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Sat, Sep 29, 12 at 13:46
| I need to dig up my tea roses and add in kitty litter and native sand. When is the best time to do it in Florida? |
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| I would think that the best time anywhere would be when the rose is the most "dormant", i.e. putting out the least amount of growth and flowers. I live in a hot climate and would not take out or move a bush until I have the guarantee of cool days and, hopefully, rain. Cloudy or foggy weather would also be ideal for my area. I'm sure some Floridians will have more precise answers for your situation. Also, is it really necessary to do this? I know my decomposed granite is not like your sand, but once I've planted a bush and it needs more nourishment or richer soil, I just pile on leaf mulch, soft rose prunings and anything else I can find that will break down into compost and work itself into the soil. Ingrid |
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- Posted by bellegallica_zone9 10 (My Page) on Sat, Sep 29, 12 at 18:44
| Is all the time? "The best time to wear a striped sweater ..." |
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| Ingrid, I have the opposite problem. I have planted my roses in 100% organic material....mostly Jungle growth mix which is 55 - 65 composted west coast pine and peat moss with a little other stuff. When I bought my first rose in February, I called my local Dept of Agriculture and asked how to plant. The woman told me that she planted in 100% Jungle Growth Potting soil from Lowes. So I have spent a fortune on the stuff, only to now learn from "Michaelg" that I'm facing some problems with planting in 100% organic material. Actually, he was very informative and interesting. Read the thread "Do earthworms in mushroom compost mean its compost?" I have to get some of my local sand and clay in the form of kitty litter in the mixture. I think I'm going to aim for about 40 % sand, 10-20% kitty litter, and 50 - 40% OM. I'm too paranoid about root knot nematoads to go any leaner than that. I seem to remember reading that SherryOcala uses 50% amended soil - and her roses look Bellegallica, I have a very pretty striped sweater--I'll let you know if it brings me luck. Gracin |
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| Gracin, I did read that thread and now understand your problem. Good luck, and I can seen why you'd like to do this as soon as possible. It's been my sad experience that big store "nursery" people don't know a whole lot. Even regular nursery people don't know much if anything about old roses. If you think about it though, roses have grown in plain old dirt for thousands of years, but we always think we have to "fix" everything. Obviously sand or decomposed granite (my soil) are not exactly dirt in the true sense so they benefit from some additions. Ingrid |
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