Pictures of plants & roses in pH 8 alkaline clay in July and onwards
Below pics. are taken mid-July and onwards in my garden of heavy clay, pH near 8, rock-hard with minerals. I have 38" of rain per year .. and acidic rain at pH 5.6 helps to dissolve the hard-minerals.
When I don't get rain, I use gypsum/sulfate of potash, or acidic agent like cracked corn (pH 4) or used lime & lemon to neutralize my tap water at pH near 9. Some pics. taken today, July 19:
The above yellow perennial does well in rock-hard clay.
Dee-list bought from RU as own-root in mid-May, now at 3 feet tall and 5 buds. Background is alyssum and white Marie Pavie, taken July 19.
Comments (48)
strawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
Above is W.S. 2000. It's right next to the rain-spout, which dump 32 gallons of water every 15 minutes in heavy rain. It can't cope with tons of water, so leaves have holes. I already dug down to 2.5 feet, but just too much water for a tiny own-root.
Above is yellow coreopsis with red snapdragon .. both are perennials in zone 5a. snapdragon self-sow itself for next year.
Above is Yves Seedling bloom, grown from seed. Delicious grape juice & red wine fragrance, like a yummy desert.
Above is Pat Austin. Leaves get darker in its 5th year. When it was own-root in 1st year, it was really pale, but as it gets bigger, roots secret more acid. This rose HATE chemical sulfur as in gypsum, and prefer it alkaline.
Above is Cluster-blooming in Tchaikosky .. fruity scent in its 1st flush. Below is Tchaikosky begin of its 2nd flush, pic. taken July 19. It's in less than 4 hours of sun, so later in blooming.
Above Pat Austin blooms well in less than 4 hours of sun:
Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agostrawchicago z5 thanked Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)Related Discussions
Red Cabbage pH testing
Comments (3)Thank you, Debbie for the positive feed back. Thank you, Gracin, for an excellent picture. I'm glad it helped you. Red cabbage is also useful to test the SURFACE soil pH, to prevent fungal growth. I don't have blackspots on roses mulched with horse manure, even with the year with 49" rain, plus 32" snow. My horse manure pH is 7.5 in spring, and pH 8 in late fall. My mediocre horse manure on woodchips bedding and lime has 2 advantages: 1) woodchips dries out faster than clay (staying wet longer means germinating fungi better). 2) Lime suppress fungal growth with its high pH and anti-fungal properties. I tested the surface pH around roses in relation to fungal growth, and the degree of surface wetness, mixed in with my soil pH 7.7: 1) surface wet rotten tomatoes (pH 4.5) - worst blackspot 2) surface Hollytone with sulfur mixed in - equally bad 3) surface wet alfalfa meal (pH 6) - second worst BS Wet decomposed leaves weren't bad, just a tiny bit of BS. University of Illinois documented the end result of decomposed leaves as slightly alkaline, and not neutral. Here's a research which explains why bagged cow manure is reported as very acidic (pH 4), or very alkaline (pH 8). Contrasting Soil pH Effects on Fungal and Bacterial Growth ��" 1 by Department of Microbial Ecology, Lund University, Sweden . 2. Soil Science Department, Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom. ABSTRACT The influence of pH on the two principal decomposer groups in soil, fungi and bacteria, was investigated ⦠This experimental location provides a uniform pH gradient, ranging from pH 8.3 to 4.0, within 180 m in a silty loam soil. .. The growth-based measurements revealed a fivefold decrease in bacterial growth and a fivefold increase in fungal growth with lower pH. ⦠Below pH 4.5 there was universal inhibition of all microbial variables." Here is a link that might be useful: Cheapest way to test soil pH using red cabbage This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Sat, Mar 2, 13 at 17:08...See MoreCheapest way to test soil pH using red cabbage
Comments (42)I don't put any sulfur in the holes of the roses pictured. The other holes with sulfur didn't bloom well. My heavy clay is very retentive, there is no leaching here. Here's a quote from Nutrient Stewardship site: "Phosphorus is the nutrient most affected by pH. ..Nitrogen, Potassium, and sulfur are less affected. At alkaline pH values, greater than pH 7.5, phosphate ions tend to react quickly with calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) to form less soluble compounds. At acidic pH values, phosphate ions react with aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) to again form less soluble compounds." It's good to test if one's tap water is alkaline, some cities add lime to water so pipes won't corrode. Calcium in lime will bind with phosphorus, and less is available. In my 12 years of growing flowers in pots, the year that I got continuous MOST blooms despite my pH 8 water was when I used high phosphorus SOLUBLE fertilizer, and low nitrogen. Granular phosphorus like bone meal and 46% superphosphate are useless in the planting hole here in alkaline clay. My results confirmed what University of Colorado stated "bone meal and rock phosphate can only be utilized at or below pH 7". My pH 7.7 soil was tested most deficient in phosphorus. Here's a quote from David Neal, CEO