Shoppers Guide to Bagged Roses
By Mary Beth Martin Petrovick

In the Charleston area, you find these roses in February and March, stacked in the garden centers at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot and grocery stores.

As any consulting rosarian will tell you, prepackaged bare root roses are a poor choice when it comes to buying plants. At first glance, these $4.87 roses look like a real bargain. But for all the instant gratification of walking out of the store with 6 bagged roses in your shopping cart, you’ll probably find most of these bargain roses disappointing performers in the garden.

Notice I said most will be disappointing -- which leaves me a little wiggle room to say that occasionally a pearl may be found among the swine. I will confess that I have bought some of these bagged roses. But before you rush out and do likewise, let me present the case against bagged roses. Then I’ll reveal some of my bargain hunter secrets for success.

The perils of bagged roses

There’s a reason why these roses are inexpensive.

In the first place, they are not the best quality plants. The best quality roses are sold to specialty nurseries, never bagged. Pre-packaged roses are notorious for being mislabeled. You won’t be able to tell what you have until it blooms 3 months later. Remember, bagged roses are not fine quality bare root roses.

Secondly, the bagged plants have had their tops and roots severely trimmed to fit in the plastic tube. Many are mislabeled and many are from virused stock. Often the canes and roots have been damaged by the harvesting machinery and handling. Often they have weak, lopsided grafts. Remember, bagged roses are not fine quality bare root roses.

The horticultural wax is also problematic. The canes have been dipped in horticultural wax to prevent the canes from drying out. Probably the canes are dipped in hot wax and the heat from this petroleum-based material appears to slightly damage the skin of the cane and the bud eyes. While the wax does prevent some dehydration, it also leaves unsightly muck on the canes and is virtually impossible to remove until you finally lop off the cane. Remember, bagged roses are not fine quality bare root roses.

Tips on rescuing bagged roses
While it is best to buy your roses from suppliers who guarantee their quality, here are some tips on shopping the prepackaged bagged roses. Realize you will be at a slight disadvantage because only the canes are visible and the roots are not.

Start by inspecting the part of the rose you can see for health, vigor and form. Look for canes that are smooth, plump and green. Look for a strong graft. Avoid roses with cuts and gashes from harvesting machinery. Wrinkly, shriveled canes are a sign of dehydration. Don’t buy bagged roses that have already sprouted leaves. These roses are using up their sugar reserves stored in their canes, so they won’t have much energy left when planted.

Buy only No. 1 grade roses. This information will be printed on the bag. The top grade is No. 1. The lower quality grade is No. 1 ½. Most of the prepacked stock you find at Walmart is No. 1 ½ grade, but they do bring in some No. 1s. Usually the packaging of the different grades and brands have different colors on the bags, so be sure to look over the entire display to see what’s what.

Bare root roses are graded to a uniform nursery industry standard, so these grades are not just marketing words. These lower grade No. 1 ½ roses tend to remain scrawny bushes throughout their lives -- even with lots of TLC, manure, compost, fertilizer, water and pruning. If you’re going to put that much time and effort into growing a rose, better to start with a quality plant in the first place.

Top grade No. 1 hybrid teas, Grandifloras or climbers must have at least 3 canes 5/16 inch in diameter which branch no higher than 3 inches above the graft. Grade No. 1 polyanthas must have 4 canes of that diameter.

Cane lengths vary by rose type. For No. 1 grades: Hybrid teas, 18 inches; floribundas, 15 inches; and climbers, 24 inches

Roses graded No 1 ½ must have 2 canes 5/16 inch in diameter. Cane lengths are shorter for 1 ½ grade roses.

Roses to avoid: You may notice that some roses, even No. 1s, have one huge cane and a couple of much smaller canes. I haven’t done an extensive study of these roses, but in my opinion, these will grow up to be lopsided bushes, with one strong cane and little else.

Also avoid any roses with odd warty looking growth (crown gall) on the canes or graft.

Shop Early. Here in the Charleston area, bagged roses start appearing at Walmart in mid- to late February. If you buy any of these roses at all, you want to buy them within the first week they are in the store.

Pre-packaged bareroot roses have a short shelf life and begin drying out within 2 weeks. Wrinkled skin on the canes is a sign of dehydration, which is the enemy of a healthy bareroot rose. Even if you soak it for days, a dried out rose probably will not recover.

