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The winter months are a suitable time of year to plant new trees and shrubs and roses, along with transplanting existing plants to a new location. Sometimes a plant just does not thrive that well in a particular location or we may need to allow more room for the plants to grow; when we are developing new areas, we can also transplant a larger plant into that location for more added structure.
One of our tasks of late is transplanting Polyantha roses to a new location. This is an ideal time to shift roses as they are at their most dormant. This will allow us room to plant over 70 new roses into an existing rose bed. When shifting roses, you need to prune the top growth as you will be disturbing the root system. Do this just before you plan to transplant them.
Using a sharp spade take time to carefully dig around the base of the rose and try to keep as much of the root ball intact without damaging too many roots and carefully lever the rose out. When re-planting you need to dig a hole big enough and deep enough to accommodate the root ball. Any damaged roots should be trimmed back, then gently place the rose into the new planting hole, add fresh compost to the planting hole, firm the rose in and make sure it is well watered for a few weeks until it establishes itself.
• Linda Hellyer is the rose, herbaceous and herb collection curator at the Dunedin Botanic Garden