Henry Hartley wrote:


I wasn't offended. I'm relatively new to the newsgroup and don't expect
to be well known.

Well, you are a nice addition to the group! I re-read some posts and now
see that you did mention you are in Gaithersburg. I grew up in Baltimore
County and city.


I tend to plant deep. More and more I'm getting
own-root roses which matter less. Also, I'm in a fairly protected spot
and haven't lost any roses to the winter (not to say I haven't lost any,
just not to the cold).

Good to know. Now that you and Jane have both weighed in, I feel better
about my recommendation. I remember MD winters, and they are variable, but
when they are cold they are very, very cold!


The dry, hot summers and the heavy clay soil are
more of a factor for me.


We have high humidity here and high heat. I have to keep up with anti-
fungal spray, but find that lots of water and mulch keep the roses happy in
the summer heat. We also have heavy clay in most places.




As for the size of holes, I'm from the "dig them bigger and deeper"
school. I dig holes that are at least twice (often three times) as deep
as the pot and three or four times as big around.

I would be too if I had the back for it! 2X2 is about the best I can do--
and I noticed that some of my bare roots, because they were so big and
gorgeous this year, were a tad crowded in their holes. But my back wasn't
having any more of the digging. Hope they will do okay.


Our soil is pretty
heavy and needs a lot of amendments (at best). I usually replace half
the native soil with twice as much organic matter (yes, getting all that
back in the hole is a trick).

This is funny. I think I have elevated the property quite a lot with the
soil that I add and the soil I cannot get back into the hole due to
amendments. If I keep it up I'll be on the highest hill in the
neighborhood! I do much the same as you--don't compost, but do buy
amendments and add shredded oak leaves, and mulch with a few inches of bark
every year.


Usually, I dig an entire bed and then
re-dig in that for individual plants. It's the initial digging that's
the back breaker and I once rented a backhoe for a weekend!

There's an idea. Last time I was in my favorite garden center (local, not
Bog Box) I asked if they could rent me a garden lackey. It was no go,
though. G


--
Henry