Lavenderlace: Look forward to your info. Without your experience in clay vs. sand for your 200+ roses, I would not be able to "code" own-root roses.
Kelly: Thank you for those gorgeous pics. of Darcy Bussell, and many thanks for posting the pic. of stunt & pale Alnwick rose (with bagged cow-manure) in rose-forum. Honesty and accuracy about one's garden benefits far more people than just posting pics.
noseometer...7A...ABQ I learn from rooting roses from cuttings for the past 3 years, and from growing 110 varieties of own-root-roses, to grow them from tiny-band to 7-year-own-roots. My zone 5a winter kills a lot of roses .. I dug them up and take pics. of their roots, their roots are ALL different from each other, from cluster-root of multiflora, to tap-root of Dr.Huey, to rope-like root of Basyes Blueberry, bulky & chunky root of Romanticas, steel-cable roots of Centifolia, and to very deep-root Austin roses (most hardy in cold-zones).
My minor in college was chemistry, so I'm always interested in soil chemistry and how that relate to own-root performance. I did a lot of experiments just to understand how things work. There's a process called "acid-phosphatase" which roots secrete acid to get phosphorus from soil, so baby-own-roots have to be "spoon-fed" with SOLUBLE fertilizer at first to bloom .. but as their roots mature to woody, they secrete more acid to utilize hard-minerals in soil, and bloom better.
However, multiflora-parentage roots stay as shallow cluster-root longer, thus best for high-rain & loamy soil. French Meilland and Romantica roses are vigorous & acid-producers and become woody-fast, so they bloom well with alkaline-tap water. French roses are bred in hot & alkaline regions, versus Austin roses in cool & rainy climate.
I tested the pH of white-pine-needles, both fresh, and few-months old, in red-cabbage juice, and it's NEUTRAL in pH. There's a debate about this in soil forum, and many people testified that it's neutral pH. But pine-shavings (sold for $8 for a HUGE bag at Walmart in pets' section), and pine-bark (brown & chunky), both tested at pH 4 (University Extension also reported the same value).
It takes much longer for pine to break-down, so it won't release acid fast like greens or alfalfa. But pine-bark, soaked in acidic rain water, do get VERY ACIDIC, below pH 4. That's how my last garden of acidic clay & mulched with pine-bark & tons of acidic rain became a BS-fest.
I thought about listing my 110 varieties of own-root roses as to their soil & rain and pH requirement. But it's time-consuming and I have weird varieties that no one grow. So I summarized the below info. in my Houzz profile:
"Austin, French Meilland, and hybrid tea like my heavy alkaline clay. Albas, damasks, hybrid perpetual, and esp. Rugosas & hybrid Musk prefer sandy and loamy soil & need good drainage. Multiflora prefers high-rain & acidic loamy soil, but wichurana (Dr. Huey) prefers drier & alkaline clay.
My code for OWN-ROOT roses: PALE LEAVES prefer loamy or acidic rain. DARK-GREEN prefer heavy/alkaline clay & OK with alkaline tap-water. GLOSSY: best with partial shade & wet. TINY LEAVES prefer loamy & drought-tolerant (species). LARGE LEAVES = vigorous & deep root. THICK LEAVES = heat tolerant.
5-leaflet = modern roses, OK with alkaline tap-water
7-leaflet or thornless or blue-color = multiflora & cooler sites & loamy & high-rain
7-leaflet and many prickles = drought-tolerant Centifolia or Rugosa & prefer loamy/sandy & can handle hot & dry. " StrawChicago.
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Straw's notes on affecting colors on blooms
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