transplanted roses

[vivid]

Hiya all this is my first post on this forum, my name is Mike and I'm a new gardener. I have just transplanted some roses from a very shaded area to the front of the garden about two and a half weeks ago they look like they hadn't been watered in awhile so i deeply watered them two days before transplanting. They immediatly started dropping leaves and dying off I knew that they were in shock but after a week they were still not improving so I put some rose food in and their leaves continue to dry out and die, although the vines are continuing to turn more green. Should I prune them back so it concentrates more on root growth. I live in southern cali, extremly hot here lately. Thanks ahead of time for the help.

Mike

[Chris]

YES!

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS prune broad leaf plants if you transplant while they're growing. The roots can not support the foliage if you don't. You need to take half off, at least, but now it may be too late.

Additionally, in the future, you should transplant in the spring just before the plant breaks dormancy, doing it right now, in late July, is actually the worst time to do it.

Try as well to shade them, put up a tarp, a tent, an umbrella, something to keep the sun off their leaves to help them retain moisture as the roots recover, and yes, keep them well watered. You need to water them once a day, at least, twice better.

Hopefully they don't die, but you've really set yourself up for a hard time here.

And do not fertilize either, they need water, not fertilizer at this point. Once you see new growth coming (no sooner than mid august) you can fertilize again.