How to Buy Rose Bushes

Roses bushes come packaged in different ways, and there are certain things that you need to look for in each rose bush, regardless of the packaging, to ensure that you are buying a healthy rose bush.

The overall things that you need to look for when buying rose bushes are: make sure the wood canes are green, soft and healthy. Foliage should be bright, firm and not shriveled.

Now let's look at the different ways that rose bushes are packaged and find out the specifics that you should look for before you buy.

Bare root rose bushes are simply rose bushes with no soil around the roots. These rose bushes are usually 1-2 years old and were packaged while dormant. Bare Root rose bushes come with the rose bushes' roots in a plastic sleeve with a little sawdust mixture covering the roots to maintain moisture in the rose bush. A bare root rose bush will also have the stems coated with a wax, this is to protect the rose bush during transit and does not harm the rose bush. When buying a bare root rose bush, look for healthy, green canes and try to choose the rose bush that has already begun to sprout. Slightly squeeze the plastic sleeve to tell if the sawdust mixture is moist or dry, moist is what you want.

Pre-planted rose bushes are well established rose bushes already planted in a biodegradable container. You will plant the entire container for this type of rose bush. Pre-planted rose bushes tend to have earlier blooms than bare root rose bushes, since they are already in the growing stage when you buy them. Look for healthy, green canes, healthy red buds on the canes and deep green young foliage.

Potted rose bushes will give you instant gratification, since most potted roses that you buy will already have rose buds, or in some plants, already have fully bloomed roses on them. If you want to buy potted rose bushes, look for a rose bush that has an open center with the foliage growing toward the outside to let the sunlight reach all the leaves. A potted rose bush should be clean, healthy looking, insect and disease free. Look at the leaves closely, reject any rose bush with blacks spot on the leaves or insect infestation on the under side of the leaves.