I know everyone loves pics, but sadly I have none, because right now they're just not much to look at. I'm a total noob, so I grabbed three of the $10 bag-o-rosebush from the local Wally-World (two King's Ransom, & one Chicago Peace.) I planted them in a 50% mix of "Garnden Blend" potting soil, and was a bit surprised that the natural dirt around here does not drain very well, so I added a few inches of gravel to the bottom of the hole. I thought the ground was a bit more grainy & dry, but now it looks to be more like a clay. Anyway, I've watered them, and given them an ever-so-slight bit of plant food, and we'll see how it goes. If anyone has any tips, tricks, or advice, I'd be glad to hear it. Pics to come. Cheers, Cotton

CottonTexas said: I know everyone loves pics, but sadly I have none, because right now they're just not much to look at. I'm a total noob, so I grabbed three of the $10 bag-o-rosebush from the local Wally-World (two King's Ransom, & one Chicago Peace.) I planted them in a 50% mix of "Garnden Blend" potting soil, and was a bit surprised that the natural dirt around here does not drain very well, so I added a few inches of gravel to the bottom of the hole. I thought the ground was a bit more grainy & dry, but now it looks to be more like a clay. Anyway, I've watered them, and given them an ever-so-slight bit of plant food, and we'll see how it goes. If anyone has any tips, tricks, or advice, I'd be glad to hear it. Pics to come. Cheers, Cotton

Welcome to the forum, CottonTexas. You'll get lots of great advice in here and I'm letting others do that because I'm pretty new myself.

Hi CT, and welcome to the forum. As you may know, potting soil isn't normally used in-ground; it's composition is very different from garden soil, and is designed for the watering, drainage and aeration needs of potted plants.

The only time I've used potting soil in-ground is when I had run out of peat moss, and used potting soil as a substitute since it's mostly peat moss. But that was only when I was replacing the native soil dug out of a rose hole with my usual mix of 1/3rd native soil, 1/3rd composted manure, and 1/3rd peat moss (or in this instance, potting soil).

I suspect that you will find that the replacement of 50% of your native soil with potting soil will significantly increase the rate of drainage, especially if you have gravel in the bottom of the hole. So I would very carefully monitor the moisture of the soil this summer, especially during the hottest days. Note, too, that you will probably see some settling of the soil, which may cause your rose to "sink" a little bit. Some of the settling will occur from the loose soil finding its way into the air pockets and nooks and crannies of the gravel after being watered, and some settling may also occur through natural compaction. If this happens, you can top it off with compost and/or mulch. In fact, be sure to mulch now if you haven't already, to help keep the soil moist and cool, and to suppress weeds.

A couple of thoughts ....

Putting gravel in the bottom of a planting hole actually will impair drainage. You are making what is called a perched water table. This is fine for fast draining soils, but if you have adequate drainage with your native soil, it will slow the drainage a lot. When they build golf courses in hot, dry climates, a layer of gravel is always added before they put in the turf so that less water is required to maintain the turf.

I suggest you always do a perk test for your rose holes. If they drain in a few hours, you don't need to add gravel to the bottom of the soil. If the rose hole drains in about an hour, adding gravel is a good way to keep moisture in the root zone.

I only use loosened native soil in the bottom third of the planting hole, because the anchor roots are fed by the feeder roots located closer to the surface. As I move up, I mix in bagged soil that is used for raised beds ... it's more dense than potting soil. The closer I get to the top of the rose hole, I add more of the bagged soil to the native soil. It's important not to create "layers" of soil, so you just do this gradually. Any fertilizer goes on top after the rose has been planted before I put down my mulch and leaches down as the rose is watered.

Since my native soil has a lot of stones in it, using some of it mixed with the bagged soil, allows for those air pockets Mike mentioned. The roots need that oxygen.

This is my general planting method, but I also add a few things that my soil needs near the top of the rose hole for the feeder roots.

This method is what works for me in this garden because I am gardening in a hot / dry climate.

Thank you for all the input! I did throw a gallon of water in the bottom of the holes, & noticed that it took right about an hour to seep through, and I'd heard/read that roses don't like "wet feet", so I added the gravel. The top-soil where I am was imported several generations ago (just after the dust-bowl[?]), and I used the gardening/potting (generic "Scott's" bag-o-soil for $2.99 at the outlet), and I'm not certain that it's any more nutritious, but it's got to be better than what looks like desert to me, as the dirt around here doesn't look like it's got enough of anything in it to grow much of anything that isn't brown & thorny. The whole yard will be a challenge, but I really wanted my yellow & peace roses now, though having just bought a house, I've been cutting a lot of extras, so I got it done on the cheap. That's me, champagne taste on a beer budget, & all

I have the roses all planted where they will get about 12 hours of sun, from morning until about 6pm. I'm worried that the summer heat might cook them, but I'm hoping that with regular watering, they'll take advantage of the rays.

I know there's a lot of info out there, and I appreciate all the input from y'all on this forum. As I learn, I'll strive to do all that I can for the best possible results. This includes harvesting from the experiences from you wonderful folks as well, and I thank you all for sharing. Cotton

Cotton ...

