How to Plant a Black Cherry Floribunda Rose Bush

Unwrap the rose plant, if using a bare-root specimen, and soak roots overnight in a bucket of tepid water. Remove pot-grown rose from its container.

Trim canes back to about three buds apiece and remove any weak or dead canes.

Dig a planting hole in a spot that receives at least six hours of sunlight per day. The hole should be slightly deeper and wider than the container of a containerized "Black Cherry" specimen and at least 18 inches deep and wide for a bare-root plant.

Create a soil mound in the middle of the planting hole, if planting a bare-root rose. The height of the mound should be about 3/4 of the height of the planting hole. Arrange the roots of the bare-root "Black Cherry" rose over the soil mound, spreading them evenly. Alternately, center a container-grown rose in the middle of the planting hole, keeping the top of the soil ball level with the top of the hole.

Fill the planting hole halfway with soil and add an equivalent amount of water. Wait several minutes for the water to sink into the soil.

Fill planting hole to the top with soil and tamp firmly around the rose's canes. Water again.

Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic mulch in a 2-foot radius around the newly planted rose. Apply mulch in a doughnut shape around the plant, so the mulch does not touch the bases of the canes.