AusBonsai

Hi there crazy kids!!! Believe it or not, I know bugger all about Roses (Hard to believe aye??).....BUT ......today, in my back lane, I saw a rose shrub that had been hacked by contructions workers renovating a neighbour's house. I would like to ask my neighbour for permission to dig it up as I see some real potential in it. I has a surprisingly thick trunk. (Compare to the 50 cent piece at the base of trunk). So, my question is: If I were to go digging, would the roots on a rose typically go down very far?? Do they splay out horizontally?

If I can dig up the rootball without too much trouble, what do you recommend I do to avoid killing it? Would seasol treatment help??

Many Thanks

John

Hi John, I have seen roses on occasions in Japanese collections but they are usually the small leaf species roses the one I have seen the most is banksia rose. Yours looks from the foliage to be a modern hybrid. I have no doubt it will survive as they transplant easily but whether you would ever get a good tree out of it or not is another question.
Craig

You can transplant most roses without to much trouble. the old bloke that lives next door to me takes all of his cuttings and just plugs them in pots he has about an 80% strike rate. good soil and keep it watered and keep it in a green house for the moment and you should be on a winner.

keep us informed

Regards,

Keith.

Hey Thanks Craig, thanks Keith. Yes, I'm sure if it survived the rough and tumble of the builders it should be reasonably strong when being dug up.

i wouldnt be to concerned about digging it up, they survive bare rooting when they are sold so you should be good, as craig said making a decent tree is another story, that trunk looks like it has decent potential, i dont know a great deal about the rose family but i presume they back bud well from what i have seen.

leaf reduction might be another problem, dont know how it would go, i would presume a larger tree would be the way to go as the flowers are generally larger i think!