I use a mix of amend, compost, and either Mastery Nursery Gardeners choice or the Dr Earth one as it states it can be used for large outdoor containers. It also depends how much rain you get in winter and if you plan to keep them in pots permanently. Mine are permanent in pots. Miracle grow I have found can get quite compacted over time in my rainy zone so I have switched to the other two and every year I take out a third of the soil and add Vermonts Compost plus but you can use any compost. Here is a couple pics of my potted roses.Those are two Joseph's coat climbing roses and are only two years old in my garden. These are new this year and haven't bloomed yet as I cut both blue Girls buds off and potted them up to promote a bushier plant. Although Blue Girl doesn't have too many leaves naturally anyway. Closest to farthest is Blue for You, Blue Girl, Earth Angel, Blue Girl, and last is Heirloom. These are new eden climbing roses and I have one on either side of my archway but are training along the fence as my archway is covered with grapes and clematis. This is Earth Angel, also new and only came with three thin canes but all that shorter growth is new canes coming out from the roots. This photo is a little old as it's gotten bigger since this photo. I have many more but I don't want to bombard you with too many photos. Bonus: Sharifa Asma just opening. Not potted but still pretty.

Hi Laura: As Jacqueline, Tessie, and JeriJen often said: "location, location ...." Tapla's recipe of 5 parts fine mulch, 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite is best for climate like mine: low-sun, flash flood warning and fast drainage is a must. It is recommended by Douglas Green, an owner of a large Ontario nursery of many plants in pots, including roses. If I use Al's 5-1-1, there is no need to put loose gravels or bark nuggets at the bottom for fast drainage. However, I use super-slow draining MiracleGro in green bag, and medium-slow draining Organic MiracleGro. I skipped this important process of putting loose stuff at the bottom, and regret it terribly. Now I have to dump the soil out of each pot, and start all over. I realize this after a heavy-rain simulation with a hose, with the pot flooding over and loses 1" of soil - which happens every time it rains here! Sure, Field Roebuck said it's not important, just put a paper towel at the bottom of the pot, and fill up with soil. His Texas climate doesn't have the low-sun, and 6" of rain flash flood. Each region should have its own recipe of best potting soil. Now I realize that the regular MiracleGro potting soil (green bag) might have been made for indoor pots, where one puts 1 measly cup of water per week. It's not meant for several outdoor heavy thunderstorms with 4 to 6" of rain per bout like my climate.

Don't over-amend the soil. Why? Studies show ideal soil for most plants has less than 5% organic content! This is because too much amendment, as it decomposes, reduces the amount of available oxygen in the soil. Plant roots need oxygen in the soil just as much as they need water. This is why most roots are in the top 12" of soil: because that is where the most oxygen is. Check the root system on the rose before you buy it--if the roots are wound and wound around inside the pot, don't buy it. Why? This is because it means the plant has been sitting and sitting, probably in less than ideal circumstances. Start with fresh roses. You don't buy old dried out spotted fruit at the grocery store, why do that with roses? Dig a hole that is the same depth as the bud union of the plant is tall (measure from bud union downwards to the bottom of the pot), but two or three times the diameter of the pot. Why? This is because it prevents the plant from sinking too much. Also, most roots are in the top 12" of soil because that is where the oxygen and water is, so deeper is not better. You could take a garden fork and stab holes in the bottom of the hole if you like, for adding a bit of extra oxygen deeper in the soil. Wear gloves when handling the plant. Let me repeat: wear gloves. Because it makes the job so much easier. Plant the bud union at, or just slightly below grade. This is because if it is too high, you encourage rootstock suckers. If too low, you are moving out of the zone in which plant roots are happiest. Your part of California does not endure frigid winters. If it did, it would be best planting the bud union several inches below grade. Do not damage the roots if at all possible. This is because open wounds on the roots allow Gall infection into the plant, which in the long run will kill it. Try never to damage the roots. Root/Crown gall is a problem in California. Finally don't worry too much. In California roses are one of the easiest plants to grow. Well that's a start. Others will have more to say.

Some discussions of African Violet plants last forever. This is one of them. A problem we all face or faced when starting to get serious about raising African Violets is food. A couple of years ago, when I had this question, I spent hundreds of hours here and elsewhere looking for some sort of consensus. There really is none but there are two are three front runners. There are another two or three that really provide more possibilities for failure and problems than success. This is my opinion of what I have found to be true. Others will disagree and thats ok. I don't use Miracle Gro for anything. My first year or so of raising AV's were heavily punctuated with fertilizer related issues. This, largely caused by my living in an area with few specialty gardening shops. I ended up buying MG perlite, MG vermiculite, MG potting soil and MG peat moss. ALL OF WHICH CONTAINS UNKNOWN CONCENTRATIONS OF UNKNOWN FERTILIZERS. With the exception of a few experts (one of whom resides here) it is very difficult to achieve success with that many unknowns. I only use Optimara or DynaGro for food any more. I have supplements that I use from time to time but I vacillate back and forth between these two. Are there others? Yes. This is what I have found that works for me. My recommendation is that you eliminate all MG products, choose a non-urea food and keep notes on what you find. Good luck! My apologies to all of you MG users out there!