21,402 Garden Web Discussions | Roses



Jasmina has lavender tones and is really, really nice. I haven't had her very long, but I adore her so far :)
Here is a link that might be useful: HMF Jasmina pics tab


Any potting mix will usually work, but it is important to remember peat and compost does not last more than one, perhaps two seasons. By then it will be too disintegrated and doesn't hold on to water and nutrients very well. It looses its' structure and can become very dense. Something odd happens when I use peat based stuff more than one or two seasons, it gets too compact and I've had weird issues with nutrient absorption in the plant.
The ideal soil for roses in containers is debatable, but will usually contain varying parts of garden compost (leaves, bark, canes, wood chips etc.) sand, a bit of clay, perhaps some peat, composted cow/horse manure (I swear by it), seaweed meal... The idea is to get a good texture which drains, breaths, yet still holds water and nutrients well.
With very large containers in which you cannot replace the soil every year it's a good idea to use more sand than you otherwise would do, and a bit of clay. Well composted garden waste (bark, wood chips, cut offs...) work fine as a base, and you can use some peat if you need too (holds water). If there is enough sand, and watering is not a problem, you can get by with replacing the top layer with new compost once a year, and adding some type of longterm fertilizer.
It might sound very fuzzy, but if you start with a bag of potting mix you can easily blend in more sand, dry clay powder, and some kind of fertilizer. If the potting mix has a reasonable ph (around 6) you don't have think much about it, but if you make your own from scratch and use pure peat, add enough lime (source of calsium) to get the right ph. A lot of clay can result in higher ph, it depens on the type.
If you easily can replace the soil every year you are lucky and usually any good potting mix will do. If you have trouble with containers drying up too quickly, you can add water crystals (the filling in diapers). Roses grown with organic fertilizer tend to live longer in areas with frosty winters, especially compared to roses who get water-soluble stuff like miracle grow.
This post was edited by taoseeker on Wed, May 29, 13 at 19:00

I have used regular bagged potting soil for all my potted roses for the past 7 years and have had no problems with it. I've used all kinds over the years because I usually buy what ever is on sale when I need it. As long as you water them and feed them regularly they should do fine. I like the Stay Green from Lowes and the Miracle Grow moisture control mix we get at Costco. I'm not fond of ones with fertilizer in them because I want control of when and what they get. Eventually they all get root bound and need to be root pruned and repotted and they get fresh soil then.

Lola, I suspect there are various fungi that cause cane spots, and some of them are harmless, some not. For example, black spot makes red cane spots which carry the disease over the winter. I know I have also had spots from some other cause. I stopped worrying about it some years ago, and nothing bad has happened.

Okay, the mystery is solved I believe and I am not very happy. It is the story of two gardeners who don't see much of each other....
My husband is working the night shift seven days a week right now and I am helping my mother who has not been well for some time during the day. Apparently he sprayed some insecticide hoping to get rid of the green worms which have been heavy this year and doing some rather unsightly damage and those would be chemical burns on the new growth.
I appreciate everybody's input and I am going to quit reading about rose diseases now and just continue on as I always have and hide the sprayer from my husband. The Medallion will come back but it will be a while before it resembles it's former self. Spraying the Malathion on top of what my husband did has resulted in some burn on all my roses now, some more then others. I am going to just remove the worst of it and tell them I am sorry and let them recuperate. I got rid of the two miniatures which have worried me for the last year. They were not anything special anyway and they sure had a nasty case of perpetual powdery mildew. It seemed very resistant to any course of action I tried to take over the last year and I don't have room for harboring sick roses. That was odd because I have never had that problem with a rose.
I am glad to find this site and have really appreciated the feedback.



Pair of thin gloves and squish. Any leaf with a hole I put thumb on leaf topside and first finger on underside and draw towards me--usually always some green goo. They are so small and hard to see it's not worth looking for them but if there are holes they are there.

I share your pain, Mori. For many decades, oleanders have been the go-to, all purpose, cast iron shrub in these parts. Once established, the require virtually no water. They're always in flower. They can be left alone to do their thing and look acceptable without pampering. NOTHING eats them due to their toxicity. They exploded back into growth and flower after a chainsaw attack. Since the Glassy Winged Sharpshooter made its way across country from the south and began spreading the oleander specific version of Pierce Disease (grapes), the Oleander Leaf Scorch has decimated them all over the place. Many sources simply won't carry them anymore. There really isn't anything to suitably take their places for color, erosion control, many months long color, durability, privacy, etc. Not that I really LIKE them, but having such a versatile tool taken from your repertoire really puts a dent in things. Kim

"Fortunately, there are varieties of grapes which, to date, have appeared to be immune and resistant to Pierce's Disease. You may not be able to obtain the exact wine you seek, but there should be SOME sort of "grape booze" to satisfy you."
This is true. But were I to substitute the word 'roses' for 'grapes' in the above phrase, I just don't think it would bring great cheer here.
There are, apparently, a few resistant roses, but as with grapes, there will be significant sadness and loss because of the mentioned diseases.



I grew rugosas in Rockport MA and agree with roseseek. All of the nurseries on the north shore sell primarily plain old rugosas, not named hybrids. Red seems to be the most common, maybe it likes the cold. I was about half a block from the shore, not pure sand, but average back yard soil for the area. I added mulch and bagged manure to the planting hole but probably didn't need it. There were ancient looking rugosas flourishing all over the neighborhood in yards that are often untended for months at a time.


It depends on the dirt, I think :) I was just digging in one of my beds and I'd definitely use that dirt in a pot. It's fine and drains so well, but it used to be clay, so it also holds moisture. I love that dirt.
I usually mix my regular dirt (more clay and not so nice), potting soil, and peat moss for containers. I like the microorganisms and stuff that's in my real soil, and the clay is nice if it's mixed with other things.
Drift roses sound pretty vigorous, so I'd probably just watch and see how they do. If the rose were a wimpy variety, I might worry. You said 'good garden dirt' so you probably avoided the really bad ideas, like my brick-making clay with no amendments :)




I'm in SE Michigan. I've had great success with a few climbing roses:
Constance Spry: Large, lush bloom on a 12'x10' shrub - but no repeat
Dr. Samuel Holland: Smaller bloom on a 12'x12' shrub - many, many blooms with a bit of a repeat throughout the summer.
City of York: Strong grower, smallish blooms, no repeat
John Davis: Similar in habit to Dr. Samuel Holland. First flush lasts forever! Some repeat after that.
All of the above are disease-resistant & cold hardy. I don't spray for anything and I don't do any winter protection stuff either. I feed 2x year with rosetone or hollytone.
I've had RRD in my garden and have to keep a sharp eye out for new contaminations. Will probably replace RRD-infected roses with non-roses 'cuz I can't stand the heartache when I lose one.
hope this helps, Karol
My bright red Dublin Bay cl. is happy here in Zone 6. It gets maybe 10 fts tall.
You might also check the David Austin climbers--like Teasing Georgia or Wildeve or Wedgewood--unless you are looking for a really tall climber, in which case something like Dawn might be more to your liking.
Do you know helpmefind.com? great info. on roses.
Kate