I am gardening in non-fertile soil and found that I needed to add chelated iron to my feeding program. The iron helps the plant form chlorophyll which helps the foliage to grow more densely and I found the actual leaves were larger so that there was more leaf surface for photosynthesis. All good.

I grow 100+ roses in high heat and once established, only water each rose deeply once a week. The roots follow the water. With deep roots that have access to moisture that doesn't evaporate quickly, the plant is more heat resistant.

The first year you may see your rose kind of wilting in the afternoon. That is just because in high heat, the transpiration rate ...loss of moisture through the leaves ... is too great for the young root system to send enough moisture up during the day to keep up with the moisture loss through the leaves. Generally, by the second or third year, you won't see this happening with your roses.

Good luck.

Everybody loves pics, so I've included a few here :)



Above is just to show my nice little row of King's Ransom standing either side of the Chicago Peace.



The first of the King's Ransom has been thrown around quite a bit by the gusty winds here, but I'm I'm still hopeful that it's hearty enough to grow strong.



The Chicago Peace required the most pruning once I got it in the ground, but I'm very pleased to see a new little shoot popping up.



This lanky fella' is the second King's Ransom, and the blowing winds haven't done him any favors, but I remain optimistic that it's nothing that can't be sorted out.



This last pic is to show how badly I misjudged the clay content of the soil around here. I've been watering them every evening, splitting a gallon between the three of them, but I held off last night, because I'm afraid of drowning them. I also have a little box of generic plant-food that I dosed them with (just a tiny bit) right after I planted them, but I don't want to burn their little roots, so I'm not sure if they should get any more of that stuff until they're a little older.

Again, I just wanted to say thank you to the wonderful folks that have provided me with advice and insight, as I am learning pretty much from scratch here, and the wealth of knowledge I've been picking up has been invaluable already. I hope y'all are all having a wonderful day! Cotton

I would wait until they are settled in and actively growing before feeding, however now would be a good time to add a layer of mulch to retain moisture and discourage weeds.

Most definitely mulch them, to keep the soil moist and cool.

I got some mulch put down today. I'm thinking that I'll add more as needed.



Thank you everyone for good advice! Cotton

Cotton ....

I would suggest that you go ahead and mulch the whole area .... it doesn't have to be bagged mulch .... because the dryer soil will leach the moisture away from the roses.

Smiles,
Lyn

Agreed.

Okay, I did a do-over with the rest of the bag.



Once summer gets here I'll be able to get away from the bagged stuff, but for now, if I need more, I'll have to go grab some from town.

Thank you for all the replies! Cotton

EDIT: I did go back and straighten up that wonky edge BTW.

I don't know much about your climate, but from what I see, it appears to be a very arid landscape. I suspect that you will need to water these roses a lot.

Amarillo is DRY. Roses like to have 1" of water/week.

Somehow I dont think 1/3 gal. water per rose is enough for newly planted roses in a dry climate, even daily. Thoughts from anyone in a similar climate?

The surrounding soil looks like it would wick any moisture from the rose soil very quickly.

Good info here, for sure. Amarillo is VERY dry most of the year. The water would pool above the ground, and I would have to wait in order to give them what water they've been getting. I've been watering in the evening, but it's supposed to get down to 31° tonight, so I'm not sure if I should be watering in the morning instead, but if they've been dehydrating for the past week, then I think I'll go ahead and give them each a full gallon this evening. Not knowing how much to water is totally newb, but that's where I am - afraid of both under & over-watering. It's why I'm so grateful that the good folks here are willing to help along the way. I think that next time I go to town, maybe I should pick up another bag of mulch. Hopefully another layer might help the soil retain more water. Thanks again for all the input. Much appreciated! Cotton

Mike said: I don't know much about your climate, but from what I see, it appears to be a very arid landscape. I suspect that you will need to water these roses a lot.

For the first year that is true. Cotton did say he is gardening in soil that has a lot of clay ... which will hold moisture.

The most important thing for you to do, Cotton, is to encourage these roses to grow deep roots. Since the roses you purchased probably didn't have many, or any, longer anchor roots, you do need to water daily. I'd suggest 2 gal each. That's the size of most watering cans.

To encourage the roses to grow deeper roots, water each rose hole for about 10 min with a sprinkler once a week .... I use something like this ... https://www.acehardware.com/de....

Yes, you are only watering the rose hole for the most part, but keep in mind, the roots follow the water. Once the roses have grown a larger root mass, they won't have to watered as much. Moisture down deep does not evaporate as quickly as moisture near the surface.

I grow roses in a climate where summer temps are in the high 90s to low 100s every day for about 4 months with no rain. Each of my established roses gets watered once a week. Since I am gardening on five levels, I water a different section of the garden each day. (I do multi-task and don't just watch the sprinkler do it's thing )

I actually use less water for my roses than a neighbor who waters her garden twice a day. She never does a deep watering.

Smiles,
Lyn

EDIT:
I left out part of a sentence. I put the edit in italics.

Cotton ....

We were posting at the same time ... oops

It is totally impossible to over water a rose that has good drainage. The rose takes up what it needs and the rest of the water drains away.

The reason I suggested 2 gal of water is that will give the rose the water it needs even with the dry soil leaching water away from the rose.

Smiles,
Lyn