of Dyna-Grow Plant Nutrition in CA: "There is some evidence to believe that low N helps to convince a plant to stop its vegetative growth and move into its reproductive phase (flowering), but environmental factors are probably more important. P is typically 5th or 6th in order of importance of the six macronutrients. There is little scientific justification for higher P formulas, but marketing does come into play ...." He's right, just a tiny bit of SOLUBLE phosphorus made more blooms and more roots - but beyond that is wasteful. The site, Robert Morris NOBLE plant foundation, rated the mobility of NPK: "Let's compare the mobility of NPK on a scale of 1 to 10. Nitrogen is a 10 ... extremely mobile and can be lost to leaching. Potassium is a 3. It has limited movement in the soil. Phosphorus has a rating of 1. It is immobile in the soil and is likely to stay wherever it is placed." Here is a link that might be useful: Soil pH and availability of plant nutrients...See MoreRoses & plants in heavy clay, pH 8, zone 5a, 38" rain and 23" snow
Comments (58)Just thought I'd post the results I had in one garden bed that's clay-loam. Last year I had amended this bed with home-made compost. Everything did well last year as first year plantings. This year they suffered from too little light. (I just put the roses there to get them through the winter and hoping they might like the eastern exposure. Heathcliff, Sugar Moon and Falstaff like sun in my neck of the woods, it seems. I'll probably be moving the viking Queen next Spring as she's a fraction of the size of her sister in full sun, and hasn't bloomed since Spring while her sister would be non-stop if not for the midge.) Anyway, the soil was very dry even with rain. I thought the heavy leaf layer prevented water. I stuffed the empty holes with alfalfa hay, compost and leaf mold until I decided what to plant. I also put the alfalfa under the leaves in the rest of the bed and gave it additional compost. Wow, when I went to plant Lavender Lassie and two hydrangeas, all the soil was so soft and fluffy and moist, even though we had less rain that earlier. I'm now prepping my holes in advance of next Spring and filling them with the same and covering the entire bed with alfalfa hay, etc. The new plantings have taken off even in the reduced light of late summer. I repeated this in another new bed and Mme Alfred Carriere and Awakening seem to love it even in their NE exposure. (Of course, they could just be responding to being in the ground vs. in pots. : ) ) Lesson learned. : ) I'm also trying gypsum on some new beds I'm prepping since they're on an incline. I'll report back....See MoreBest soil and pH for different roses & plants & your goals and plans
Comments (32)Just went out to check all my leaves. The disease-resistant roses with glossy foliage all have 7-leafets: Kordes Flower Carpet, Pat Austin and Tchaikovsky. Kordes Flower Carpet doesn't have mildew in shade, but Knock-out (5-leaflet) has mildew. Other DISEASE-RESISTANT with 7-leaflets: William Shakespeare 2000, Duchess de Rohan, Excellenz von Schubert, Annie L. McDowell, Blue Mist, Poseidon, Cloudert Soupert, and Crown Princess Mag. ... all have leaves in set of 7. These can take wet soil well, like multiflora rose thriving in wet lands. But the blackspot-prone roses: Comte de Chambord and hybrid teas have leaves in set of 5, and much larger & round leaves. These prefer well-drained soil, and tend to blackspot with prolonged wetness & acidic rain. Multiflora-leaves are clearly a set of 7, see below pic: http://na.fs.fed.us/spfo/invasiveplants/factsheets/pdf/multiflora-rose.pdf "Each multiflora leaf as 5 to 11 one inch-long oval leaflets with toothed margins. The undersides of the leaflets have tiny hairs and are paler than the upper surface. The base of each leaf stalk has a characteristic stipule (green, leafy structure) with hairs or a comb-like fringe along its margins. Flowers. As indicated by its scientific name Rosa multiflora, this plant has abundant, showy clusters of flowers which typically are white, though sometimes slightly pink." Below is Austin rose William Morris, which did terrible in slightly acidic wet & peaty potting soil, then finally died when I put in my wet clay made acidic with cracked corn. Note the leaves are in a set of 5, which means it prefer well-drained & loamy soil, and CANNOT take acid & wetness like those of set-7 leaves. Folks complain about WM being stingy and rust-fungal-prone. The drought-tolerant & disease-resistant Rugosa has rounder leaves in set of 9, plus very bristly canes full of thistles, see below:...See Morestrawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoMarie Pavie is the healthiest rose in my garden, zero blackspot. Pic. taken today July 19, at end of its 2nd flush:
Below Lady of Shalott as own-root (small leaves indicative of multiflora parentage) improved with Azomite. It's prone to blackspot and Azomite helped greatly (up the calcium & anti-fungal copper). Pic. taken July 19:
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoKhalid: Yves seedling is a cross between thornless rose and Yves Piaget, so the seedlings are different from where they are bred. You are right that the seedlings, even from one rose, are different.
