Some gardeners de-bud the new plants (take off all the buds) for the first few months or even for the entire first season--supposedly so that the plant will concentrate on growing a good, dependable root system instead.

Most rose gardeners I know do not do that. My roses settle in fine and grow good roots and put out beautiful blooms without all that fussing.

Another reason that some people selectively take out one or a couple buds is because they are "exhibitors" at the rose contests and selective de-budding like that encourages the rose to produce bigger, and hopefully award-winning, blooms.

If you grow roses primarily to be enjoyed in your own garden--like I do--you actually want to do the opposite--you do everything you can to maximize the number of blooms -- so that the roses will make a big show in your garden.

Different strokes for different folks, you know. : )

I advise you to just make sure the roses are watered and getting enough sunshine--and after they start putting out some good healthy leaves, feed them with a fertilizer like Rose Tone or Osmocote.

Hope that helps.

Kate

Kate gave you a good explanation of the reasons for dis-budding. I do exhibit but I also rarely dis-bud because my season is short and I want all the blooms I can get, lol!

Disbudding is more critical for small, newly rooted cuttings.

A grafted or even an own-root body-bag rose has been growing for 18-24 months, so it's not so critical to disbud.

Also you have a long (51 week) growing season. A short growing season means there's less time for the plant to establish. A long one means it has a lot more time.

Expect your newly planted roses to slow way down in the heat of summer. In future years they will handle the SFV heat better than they will the first year.