Does Dr. Huey prefer acidic or alkaline soil?
shellfleur
10 years ago
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michaelg
10 years agobuford
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Aucuba japonica-acid or alkaline?
Comments (2)Aucubas are not very fussy about soil conditions but would prefer a slightly acidic to near neutral soil. That does not mean they won't grow in more highly acidic or more alkaline soils but may need supplemental fertilizing to provide nutrients not readily available under those conditions. FWIW, most plants tolerate a rather broad range of soil pH but will grow their best with minimal input under preferred conditions....See MoreAcidic Vs. Alkaline - Root Function
Comments (11)In order for plants to take up nutrients they must go into solution. That is, they must dissolve so that the plant roots can take them up along with water. If the pH is too high (aka "alkaline", the opposite of acidic) plant nutrients, especially metals like zinc, manganese, copper, and iron, don't dissolve and are in relatively large chunks or "precipitate". The plant roots have tiny little holes and these large chunks physically can't move into the roots. It would be like you trying to eat an orange through a straw. When the pH is too low, (acidic) then you get too much of a good thing. If too much of the plant nutrients in the soil go into solution, you get an overdose and end up with toxicity issues. One of the biggest players in toxicity secondary to low pH is aluminum. As mentioned above, some plants are adapted better to one condition or the other but must plants like the soil to be slightly acid but can tolerate a relatively wide range of pH values. Also as mentioned above, beneficial microbes that process organic material into plant available nutrients function best within a certain pH range and are less effective at very high or low pH values....See MoreDr. Huey grafted roses not growing roots
Comments (7)Buford, soil is amended clay, and I mostly feed organic stuff - coffee grinds & manure. I toss out alfalfa sometimes. I did scratch in some 12-12-12 this Spring, a quarter or half cup around each rose (first time I've used it). Was going to feed some MG but never got around to it. Some of the own roots just take off. For example, I have a grafted Abe Darby, 3 y.o. who has just sat there doing nothing. When I got him, I had rooted a cutting. The own root Darby is growing amazingly well and is bloomiferous as can be. The grafted one just sits there... Heck if I can figure out what it is. The exact same thing happened with Mary Rose. Austins seem to really like being own root in my soil. However, some Dr. Hueys do OK. I have a cheap grafted RdR which does great, and the own root from Sequoia growing along side it also does great. I do use a couple inches of wood chips mulch and my soil is never warm under the mulch (our days are hot and nights are cool). I could take a soil temperature reading, if that would be of any interest. It's sure a mystery I would like to solve... I currently have a FoJ that is grafted that is sort of floundering, and I bet if I dug it up the roots would be pathetic. However, the own root Zepherine next to it is happy as can be, and the grafted Gertrude J next to it is growing well. This variable Dr. Huey behavior wouldn't be an expression of RMV, would it????...See MoreMultiflora, Dr. Huey comparison
Comments (9)Sara-Ann, congrats on pulling the roses through the winter regardless of the rootstock. In looking over your list, I have or have grown all of them and on the whole I'd say the ones you have on Dr. Huey with the exception perhaps of Neptune and your probable Neil Diamond are less hardy than those on multiflora - those two are the only one of that group that I can overwinter at all in zone 5. Whereas the ones on multiflora are almost all root hardy if not cane hardy except for perhaps Brigadoon and Crescendo. That doesn't mean the multiflora isn't giving them a little added boost, but there are also contributions from the vigor of the rose itself. Madakatude, mostly we judge the type of rootstock by where we bought the rose. If you bought it grafted from one of the Canadian sellers (Palatine, Hortico, or the late great Pickering), these were multiflora. If you bought it grafted from most other US vendors, or at a big box store or local nursery, it's probably Dr. Huey. The other type of rootstock is Fortuniana, which is sold at a couple of mail order nurseries and it doesn't survive well in cold zones, so odds are you don't have that one. There are other rootstocks used here and there in old established roses or smaller nurseries (Ragged Robin for instance was used historically), but the two Sara Ann discussed are the most common. If the rootstock sends up shoots on its own, Dr. Huey will be a dark red once bloomer with scraggly canes, and multiflora will be small white flowers with lots of thorny scraggly canes. Cynthia...See Moreshellfleur
10 years agokstrong
10 years agochatwariq
10 years agomad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
10 years agoshellfleur
10 years ago
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