More pics. from garden, taken July 19: 4 buds on Strike it Rich, received as own-root 3rd week of June. It's about one-month own-root, broke off 1 bud when I transferred into ground (I grew it a pot 1st).
End of 2nd flush for Mary Magdalene .. color is white in hot sun 90F in July 17:
Below is yellow "sunsugar" cherry tomato, Pic. taken July 17. Very happy with constant tomato since July 1.
Below is Blue Mist, a continuous bloomer, even hot July 21 up to 90 F:
Below is July 17 bouquet, The blue ground cover is alyssum, smells nice !
I moved Cloudert Soupert recently, total wimp at first, then a growth spurt with ORGANIC SOLUBLE NPK 4-3-2 (Jobes') with special bacteria to break down organic matter faster, plus kelp.
Below is Comte de Chambord in July 17, it's a continuous bloomer in 90 F. Hard clay is best fixed with coarse sand and gypsum, plus alfalfa pellets on top.
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoEvelyn after all-day & all-night rain on July 17, hot & extremely humid:
Excellenz von Schubert perfumes my front walkway, got compliments from my sister (from CA) when she visited me on July 11. She loved its wafting scent:
I like my 30 tomatoes this year to be short & lots of fruits ... no need to stake them. I don't water this since it's too far from my hose-line. Fertilized with red-lava rock and Tomato-Tone, gypsum in planting hole.
strawchicago z5
7 years ago
Above is my mint patch (3 varieties of mint). I like the chocolate-mint the most. Very invasive. Since mint is acidic plus manganese I use that to lower my high pH tap-water at 9.strawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
Above is my perennials in hot July: lots of red-bee-balm (my Mom gave me), plus blue salvia (drought-tolerant), and yellow coreopsis. I put annuals in pots next to bushes to avoid competition with roots. Bee-balm and pink yarrow are invasive in my alkaline clay at pH near 8.strawchicago z5
7 years ago
Above is close-up of bee-balm next to my patio, along with irises. This photo shows the house behind me, which is the same design as my house: Fireplace chimmey on the side, 2-story with lots of windows.
strawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
Above Kordes Flower Carpet does well in less than 4 hours of sun, and soaking wet clay, very alkaline pH 8. The glossy-foliage does well in my heavy clay and doesn't get holes in the leaves with slow-drainage & spring rain. The glossy foliage doesn't get dry out either .. so it's mildew-proof in dry July.
strawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
Gene Boerner (almost thornless) is a gem in hot & dry weather. I saw that blooming at Cantigny park during 100 F, so I bought as own-root from RU-sale. Pic. taken mid-July, hot & humid. No fragrance, but it's thornless.
strawchicago z5
7 years agoThe above is wild summer phlox, they are perennials in zone 5a, bloom well in partial shade (less than 3 hours of sun). The lighter blue phlox has wonderful wafting fragrance. this purple phlox has a nice scent.
