Can I grow roses?

[valdo650]

Hey all,

I am thinking of getting rose shrubs for the back of my garden. Here are the specs of my soil and garden:

Soil - Clay

Ph - 6.1 - 7.8 (based on what is successfully growing and blooming in the garden currently)

Moisture - Moist to very moist

Drainage - Poor to Fair (It's clay soil )

Zone - 8

Location - Austin, Texas

Plant Successes - Oro Daylily (Blooming like crazy), Festiva Maxima Peonies, and Ornamental grasses

Plant Failures - Texas Green Cloud Sage (Ground is far too moist for them, the Ph requirements also state a higher alkaine type of soil...these guys died very quickly in my soil )

Based on the above, are roses good candidates for my garden?

Here are the list of Roses I though of:

1. Knock-Out Rose
2. Sunrise at Heirloom Rose
3. Easy Livin' Rose

The three roses are compact enough to fit in my open area of roughly 3-4 ft wide. There are some areas in the garden where the open width is only about 30 inches. The tallest flower I have currently is stated to grow 36 inches tall (peonies). These shrub roses would be in the back of the garden.

Since I these roses would be mass planted in the back, I am planning to dig out a huge hole and ammend this part of the soil if need be. I heard ideally I should be digging a hole about 2-3 feet deep if I am to do this. The depth of my garden goes down about 5-6 feet deep.

Please let me know your thoughts?

[Jess]

Sorry valdo I didn't come back to you on your last post...forgot

Found this link that hopefully will tell you what to do to make your soil better for them.https://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1212.html
Your soil is not ideal for roses of any kind but as long as you work in enough organic matter and grit/gravel for drainage they should be ok.
I would go for the 3ft depth just to make sure.

The roses you have chosen to grow are probably the best for your soil as they are pretty tolerant of most things. Just remember that however dry your soil may seem on top it will probably still be wet underneath so don't overwater.

[valdo650]

Finally got the Ph tested...

I get a range of 6.7-7.0 in three spots in my garden

[sungirl]

Hi! I am not sure if this will help or not but one day while in Mexico - south of El Paso -in a usually very hot 110F+ dry arid city - I went for a walk and was extremely surprised to pass by blooming roses especially at that time of year! It was mid-December. The weather was getting cold and snow was expected. The roses were fully in bloom growing in a small garden area completely surrounded by concrete. I remember one rose being a pale whitish/bluish colour - if that helps to identify the type. It touched my heart to see them as I have never before seen roses blooming in December. I began to remember the story I heard of Juan Diego finding roses as a sign of the authenticity of his vision of Our Lady of Guadalupe and I also thought of the Shrine located on the outskirts of Mexcio City which displays his emblazoned tunic.

The area sounds like it may be similar to yours in climate and soil. Roses seem to be very hardy and tolerant. If you plant roses this year or already have - I am sure they will bloom for you!

From Wikipedia -
According to the first accounts of the Guadalupan apparition, during a walk from his village to the city on December 9, 1531, Juan Diego saw a vision of a Virgin at the Hill of Tepeyac. Speaking in Nahuatl, Guadalupe said to build an abbey on the site, but when Juan Diego spoke to the Spanish bishop, Fray Juan de Zumárraga, the prelate asked for a miraculous sign. So the Virgin told Juan Diego to gather flowers from the hill, even though it was winter, when normally nothing bloomed. He found Spanish roses, gathered them on his tilma, and presented these to the bishop. When the roses fell from it an icon of the Guadalupe remained imprinted on the cloth.

For full story - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe