garden nest 101 Z5 northeast I copy your questions in Italics, with my answers below:
What mix you all use in ground for 1st year plants?
Could I use or mix this Black gold soil in the ground to revive my 1st year own root Jude?
First year own-root are THINNER cluster roots so they prefer fluffy & airy soil in the middle but THICK and DENSE SOIL ON TOP for hard minerals to harden roots for zone 5 winter survival.
Own-root Jude needs excellent drainage. It does well for loamy & sandy soil folks, reaching a height of 3 feet for a friend in zone 5, but with loamy soil.
Own-root Jude hates my dense clay. My 1st Jude survived 2 winters in 100% peat moss potting soil, topped with my clay. Then I moved it to a raised bed with dense clay, and it declined. My 2nd Jude did worst in "new" MG-potting soil with saw dust, too dry for Jude. My 3rd Jude (from a tiny rooting) almost died from the alkaline horse manure at pH 8. I notice that Jude bloomed best with acidic rain.
The best way to revive Jude or any wimpy own-root is in an air-pot (more air for root growth).
The best soil for young plants is composed of 40% water, 40% air, 15% minerals, and only 5% organic matter (from horticultural studies). I was shocked by the amount of air needed for wimpy cluster root to grow.
A pack of SIX air-pots (7-gallon each) is sold for $60 on Amazon, it's a worthy purchase to revive own-roots, considering that one own-root Austin is sold for $60 by Heirloom roses.
When is the best time to move a rose? Best to move a rose right after blooming. Moving a rose in late fall works better for my zone 5a than moving in early spring. In early spring it's risky since roots are so damaged by winter that I don't want to add more injury by moving. Moving in late fall makes sense since one will injure the tiny-feeder roots with moving, but these tiny-feeder roots will be injured anyway through zone 5a cold winter.
I move countless roses in early spring (March-April), late fall (Oct-Nov), versus after spring flush, and the best moving is late fall. Moving wimpy own-roots in early spring to air-pots is safer for faster root-growth, plus preventing pests (rabbits and chipmunks) from eating the new growth.
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BesT way to MIX SOIL
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