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRadio Times, very aggressive as own-root, does well in heavy clay. It blooms in cluster when I gave it sulfate of potash. Best damask scent ever !! Pic. taken July 17 :
Below is Radio Times, pic. taken July 21, 90 F and 80% humidity. It grows in less than 5 hours of sun, so it's crawling out to reach for sun:
Below is a bouquet with Radio Times & Crown Princess Magareta & one purple Poseidon. And Blue-balloon flowers. Pic. taken July 21 at 90 F temp.
strawchicago z5
7 years agoRoseseek (Kim Rupert) bred Lynnie, almost thornless, better than Knock-out, zero blackspots nor mildew. I never water that, it's neglected in a shady bed (less than 4 hours of sun), blooms well. Pic. taken July 21 & hot & humid:
Marie Pavie is 100% clean in extreme humidity which fogs up my camera lens on July 21, 80% humidity:
Below lavender Poseidon with a fogged-up camera lens at 80% humidity:
Perfect foliage on Kordes rose Poseidon, zero blackspots at 80% humidity:
strawchicago z5
7 years ago
Above Dee-list bought from Roses Unlimited mid-May. Now in it's 2nd flush with 7 buds. Blooms have fantastic scent (better than Munstead Wood). leaves are healthy & thick .. only 2 lowest leaves have very minor tiny blackspots in week-long rain & humidity. Picture taken after heavy rain, at 70% humidity, on July 24.
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRadio Times bloom taken in 2015 early October.
Khalid: Above is a pic. of Radio Times bush from last year's in October 2015. I kept it clean with sulfate of potash and gypsum. It's VERY wide bush, 4 feet or 1.2 meter across & takes up lots of room, NOT meant for pot. Radio Times is an Austin rose, but its root is very aggressive and can go through rock-hard alkaline clay.
Radio Times is very thorny. Despite its health and amazing scent, I wanted to kill it many times .. until I moved it to larger spot in the garden, less than 4 hours of sun.
Lavender Kordes Poseidon bloom becomes ugly gray in full-sun, best picked in bud for the vase. Dee-lish is OK for pot, it's tall, but slender, thorns are OK too.
strawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agostrawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoAll pics. taken today, July 28, at 83 degree and 66% humidity:
I don't like bare dirt, so I filled the ground with lavender alyssum & pink petunia and yellow marigold.Moved the above basil recently, it recuperated nicely.
Red Barcelona, Kordes rose, is a champ under the rain-spout, which dumps tons of rain-water, minor blackspot. It's a tiny-own-root .. gave it pea-gravel and dolomitic lime to neutralize the acidic rain. The scent is better than Gruss an Teplitz.
Above is thornless & own-root Bohemian Rhapsody, bought end of June. My compost pile is behind it. It was really pale with manganese deficiency. , I gave it ground clove (highest in manganese) and that solved the problem. PIc. taken today, July 28.
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI'm madly in love with Dee-lish, with a cluster of 7 buds (picked one for the vase). Pic. taken July 28.
Above shows how tall it is, broke one branch when I moved from pot to ground.
Dee-lish as own-root gets my vote as the most beautiful rose, beautiful-bush and heavenly scent.
Double-delight above is grafted on Dr. Huey, bought as a $4 bare-root from Walmart mid-May. Very healthy .. I put cracked corn in the planting hole. All pic. taken today, July 28.
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
Above is 3rd flush of own-root Betty White, it's a nearly-continuous bloomer. Pic. taken July 28. Very healthy with glossy foliage, I gave it dolomitic lime to neutralize heavy rain.Black-eyed Susan used to be invasive, then I moved it next to a large tree, it's controlled. Blooms in less than 3 hours of sun.
My Austin roses in the front. Pinkish-orange Christopher Marlowe is reaching out for sun-light in less than 4 hours of sun. Very healthy in July 28, 2016.
Above white-rose Cloudert Soupert is so tiny and dainty. Fantastic scent. Bluegirl rooted that for me. THANK YOU, Bluegirl !!
White Cloudert Soupert has perfect foliage. It's so dainty and smells so nice.
Above is a bouquet picked today, July 28. The middle pink is Duchess de Rohan (better scent & better form than Comte de Chambord). Comte is a continuous bloomer, but Duchess de Rohan needs major sulfate of potash and gypsum to bloom. Very happy to get a 2nd flush out of Duchess. Left light yellow is Tchaikosky, right pink is Evelyn, with Wise Portia behind it.
