I added kitty litter to a few areas that were really sandy on my property. I think it may have helped. It was the no scented plain clay version.

This is the version I bought. I probably could have found it cheaper in bulk, but this seemed reasonable. I only used a few dollars' worth of it so far; I guess I could have bought the smaller bag. https://www.amazon.com/KMI-Zeolite-Household-Deodorizer-Eliminator/dp/B07QC3VFRY?th=1

I use pure, unscented kitty litter on the floor of my pigeon loft. The loft is small, 3' X 4' and 6' tall By the way it is designed, I do not walk into it and do all maintenance and care by reaching into it through its full length double screened doors. The pigeons are very tame and the frequent escapees taking advantage of the open doors, enjoy a short recess walking about the garden. They return to the loft on their own with only occasional, 'ushering back home,' by means of my long, bamboo cane when needed. They're like little children having a good time in a playground, then when tired, they make a beeline home for treats. Same with my pigeons.

I use a lot of kitty litter, 40 lbs. every 6+- month removal and replacement. The depth of the kitty litter is 2". That's pretty deep purposely, because the occasional aerial flight miscalculation of a pigeon which results in a crash landing onto the floor (sometimes head first!), is softened by the deep litter. There have been no serious injuries. Pigeons can be clumsy, especially youngsters.

I freshen up the litter every couple days by sifting through it, removing the droppings which I save. I put the year's supply of saved pigeon manure on the rose bed every November around Thanksgiving time. It's made of both green (recent), and composted (older), pigeon droppings of the past year, and mixed together. That's a year's output from 8 well fed pigeons, about 80 lbs. of pure pigeon (poultry), manure, applied in fall where the green manure component has plenty of time to decompose, cooling down, by spring.

The spent kitty litter itself, I discard into household garbage for trash day pickup. Why I do not save it and use it on the rose bed is because being clay, it could make my soil become too moisture retentive and become denser/heavier textured.

If my soil was sandy, I would try improving its tilth by adding the spent litter. Since my soil is pretty well constituent balanced as it is, adding clay would probably also require me to add aggregates, sand and small gravel, and more organics too, thereby possibly creating unwelcome pH issues.

Moses

I make extensive use of betonite kitty litter.

Interesting. I don't know why I chose zeolite over bentonite. Bentonite is well known for swelling when wet. I'm not sure if that property is good, bad, or neutral for rose soil mix. I guess I was thinking that the zeolite would act like coarse sand or fine gravel in creating some air space in the mix. I felt like my potting soil from the local garden center was almost too heavy. IDK exactly what I am doing; I guess the roses will tell me if I am figuring it out or not. ("Straw" knows exactly what she is doing in her zone and her soil, but it's so much information that I sometimes find it hard to digest.)

That's very helpful; thanks! I may try that mix for my next pot.

Another thing I have been trying to figure out is under-plantings. I like them because they make the pots much more attractive. And I feel like, if the plants are matched well, they can also help improve the soil and keep water levels more consistent. (Maybe I am imagining it?)

As of now, my best results have been with annuals - especially alyssum, which is dead simple to grow. A small variety of catmint seems to be thriving in one of my pots... but I wonder if it isn't thriving a little *too* well for the benefit of the rose in that pot ... TBD. Lantana grew like crazy, but I had to keep cutting it back so it didn't swamp the rose. I liked the flowers and berries, but no more lantana for me. Dianthus seemed like a great fit, and they're perennial ... but I couldn't keep them alive in these pots. I think the occasional wet spell was too much for their roots.

I used the kitty litter to help soil hold water here in sandy areas. In a wet area climate I would not use it.

Thanks, Sheila. My Pennsylvania climate seems to be hot and dry, and hot and humid, and wet and cool, depending on its mood. If I had these roses in the ground, I don't think there would be any need for it. But as they are in pots and get very little shade, they seem prone to both over-watering and under-watering. I am trying to smooth out the peaks and valleys.