plant roses question

sunnyday1234

Hi Guys

i have a plot of soil just inside my front wall that is about 1 metre by 10 meters. Its kerbed off and i want to grow roses in there this year so i have a few questions that ye might be able to help with

1. Should i dig a small hole in it to test the drainage
2. There was weeds in it and i cut these but the roots are still there so do i dig out all these and throw away ?
3. I have access to lots of manure fertilizer, do i mix this with top soil and spread over whole area or just use in the actual pockets where i am planting the actual roses
4. should i plant flowered bushes or non flowered bushes and where would i get these ?

Is now a good time to start all this work ?

looksee

Which way does the bed face - if is situated so that it does not get any sun or very little sun, there is little point planting roses. Roses are pretty tolerant but if it is too dull they will be straggly or not flower well.

How high is the wall? A high wall will tend to keep the ground dry. The bottoms of walls tend to have lots of old cement and rubbish buried near them.

Have you reason to think the ground is waterlogged, you mention a test hole?

I have the impression you have not dug the ground. You will need to dig it pretty well, take out any big weed roots and rubbish. If the soil is poor then dig in some top soil if necessary and well rotted manure - not fresh manure. There is no point just putting top soil on top of whatever is there and hoping to grow decent roses, they have quite deep roots.

When you have dug the ground you can plant bare root roses in the winter/early spring, or pot grown at any time and flowering or not. Dont forget to water them well in their first season.

sunnyday1234

looksee wrote: »

Which way does the bed face - if is situated so that it does not get any sun or very little sun, there is little point planting roses. Roses are pretty tolerant but if it is too dull they will be straggly or not flower well.

How high is the wall? A high wall will tend to keep the ground dry. The bottoms of walls tend to have lots of old cement and rubbish buried near them.

Have you reason to think the ground is waterlogged, you mention a test hole?

I have the impression you have not dug the ground. You will need to dig it pretty well, take out any big weed roots and rubbish. If the soil is poor then dig in some top soil if necessary and well rotted manure - not fresh manure. There is no point just putting top soil on top of whatever is there and hoping to grow decent roses, they have quite deep roots.

When you have dug the ground you can plant bare root roses in the winter/early spring, or pot grown at any time and flowering or not. Dont forget to water them well in their first season.

wall faces south-ish so ok there i think. Dug small hole and poured in water, it had drained through an hour later so all good there too.

Looks like i am good to go so... Any recommendation where i would buy good bare roses ?

macraignil

Usually Lidl and Aldi do a special on bare root roses in late winter/spring. Its important with roses to get stock that is free from disease. Most garden centres will sell roses and I think you should check a few to compare what is available. Sometimes it is better to pay bit more to get more developed stronger plants and if you buy plants in pots you can plant them at any time of year. Bare root stock needs to be planted before active growth starts in spring. I was given Queen Elizabeth variety roses that are doing well. I also got a shrub rose last year that despite being a bit untidy put on a nice colour display through the summer. The double flowered roses are no good for bees so I'm more in favour of plating the open flowered varieties.

sunnyday1234

macraignil wrote: »

Usually Lidl and Aldi do a special on bare root roses in late winter/spring. Its important with roses to get stock that is free from disease. Most garden centres will sell roses and I think you should check a few to compare what is available. Sometimes it is better to pay bit more to get more developed stronger plants and if you buy plants in pots you can plant them at any time of year. Bare root stock needs to be planted before active growth starts in spring. I was given Queen Elizabeth variety roses that are doing well. I also got a shrub rose last year that despite being a bit untidy put on a nice colour display through the summer. The double flowered roses are no good for bees so I'm more in favour of plating the open flowered varieties.

thanks for the info