Growing Healthy Roses.

How To Create the Right Soil and Conditions To Grow Healthy Roses

Roses are a beautiful addition to any garden. Whether you are planning a formal rose garden or just adding a few feature roses to your established beds, when you take the time to prepare correctly - your roses will reward you with gleaming healthy foliage and a glorious abundance of flowers.

Roses require deep, rich and well drained soil, free from weeds and plants with invasive roots. For many years it was believed that roses preferred clay soil to sandy soil. The truth is they cannot tolerate the overly wet conditions that occur in heavy clay soils, and light sandy soils drain and dry out to quickly, leaving the roses in dry, and depending where you live, possibly hot soil.

Testing Drainage In Clay Soil.The main problem with heavy soil is poor drainage. A simple way to check whether your clay soil has a drainage problem is by digging a narrow hole 30-35cms deep, run water into it for approx. 15mins.letting it overflow around the hole. If the drainage is adequate the water will disappear from the hole. If the hole is still full of water after an hour there is a drainage problem.

To further check, dig the same hole to twice the depth the following day. If the subsoil is waterlogged, you have a drainage problem that needs correcting. If you have clay soil and have not taken any measures to correct problems, you may need to allow a few months of preparation before you even consider growing roses. Although there are no 'quick fixes' for drainage problems, a quicker solution is to lay underground drainage pipes or raise the level of the beds.

Correcting Poor Drainage In Clay Soil. You can correct poor drainage by adding large quantities of organic matter and if the soil is really heavy, consider using a clay breaker, like gypsum as well. Digging is a great way to aerate the soil, but only dig when the soil is dry as digging into wet clay can compound the problem by further hardening the soil structure.

To help keep the soil aerated dig in some Lucerne or Lupins with some well rotted manure. Cow, horse and poultry manure are excellent, but although they all need to be aged before using, poultry manure should at the very least be a few months old before adding to the garden as it is more often than not, high in nitrogen and can also be 'hot'. The safest way is to use these manures on the surface as a mulch and allow them to break down into the soil over time.

You will also need to add some ready mixed fertilizer like blood and bone or a complete rose food, three or four weeks before planting. Keep the area moist, but not wet.

'Building Up' Sandy Soil Soil that has a light or sandy texture will need to have plenty of organic matter added to it. Well rotted manures and compost are the best to use. Allow time to break down before planting.

Planting Planting roses into a well maintained established bed with sufficient drainage shouldn't be a problem providing that the soil has been enriched and the area chosen to plant your rose is clear of competing roots and weeds.

Because the roots of your roses need to be kept well aerated, they will not thrive if they have to compete for root space. Avoid planting your roses close to large trees or shrubs and plants with invasive or large root systems. Fortunately there is a large range of plants that are great companions for roses.

You can purchase roses either in pots, or bare rooted with the roots packed in moist saw dust and wrapped in plastic.Roses in pots are usually more expensive, but have the advantage of having a stronger root system, as well as being able to be planted any time of year. (Although if you live in a hot climate I would recommend that you choose to plant when the weather forecast is for a few days of cooler weather).

Bare rooted roses are available in Autumn and Winter, and should be planted as soon as possible after purchasing. If you are planting in winter and there has been heavy rain or frost, wait until the weather improves.

Water the rose in the container as well as the ground where you are going to plant. Allow to drain so that both the soil in the container and the soil you are planting into are moist. Dig the hole one third larger than the roots in the pot, any larger could result in water collecting.

If you have used manure as a surface mulch, make sure that it does not mix with soil that you use to fill in around the rose, Mixing the soil with a good compost is excellent, but manure is just to strong to make contact with the root system.

Remove the rose gently from the pot, and try not to disturb the root system if you can avoid doing so. Make sure that the top of the potting mix is level with the soil that you are planting into. As with any plant it is important not to bury the main stem below ground level. (One exception to this rule is clematis).With bare rooted roses you will need to mound up the soil at the bottom of the hole and gently arrange the roots around it.

You may also need to cut back damaged or dead roots before planting, making sure that the tools you use are perfectly clean. Handle gently and as little as possible.Fill in the hole, making sure that the soil is firm but not packed down hard as this will restrict the air flow around the roots.Finish by watering well and adding mulch. Make sure that any manure is kept away from the stem of the plant.NEVER plant into muddy, wet soil.

The type of rose and the growing size will determine the amount of space to allow between the roses you are planting.
The following is a generally accepted guide:

Miniatures 30-35cm
Floribundas 60-70cm
Hybrid Tea 60-70cm
Shrub Rose (large) 2m
Shrub Rose (small) 1m
Climbers 1.5-2m
Ramblers 3m
Standard Roses 1.5m


Staking Roses. Weeping or standard roses will need a stake to support them. Stakes will need to be placed in the ground before planting the rose. Hammer the stake firmly in place at the side of the hole.

Tie the rose to the stake so that it's firm but not tight. Ties will cut into the stems of growing roses and this can happen very quickly. Velcro or stretch ties are the best to use.
Climbing roses will need to be tied to a support. Tie to trellis or support firmly but not tightly. Check once a week to adjust the ties or add new ones.

Until next time, all the best and happy rose gardening

Margarete
www.antspantsgardening.com