Generally these roses are not watered in the stores. Their roots are packed in damp peatmoss or saw dust, wrapped in paper and slipped into a heavy plastic bag which is fastened closely around the main stem of the rose. They’re designed not to require much maintenance. Remember, these are not fine quality bare root roses.

More tips for success with bagged roses

Unwrap the rose as soon as you get home and put it in a deep bucket of water to soak for 12 to 24 hours.

To the soaking water, add 2 oz. of liquid seaweed per gallon. Use the soaking water to water the newly planted rose. As the rose begins growing, continue watering it with a seaweed solution, 1 oz. per gallon of water, through its first year. Go easy on fertilizers until the rose has a chance to establish itself. Use half the recommended application.

I like to plant bagged roses in large pots. That way I can watch the rose, see how its roots develop and if it grows well -- and to see if it’s labeled correctly before planting it in the garden. Place newly potted roses in a location where they receive filtered sun and protection from drying wind. Bagged roses may also be planted in the ground, the same way you’d plant any other bare root rose.

Whether planted in pots or in the ground, the rose canes must be kept hydrated until they show new leaves. This is important. No exceptions. This means keeping the soil damp and the canes covered.

I like to pack damp Spanish moss around the canes, then tie a plastic bag over the bush. A plastic grocery bag works well and it’s handles are convenient ties. You may also use a heavy paper bag, although paper allows the plant to dry out more quickly than plastic.

Important: Be sure to cut several holes in the bag for ventilation and drainage. Picture the bag covering the canes of the new bush. I like to cut three 2” holes at the top of the bag and three at the base of the canes.

Moisten the moss every day until you see leaves sprouting from the canes.

You can start a tree rose in a 3-gallon pot, however you need to brace the pot to prevent the top-heavy rose from tipping over. Stake the new tree rose when you plant it in the pot. Spanish moss is light, even when damp, and is especially good for packing around tree rose canes to keep them moist. Tie a plastic bag over the damp moss and poke ventilation holes in the top and bottom of the bag. Again, be sure to keep the canes moist until they sprout leaves.

MB’s secrets of bagged roses

There are exceptions to every rule, especially in the realm of gardening. Let me rationalize my unconventional ways:

For me, bagged roses are like wild cards. My attitude is, you pays your money and you takes your chances. So be picky. You may have to look through a dozen plants to find one halfway decent one. You may also look through a dozen plants and not find even one worth bothering with. Shop with an open mind.

I check out the bagged roses on the chance of finding an unusual variety that interests me or a variety that is no longer widely in commerce.

For example, last year, Certified Roses was the only commercial source for roses by the hybridizer John Sheldon. Certified Roses is a major producer of bagged roses. About the only place to find Certified’s roses is at Walmart.

I’ve also found regional differences in the roses carried at Walmart, Lowes and Home Depot, so if you happen to be outside the Charleston region, it may be interesting to check the stores. I’ve found Sheldon roses at the Walmart in Savannah, but not in the Charleston stores.

Another exception is tree roses, also known as standards. In my opinion, the best bargains are in bagged tree roses. Bagged tree roses seem to be better quality than bagged bush roses. I figure this is because producing a tree rose requires extra work. The standard (the long trunk) is grafted to a root stock at the base and the bloom variety is grafted at the top.

Tree roses are such a specialty market that I suspect that just a couple of large growers such as Weeks or Certified produce most of the standards. The finest quality standards –the ones with even grafts and straight, smooth trunks -- are sold to such suppliers as Fred Edmunds and Jackson Perkins and most of the rest are sold as bagged roses. Bagged tree roses generally cost less than half the price of ones from mail order sources.

At any rate, I’ve had good luck with bagged tree roses. Granted, I shop carefully, considering the characteristics of the named variety as well as looking for healthy tops with an even graft and a straight standard with few pruning scars. I also shop stores in different areas, as they may carry different varieties.

Above all, remember, prepacked roses are not fine quality bare root roses. But with patience, extra TLC and a lot of luck, you may find a bargain.

©Copyright 2008-9 Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society
P.O. Box 31893, Charleston, SC 29417-1893