newbie at using soil-less potting soil - roses
rosecanadian
6 years ago
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rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
6 years agorosecanadian
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRelated Discussions
Year 2 Newbie Container Gardener- Need help with potting soil mix
Comments (5)Dear angierainbow83, Please think about the info from Jodi and Al. I add my own story below. Since thinking through my own experiences will help me too, I hope you don't mind. I believe for me, I need to separate the garden beds from my containers; just as a two bedrooms can be used differently while still being a room, a separate approach to garden beds (to use Al's words, more "organic") vs. containers (more "inorganic") is still gardening. Good luck on your journey! Over the past few years I seem to be suffering from a case of harvest envy. Due to space and location, I do not have the ability to grow vegetables in the ground due to shade, but I do have a very sunny spot where containers work fine. I have "successfully" grown various vegetables (and am lazily including tomatoes in this category). I say "successfully" since I have never been able to come close to the level of harvest that neighbors get when the essentially identical plants with similar methods EXCEPT the plants are grown in the ground. In fact, I can say this with with confidence since I have provided them with their plants. I have experimented with various combinations of top soil, organic potting soil, compost and small gravel. (I won't go into nutrient supplements I have tried.) I have used about 15gal lightly-colored plastic pots raised off the ground. Given my growing climate, young plants move into these pots in early May and typically are taken down sometime after Columbus Day. The plants are still producing, but the colder temps negative influences many of the types I grow. In the case of eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, for example, my plants are 5-6ft tall and produce a crop not quite sufficient for a small family throughout much of the season. When I take the pots down at the end of the season, I typically find the exterior soil to be damp/dry while the center below the stem and near the main roots to be very wet. Further, there are many small roots near the soil surface, possible due to the thin mulch layer I applied (thinking I needed more moisture retention). There are some larger roots that spread in the pots, but not a tremendous amount. The best fruiting, distribution and size of roots was in the year where I only used organic potting soil without a mulch cover. Although I can't say with 100% certainty that by making the soil more organic I caused this problem since from year to year I changed conditions (and growing conditions change too), the evidence is pretty well stacked against me....See Morebest mix for potting rose?
Comments (31)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....See MoreYour potting soil mix for old roses
Comments (11)I've used mushroom compost with in ground roses routinely; and to a lesser extent with potted roses. In my experience, it does not 'harm' roses, but i have sometimes found that the bulk stuff is not as aged as you would like it, meaning it can burn the plants if applied directly to them. You can tell, easily, when the MC is not aged enough. When it is too fresh, you have to spread it out on your driveway (or wherever it has been dumped) and rake it around some to expose it for a while. And cope with the smell a bit. For this reason among others, it is always good to share rose blossoms with your next door neighbors. The other thing to watch out for with MC is that it will push your soil pH to the sweet side. If you are in sweet to neutral soil to begin with, this can be a problem for your plants. Solution is to mix the MC with some acidic matter like pine fines or coffee grounds. For roses growing in pots, the MC can be rather dense and can inhibit drainage. Again, fix is easy--mix with pine fines....See MorePotting soil using mostly soil conditioner mix?
Comments (9)I'd be less worried about pH and more concerned about the "fluff" that these companies include in the bag as a "conditioner". Forest products are in the forest for a reason and don't belong in a garden, yard, or in a planter. My answer is simple, pH will not be your problem. My question will most likely be more complex: what do the small bark nuggets and pine needle fines provide your pots that is useful? If you are interested in testing the soil, conditioner or the combined result, then let me know. I use an incredible lab based in the midwest that can help you find out for sure if your pH is an issue but its not going to be. Refocus on what nutrients your plants are being provided or not provided from soil microbes and the organic matter. Also, focus on creating an ideal texture for proper drainage and the health of your organic matter digesting microbes. The pH discussion is overdone all over the world to this day because a researcher found that sulphur helped high pH soils and calcium helped low pH soils. In reality, the improvement came from the increased availability and texture benefits of the calcium. Also, those soluble fertilizers are only providing your plant with N and burning up any beneficial compost and the corresponding microbes....See Morerina_Ontario,Canada 5a
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agorosecanadian
6 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agorosecanadian
6 years agorosecanadian
6 years agorosecanadian
6 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years agorosecanadian
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years agorosecanadian
6 years agoTraCami B
6 years agoa1an
6 years agorosecanadian
6 years agoa1an
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoTraCami B
6 years agorosecanadian
6 years agoReb Z6-KS
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