indication where any rose was.
It took me a few years of annoyance to finally mark it well enough.
I found leaving bits of string or twine to mark was a joke as it seems worms like to hide them from you.
You will get the hang of it and it does get easier each year.
