question on how to prepare soil for next year

sunnyday1234

Hi Guys

I know nothing about gardening so bear with me please :-)

I have an area 1 x metre wide x 15 metres long of soil just inside wall at front of house. Its kerbed off . There was weeds on this until recently and i cut these and used round up on them a a few weeks ago. They havent grown back but there are some low lying weeds left

I want to grow some rose bushes in this soil next year. So my question is :

1. Do i have to dig this soil now to mix it up and remove the rest of the weeds ?
2. When should i plant the roses

Any other advice please ?

Thanks in advance

GrumpyMe

sunnyday1234 wrote: »

Hi Guys
...There was weeds on this until recently and i cut these and used round up on them a a few weeks ago. They havent grown back but there are some low lying weeds left...
I want to grow some rose bushes in this soil next year. So my question is :
1. Do i have to dig this soil now to mix it up and remove the rest of the weeds ?
2. When should i plant the roses

Might have been better to kill the weeds with roundup first then cut them but with luck the roundup will have killed them!
have a look here for how to... roses

http://www.garden.ie/howtogrow.aspx?id=341
HTH

sunnyday1234

thanks

was looking for some info on what i need to do with the soiil at the moment, do i need to buy a spade to dig and mix it up

GrumpyMe

From http://www.garden.ie/howtogrow.aspx?id=341
Select a site and prepare the soil well. Dig holes 30 centimetres deep, 40 centimetres wide and 60 centimetres to 75 centimetres apart. The rows of holes can be staggered, to create a fuller flower effect.

Make up a planting mix of moist peat with a fistful of general fertiliser added per bucket. Mix a 5 centimetre layer of this into the soil at the bottom of each hole. Set up a line to get the rows of bushes straight and parallel to the edge of the bed.

looksee

If you are going to be doing any gardening you will need a spade anyway! Why are you waiting till next year to plant? You could plant now, and bare root plants could also be planted now and would be cheaper.

Yes you will need to dig out any large determined weeds, but by next year there will be more growing so they will have to be removed then also. This is an on-going thing, get them small and you will not have to do serious digging, but you will have to remove them.

It would be a good idea to dig good big holes and put some rotted or commercial manure in the bottom of each hole, cover with a bit of soil then plant your rose.

Does your border get a good bit of sun? Which way does it face? Roses like sunshine at least for a good few hours in the day.

You could use weed suppressant membrane and woodchips or gravel on the bed to keep down weeds, provided you are only going to grow roses. If you are thinking of putting bulbs or herbacious plants as well then the membrane isn't a great idea. It does also need a bit of maintenance to keep it looking good, can be a bit of a mixed blessing.

sunnyday1234

looksee wrote: »

If you are going to be doing any gardening you will need a spade anyway! Why are you waiting till next year to plant? You could plant now, and bare root plants could also be planted now and would be cheaper.

Yes you will need to dig out any large determined weeds, but by next year there will be more growing so they will have to be removed then also. This is an on-going thing, get them small and you will not have to do serious digging, but you will have to remove them.

It would be a good idea to dig good big holes and put some rotted or commercial manure in the bottom of each hole, cover with a bit of soil then plant your rose.

Does your border get a good bit of sun? Which way does it face? Roses like sunshine at least for a good few hours in the day.

You could use weed suppressant membrane and woodchips or gravel on the bed to keep down weeds, provided you are only going to grow roses. If you are thinking of putting bulbs or herbacious plants as well then the membrane isn't a great idea. It does also need a bit of maintenance to keep it looking good, can be a bit of a mixed blessing.

ok thanks for this . border faces southish so should be fine. i have no reason to wait until next year, i just know nothing about planting :-)

Living Off The Splash

Rose bushes are strong growers. I wouldn't worry too much about growing them. Dig a hole and put them down. I have a rose climber at the back of my garage and it survives just fine. Remember that they will need pruning. When I moved from my last house I said that I would not grow any more rose bushes because of the pruning. I had pretty bad scratches from the thorns and then you have to dispose of the cuttings. They are lovely though.