Im very new at this home ownership thing but am very happy and excited. I think I may have taken on a bigger project than anticipated.
I purchased 2 bushes and kind of just assumed that anywhere would be good to place them. it has been about 3 weeks and they just dont seem to have enough sun at all. is there any way i can keep them here and they will be alright? they get about 3 hrs of good sun each day. I have not used any treatment or chemicles on them at all, they have started to get leaves but not big and not alot. is there something I can do to help them survive? Oh and I live in Minnesota and have clay soil.

Congratulations on becoming a homeowner!

It's often easy to take on projects that are bigger than a new or even an experienced homeowner can handle, but if you're referring to your roses, don't be discouraged. There are some things you can do to save them.

Roses, like most plants and bushes, need good soil. Roses will tolerate clay soil if it's enhanced. Is your clay soil hard and compacted? Can you easily shovel it or is it too hard to shovel easily? Is it dry?

If you have trouble just getting a shovel in, the soil needs to be amended. I added some peat moss and lots of compost to my clay soil before planting my roses.

If it's too hard now to even shovel, you'll have to amend it before the roses will thrive. What I've done in the past is transplant roses to a very large container with good potting soil and let them adapt to that while you're improving your clay soil. Let them get comfortable in the container for a month or two while you amend the clay soil.

How did you prepare the hole for the rose bushes? Were the bushes bare root or in containers?

I usually dig my holes about a foot deep and at least that wide, depending on the size of the rootball, if the rose came in a container. The bush should be set at the same level it was in in the container, i.e., don't bury the base trunk of the rose any deeper than it was in the container. This is especially important for the hybrid roses.

Did you water the bushes well after turning the soil in the hole and planting the bushes?

Roses also like milk water. If you drink milk, rinse out the jug when it's nearly empty but leave perhaps 1/8" of milk in the jug. Fill it with water and pour around the base of the rose base in a circle about 12 - 15 - 18" in diameter. Do it repeatedly until all the milk residue is gone. This treatment has enchanced the bloom of my roses.

What is the basis for your suspicion that they don't have enough sun? Are they failing to set buds? You mentioned the leaves were sparse. Do they look healthy otherwise? What other factors lead to this suspicion?

It sounds as if your roses were bare root and are just now setting leaves. That's a good sign; if they were dying, they probably wouldn't be setting leaves.

Whether you can keep them where planted depends a lot on how the soil was enhanced (or not) as well as the sun exposure. If the soil is too hard and compact, the roots aren't going to be able to get water very easily and that can doom the bushes.

I never use chemicals on my roses, and you shouldn't use any at least at this time until you determine how well the roses are actually doing and if they survive.

Photos of the buses from several feet as well as close-ups of the leaves would help.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GardenSprite,