The leaves are of Duches de Rohan, perfect foliage for the past 4 years, zero fungal diseases. Same bouquet, with different view to shows the difference between Comte's leaves below and Duchess's leaves above. Duchess leaves are paler, so it likes the 17% acid or sulfur in gypsum. Duchess' leaves are smaller, so it takes partial shade better than larger leaves of Comte de Chambord:
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoThis is to answer Carol's question about gypsum: If your tomato doesn't crack after a heavy rain, then it gets enough gypsum. But if your tomato is wimpy & slow in growth, then see below:
WARNING: Gypsum only work for certain roses. Own-root Lady of Shalott (multiflora-genetics) hates that stuff, broke out in blackspots from the 17% sulfur in gypsum. But Lady of Shalott did great with Azomite (very alkaline pH 9, with instant calcium & magnesium). Roses are so different from each other. Evelyn hates gypsum, same with French Meilland roses .. I give them dolomitic lime instead.
The above is Munstead Wood bought mid-May, which I didn't put enough gypsum .. I did put Tomato-Tone NPK 4-3-6 with a tiny bit of gypsum. It refused to grow, had holes in the leaves, plus stingy while Dee-lish and Poseidon got big & tons of buds.
I gave it SOLUBLE sulfate of potash & gypsum & molasses but that wasn't enough. Fed up with its wimpiness, I gave it alfalfa pellets, then mint soaked in rain-water, it gave one bud, but bush is tiny & stunt.
Few days ago I gave it granular gypsum on top. BIG EXPLOSION OF OCTOPUS CANES, see below. I have never seen such fast growth in my life !! The octopus canes are at least 2.5 feet, or 0.7 meter. Nothing is changed, except for recent granular application of gypsum.
It could not grow since there wasn't enough calcium for growth. There were holes in the leaves (from rain leaching out calcium). Picture taken today, July 28.
rosecanadian
7 years agostrawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agostrawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
Above is Big purple bloom. Below is the bush' 2nd-flush, pic. taken July 28. I got busy with my 10 pots and didn't fertilize for 2nd flush. I have the rain-barrel overflow dumping tons of water on it. It's healthy since it's next to my limestone-patio and can re-mineralize itself to stay healthy.
Below is Tchaikovsky rose in about 4 hours of sun, smells like candy. Pic. taken July 28. Tchaikosky has glossy foliage similar to Pat Austin. Both dislike acidic fertilizer like gypsum or alfalfa pellets. My 2nd Pat (tiny own-root) is wilting right now, after I put alfalfa pellets, plus tons of rain. Will have to scrape that off.
Roses Unlimited stated 2 cups of alfalfa meal plus 1 cup of lime for the planting hole. The lime is used to balance the acidity of the alfalfa (pH 5.8) .. that becomes more acidic as it decomposes or soaked in acidic rain.
strawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
Pic. taken July 30. Lowest pink are Duchess de Rohan. Lighter pink is Evelyn, yellow is Tchaikosky, and big raspberry red is Wise Portia. Duchess is #1 in scent, next is Wise Portia.strawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agostrawchicago z5
7 years agoKhalid: Stephen Big rose is good in hot & rainy weather. It gets more petals and smell really nice when the weather is rainy & humid. Here's a pic. taken this August 8:
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI'm leaning toward SOLUBLE fertilizer, unless I top roses with 1st with clay, that would buffer the caustic granular. Bonemeal has high sulfates, and that's very caustic to roots. Anything high in sulfates, be it gypsum (17% sulfur) or sulfate of potash (21% sulfur) is best as DILUTED SOLUBLE.
Chemical analysis of bone meal showed measurement in ppm (1 milligram per kilogram soil (mg/kg) ). Sodium, aluminum, chlorides and sulfates are bad for roots.
400 iron, 120 magnesium, 50 manganese, 300 sodium, 200 aluminum, 2,000 sulfates, 20 potassium, 100 zinc, and 400 chlorides. The biggest portions are 23% calcium and 14% phosphorus in bone meal.
I notice a decline in health with granular bone-meal in fertilizer, as Pennington Alaska pellets, NPK 4-6-6, with fish bone .. Bone-meal burnt my geraniums when I topped them. I tested chemical phosphorus .. It didn't burn as much as bone-meal, but zero increase in blooms.
