A few of my rose bushes seem to be half dead at the base, while the live part is producing beautiful roses they are looking thin and stickly. I have loosend up the soil and gave them some rose food and some love about 4 weeks ago. I am in southeast GA and they are in a rose garden under a few pine trees with weed screen underneith and pinestraw on top. Should I remove the dead part of the base, I have cut it off almost to the ground but there doesn't seem to be new growth in that area and I really would like to find out if there is something I can do to make the bush full again or even if I can get some new growth. I sure hope so!
Thanks, Tina
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Tina Hendrix
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:17 pm
- Location: Brooklet, GA
Hello Tina Henderix. Ken here in the Chicago area. Sorry to hear about
your roses. I see two problems with your roses. They are planted under
pine trees which causes them to not get enough light. They get thin and
leggy. The second problem is the ph of the soil. The decomposition of pine needles
lowers the ph of the soil. Your roses like a higher ph closer to neutral. When the soil
ph is too low, the nutrients are locked up and unavailable to the plant. I would
transplant them to an open area that has full sun and no pine needles. Good luck
and take care.
your roses. I see two problems with your roses. They are planted under
pine trees which causes them to not get enough light. They get thin and
leggy. The second problem is the ph of the soil. The decomposition of pine needles
lowers the ph of the soil. Your roses like a higher ph closer to neutral. When the soil
ph is too low, the nutrients are locked up and unavailable to the plant. I would
transplant them to an open area that has full sun and no pine needles. Good luck
and take care.
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Tina Hendrix
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Apr 18, 2012 11:17 pm
- Location: Brooklet, GA
Thank you so much for replying! We have a college here that will test the soil because we have so much farm land, maybe I'll see if they can do it or see if one of the farm supply stores know how I can test it. Do you think if I trim some of the lower limbs to allow the sun light in and replace the pine straw with mulch that I could leave them there if I add to the soil what it neede? I ask because it's kind of the center of the yard area.
Thanks again for helping me!!!!!
Tina
Thanks again for helping me!!!!!
Tina
The pine needles, bark, and roots all exude acidic compounds. This is all well and good for the pine tree and cuts down on competition, which is why pine trees developed it as a survival mechanism. More sunlight will indeed help the roses, but the pH (acidity) of the soil is working against them day and night, season after season.
It would even be better to plant the roses in large containers than to make them work so hard in acidic soil. That way, you could tailor the container mix to exactly what the roses need.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
It would even be better to plant the roses in large containers than to make them work so hard in acidic soil. That way, you could tailor the container mix to exactly what the roses need.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9