Old garden soils may already have been amended. Specifically they aro often high in phosphorus and organic matter. It would be a good idea to get a soil test through your county ag extension.

Adding nutrients is not the main point in amending soil because you will be fertilizing from the surface. The main issues are pH, drainage, and soil texture. You need to test the pH (acid/alkaline balance). In East Texas you may have good sandy loam-- crumbly but will form a barely cohesive ball when wet. But you need to know the soil type to amend intelligently. For example, to very sandy soil add organic matter and clay (1-2" of plain clay cat litter).

You should post this on the Antique Rose forum, not only for soil but for help in selecting roses that would fit the period and location of the house. You could also take a trip to Chamblee's in Tyler and to the American Rose Society garden just outside Shreveport. There's more to restoring an historic garden then just fixing the soil and plopping in random roses.

Michael and catsrose have given you very sound advice. I have a historic house, and I have been installing roses (lots of roses, but I digress) In my case, I have amended very little. Some manure and/or shredded leaves, and that was enough. My soil was already in great shape (having been farmland since 1837).

A soil test is the best thing you can do. Send your sample to whoever does that in Texas, tell them you're growing roses, and they will give you specific recommendations for amendments based on your crop. That's what they do.

Do your best to identify and salvage your stragglers. Even if they're not a historically significant variety, they are part of your home's history. Having "Great Aunt so-and-so's" rose in the garden is a link in the history that you are now a part of.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Old House Gardening. I'd love to help, if I can.

Connie

P.S. I show a lot of old house and garden stuff that happens around here on my blog. Link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hartwood blog

Nancy, cottonseed meal and alfalfa aren't soil amendments, they are food for roses. I would add them around the roses after they are planted and do that a few times a year.

When I've done a 'new' bed, I've double dug and tilled in composted manure (I get bags of it from Home Depot) and some Miracle Gro Garden soil which has some fertilizer in it. I have mostly red clay, which isn't bad as long as it's loosened up a bit and has been mulched so it stays moist and does not dry out. As others have said, it depends on what soil you have and what condition it's in.

Also, with a little TLC, those surviving roses may be beautiful. It would be interesting to see what they are. You could probably remove them and put the in pots for a few days/weeks while you redo the bed. I've done that with some of my roses and they do survive. It is best to do that in the cooler dormant season, but if you keep them hydrated, you can do it now.

The meals are soil amendments in addition to being fertilizers. They provide additional organic components to the soil when they decompose, as do manures, compost, wood mulches, etc.

Thanks to everyone for your input. I will definitely have a soil test done before we begin anything. I do think it is sandy loam in the area where the house is located.

I have a very large daylily bed, and before planting them we added the above mentioned amendments, along with Nutri-Cote fertilizer. After waiting three weeks for the ground to settle in, we planted the seedlings and they took off right away and are just beautiful today, two years later.

About the rose selection, the house was built in the '30s. My mother had a large rose garden at that time, so I'm not sure where I can find a list of roses of that era. I do remember hearing her talking about the "American Beauty" rose that she so loved. Given that time period, I wouldn't know how to find out what roses were popular.

I have roses growing here at our place, and am amazed at what overripe bananas have done for them. Maybe it's the colder weather we have been having this year, but I haven't seen a sign of any black spot on them, which is unusual in this humid area.

Thanks again!

Nancy

American beauty seems to be from 1875.

American Beauty:

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.192

You can bring your soil test here for discussion.

'American Beauty" was the top florist rose from the 1890s into the '20s. It is susceptible to foliar fungal diseases and would need regular spraying.

Tea (not hybrid tea) and China roses are the old roses of Texas, going back to antebellum times. They are easily grown there. Look around town for large, leafy shrubs. Also look at the Texas Earth Kind roses, tested for easy care by TAMU.

I was able to see the American Beauty rose at the link jim sent me. It is really lovely. Thanks for the link! I was so young at the time my mother had her rose garden, I don't remember much about it, other than that was her favorite rose.

I looked at the Earth Kind roses - I love them and am sure that's what I will be planting.

When we first moved up here to the country 20 years ago, I became thoroughly acquainted with red clay. I bought some roses at the Antique Rose Emporium at that time, but they promptly all died along with most of the azaleas. I didn't try to plant any more roses until we got a raised bed several years ago.