Sulfates really burn and damage roots .. any root-damage will show up as blackspot or fungal diseases. Sulfate is best to neutralize alkaline-tap-water, but NOT in rainy weather.
Agree with Khalid that chicken manure is too hot, best in compost pile. The problem with using chicken manure in zone 5a, early spring: the fertilizer zaps out the tender root-growth from a harsh-winter. Thus granular fertilizer isn't safe for spring, unless there's a buffering layer below (leaves, clay, etc.). Granular fertilizer makes it hard for roses to survive spring frost.
My 7 Knock-outs were 15 year old & grafted on Dr. Huey & fertilized with leaves that nature blew on them. The decline started when I put chicken manure, NPK 5-3-2 after a decade of zero fertilizer. Knock-outs are disease resistant, I never fertilizer nor water them for over a decade.
Never see diseases in them across the neighborhood. It could be my cold & wet winter 2015 that killed Knock-outs. Fifteen years ago the condo nearby planted 20 Knock-outs & never fertilize. All died, except 3 left this past freezing-rain winter.
Here're pics. of my Knock-out, . I killed 3 due to nasty thorns & killed 3 more for lousy winter-survival, still have 1 left. Grew in partial shade, 4 hours of sun. Pics. taken Oct 2013 after the 1st frost:
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7 years agolast modified: 7 years agostrawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agostrawchicago z5
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoCarol: Yes, I love to rub my nose on FF's velvety petals. I'll grow that again to bless people .. neighbors loved it when I gave them bouquets of Firefighter (lots of bloom & quick repeat).
Vaporvac: Thank you for info. about DD, I don't mind some space between thorns, but when it's dense prickles like Rugosa ... that's hard to cut. Both my Mary Magdalene and Wise Portia has dense prickles up to the blooms.
I saw your question in Sam's thread as to what's better: put organics around the bush, or soak in water to make tea? I made alfalfa tea many times over the past years in many ways: 1) open bucket in full sun 2) closed bucket with tap-water, soaked for 1 day 3) closed bucket with tap-water, soaked for 3 days 4) closed bucket with rain-water, soaked for 1 day.
I repeated the above with lemon-balm, spearmint, peppermint, and basil. I tested with 12 roses in pot and 20+ roses in the ground. My experience: PUTTING GREEN ORGANICS AROUND ROSE BUSH IS BETTER THAN MAKING TEA if you have prolonged rain. But making tea is best for less rain & alkaline tap water like California.
Nature way is gentle and slow-released. Leaves fall on my one rooting area, and it's sprouting leaves earlier than other rooting areas. I had seen roses breaking out in fungal diseases from SUDDEN supply of nutrients: such as dumping sour alfalfa-tea, roses can't cope with sudden sourness, and break out in blackspots. Or my dumping gypsum (17% sulfur) which made roses broke out in rust and blackspots.
Or my giving Veteran's Honor both Azomite and pea-gravel water .. too much at one time made leaves pale & broke out in blackspots. Tiny roots are tender and sensitive to sudden change in pH or too much nutrients at once.
Thus putting organics on top, be it mint leaves, alfalfa pellets, and LET RAIN WATER slowly release that to roots, is the most gentle and healthy way.
I already tested SUDDEN nutrients in the vase: dunking cut-blooms in various solution. Pink Peace wilted in the mint-solution (too much salicylic acid), and Mary Magdalene wilted in the lime solution (too alkaline). I also dunked cut-blooms in alfalfa-tea solution and they wilted fast.
Below is Jude the Obscure, received as a tiny rooting in June. It didn't do well in a Smart-pot, so I moved it into a Styrofoam pot (many holes punched) ... root got injured, dropped all leaves. I tested stimulating root-growth by chopping mint & spread around, then topped with grass clippings to keep the mint moist. It grew back healthy leaves fast, pic. taken this August 20:
Below is the slow-released & gentle way: topping roses with alfalfa meal and horse manure, to let rain-water slowly seep down the nutrients. Continuous release is more gentle on roots than dumping a bucket of nutrients at once. Pics. taken after frost in Oct. 2013, with Liv Tyler, Francis Blaise, and Pink Peace. Zero diseases, 100% clean. Last pic is Francis Blaise, you can see the dead tomato vines got zapped by frost.
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