On Tue, 18 May 2004 01:50:33 GMT, "Gail Futoran"
wrote:
I'm 99.875% organic and I have all manner
of modern and antique roses, grafted and
own root that do just fine. (Local weather
conditions might help that a lot...) My advice is:
try something you like, if it thrives, great. If it
doesn't, try something else. 
I'll keep that in mind.
If something doesn't thrive, can
I remove the plant and use the hole, or am I digging another hole?
Yep. Sometimes those do really well. But be
patient. It might take time for them to grow.
I had to laugh -- my climber 'Compassion' has a flower on it.
Even though it's still in the seedling pot. I guess I don't have to
worry about it *too* much.
If your clay is anything like my clay, that hole size
is pretty much a minimum. Roses need good
drainage.
I'll keep that mind -- as for the hole size, I've given up and
hired a terribly nice young tanned man to dig my holes for me
tomorrow.
Easier and with the added bonus of something nice to
watch.
Rocks? I've never done that but I probably
don't have your exact soil conditions.
The nursery said to dig the hole put water in it, and if it
hadn't drained in 24 hours to put a 4-5" layer of rocks in the bottom
for better drainage.
I found
out the hard way the best way to deal with fine
(heavy) clay is with a garden fork - 4 flat tongs
or tines that go into the soil relatively easily and
can even be counted on to excavate a lot of
the soil. I have bent the tines on so many garden
forks I now buy Craftsman (Sears) garden forks
exclusively, since they'll replace the damaged ones
for free. The fiberglass handles are really nice,
and generally lighter in weight but tough.
I'll certainly keep this in mind.
Re amending holes: There are lots of different
opinions. I buy a local "rose soil" that consists of
fine shredded mulch, compost, and orange
sand. I usually mix some of the clay back into
the hole but don't go to any lengths to mix it up well.
Roses are pretty forgiving of soil conditions so I
wouldn't get too obsessive about one set of
instructions from one nursery.
What I did for my soil was mix a little over half the soil
from the top of the hole with equal parts Leafgro and Super Fine soil
conditioner. This has worked for me in the past when I've done tilled
beds.
Go to www.ars.org
Do a site search on planting roses and start
reading.
Thanks for the link! I've been devouring articles since I saw
Sure. I usually do that with young roses rather than
put them in the ground immediately. Then you can
plant them in the fall or even next spring, assuming
you protect them from winter cold.
Well, since the nice young man is digging my holes for me
tomorrow, I'm not going to worry about potting and just get them in
the ground tomorrow. I live in a non-garage townhouse so I don't have
anywhere I could put giant pots during the winter. But thanks for the
tip!
I don't know what no-tilling means, but will
repeat the advice about digging a good hole.
I have gotten away with an 18" deep hole, and
I've also used raised beds (9" above ground),
meaning I only have to dig down about 9".
No-till is a growing organic movement that espouses not
tilling beds at all. Not only is it *way* easier (always a good
thing) but it doesn't disrupt the good things in soil like earthworms,
beneficial bacteria, nematodes (which hunt down grubs), and beneficial
fungi. To plant using it, you lay compost, plant your
seeds/seedlings, and then mulch over it. Worms and other natural
breakers down of soil will move up into the new 'top layer' and
convert it into natural topsoil that's loose and aerated and just
wonderful for plants.
Some good links:
http://www.farm-garden.com/primers/2...-gardening.htm
http://www.pathtofreedom.com/backtob...ardening.shtml
http://www.mg.umn.edu/notill.html
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