"ALS" wrote in message
...
Hi everyone,

I am in Normandy on a farm and have extensive formal
gardens which I have been trying to return to their former glory. I have
about 100 roses in the main gardens and have had some nasty problems with
an
employee who sprayed most of the roses with a roundup spray instead of a
rose spray last summer (Yes, it was on purpose). It broke my heart. I have
started replacing them, but my question is, is it enough to remove large
areas of soil and replace with new or do I need to take the entire soil
from
all the beds to have healthy growth with new planting? I would appreciate
any experienced rose growers comments.

Thanks
Ann

Ann,
What a horrible stunt to inflict on you and your roses, I"m sure you must
have been really crushed. I hope your rebuilding efforts go smoothly.

My first hunch was that you shouldn't have to replace the soil at all-- I
was pretty sure Roundup doesn't impact the soil, just the vegetation it's
sprayed on. Hopefully the spray in question was just like Roundup. I did a
search on Roundup and I found this:
http://www.pestproducts.com/roundup_herbicide.htm

This link confirms what I suspected-- if the spray WAS just like Roundup,
you'll have killed plants but soil that's OK to replant once you remove the
dead plant. You shouldn't have to replace ANY of the soil, just get rid of
the dead plant.

If there's a bright side at all-- at least you get to choose all new rose
plants?
Good luck with your rebuilding.

JimS.
Seattle