Where do you live (not city if you don't want, but approximate location in Oklahoma). What kind of roses are you talking about, and what size of pots? How large will they be?

I have had a Weeping China Doll in a pot for about 10 years. The pot is very large, and the roots tore out the bottom of the pot.

Sammy

Jessaka --

Didn't you end up with Mrs. B.R. Cant from Antique Rose Emporium? Two gallon pot? And aren't the roses own root?

Marcy

mrs. cant, yes. they came potted in soil, and i took them out of the pot and put them two inches below the soil line but made a trench or well (not sure what you call it) around them so at this moment they are equal to the soil line in the trench but i fear soil will built up around them and so they would be planted too deep, but i am not sure if that makes any difference. not sure what own root means marcy. they came in two gallon, and i live in tahlequah sammy.

You posted your request here, and twice on the Antique Rose Forum. One answer was to see the video of Paul Zimmerman. There is no better advice than that.

If you want to grow a rose, you need a huge bed if you are digging in clay. An easy to understand term is "swimming pool effect". If you amend a small area, and it rains, all the rain will go there first before the hard clay. The water will rot your rose.

You need to dig up a large area, and amend that soil. When we started new beds, my husband took a pick ax, and dug up the soil about 6 foot square. Even I have done that from time to time. It is expensive to amend the entire area at once because you must go down about a foot also. Once you have dug the soil, you mix it with compost, and may replace it, but you have to be sure that water will drain there. Then in the area where you are going to plant this year, you have to have good soil or your plant won't live. We take out all the clay, and add 1/2 top soil and 1/2 compost. If the area for your rose is too small, then the roots will circle, and circle your rose, then strangle it as the rose grows.

We don't tend to get nice little rains here in Tulsa, we get huge rainfalls. If the hole you have dug for your rose is surrounded by clay, you might as well stick a pot in the ground. The water will not be absorbed by the clay and will rot your plant. In my case it rotted 12 Mr. Lincoln roses.

If you are interested, others will tell you how they prepare the soil. The best ways are to take a few years, and let nature help you. Even after many years, when I prepare a new spot, I find clay and top soil and compost. The clay does not seem to absorb anything. It is not harmful to have chunks of clay, but they won't do your plants any good.

I have about 150 roses now. I have discarded all that need spray. The most delicate of my roses was Mrs. B.R. Cant. My roses were 8 feet square, and the roots were huge also. I seem to have lost both of them this year after our harsh winter. Mine were about 5 years old. If your zone is really 6B, you might have trouble with it. Both Chamblees and Antique Rose Emporium state that it should be grown in zones 7-9. That means you will need to give it winter protection.

Own root means that the rose was not grafted and there is no bud union. If the top of the rose dies, but the roots are alive, it may come back from the roots. If it does, it has to be the same rose that you purchased. If the top of a grafted rose dies, and it comes back from the roots, it will be the color of the stock that the top part is grafted to. If you planted a white rose, and it turns red, the top has died.

I have written a lot, and hope to have helped you. Good luck.

Sammy

Jessaka, I am not really following your questions well, I guess. You bought 4 Mrs. B.R. Cant from Antique Rose Emporium? You need to read in their catalog what they say about planting and care of the roses. I was not under the impression earlier that you purchased them from about the best nursery in the country. You can call them, and they will help you. You need to be ready for the size of this rose. It is quite an undertaking to plant 4 huge roses. I hope you do prepare your soil well.

When you said something about the rain washing away your soil, I thought you had intended to just scatter some soil on the top.

Good luck
Sammy

hi, thanks. i posted here and it didn't come up as posted, so then i thought to post on antique roses, and it didn't come up as posted, so i posted again. having a hard time with my internet browser or just not finding my posts after posting. weird. have gone from internet explorer 7 to 8 back to 7 and then foxfire this week.

just worried that they may have been planted too deep but glad that they are not. the soil is a good soil but mixed with some clay, but it was very easy to dig in that area as i had knock outs planted there before and they grew huge. i just hope that we didn't have to dig out more clay because neither my husband's nor my hands are well enough at this time to do it. they have a lot of mulch in that area in the last 4 years.

the roses are a western location. rose emporium helped me pick the size because i wanted climbers, which she felt was a bad idea, but they also had little left and said that cecile brunner was not for me.

rose emporium tells me that i am in zone 7, right on the cusp though, so i hope they don't die. i am a believer in mulching, so everything gets a lot of grass clippings and in the fall leaves. i will mulch the roses extra good. hopefully, i will not have to start over with new roses.

thanks for all your information.

When we post on the forums, there are two choices. We can go back to where we were, or we can see our posts. I usually click the same site in my "Favorites", and about 5 mintues later, if I click again, I can see my post.

We all find ways to enjoy the garden, and select what is best for us so that we do not injure ourselves. We have 3 or 4 pick axes. A long handled one for my husband, a short handled one for me -- with a bent edge that we need to replace, and a very heavy one. We use them in the dogs' yard to replace the holes, and we use them to start a new bed. Sometimes we need to water the bed first, wait a few days, then use it. In our case we often take out the clay, and replace it with good soil. Then we take the clay to the hill, and use it to support what is on the hill.

We often work an hour at a time, and not necessarily together.

We have allergies, and a year ago I decided to use Round Up on all the grass, and create either beds or paths. That is working well, but we must purchase the paving rocks as we can pay for them, and carry them.

My point is that it often helps to ask for ideas, but we must take our own limitations into account, and do what we can do.

It is very important that we not allow injuries because that just sets us back for a long time.

We have found people to help us with heavy work from time to time. What we especially like is a man who will haul off objects that the city won't pick up. You might look for people who are mowing your neighbors' lawns, and see if they can dig for you. If they can get the clay out of the ground, you might be able to handle the work better.

Sammy

thanks sammy. i did that when i posted. i was having severe problems with explorer 7. last time it happened i had to reinstall my windows vista because nothing would work. this time i figured out fast to install explorer 8 and then backed it up with foxfire, thinking of one doesn't work the other will.

i injured my hands and shoulder last year hauling rocks to make borders and lawn clippings to do mulching. shoulder is well but dr. says i have tendonitis. as soon as i think i am well i do something i shouldn't

my husband said that the roses were not planted in clay. i was glad to hear that. it was easy to dig in it.

what is good for allergies, and i recommended it to a friend who finally got it and thanked me, is nasal crom. you can get it at walmart or any drug store over the counter. i have used it during the bad seasons and it not only keeps the allergy from attaching me but gets rid of the fatigue.

we used a pick ax years ago to plant one apple tree. it was wonderful but hard on me when i tried it elsewhere.

Jessaka
I live south of Tahlequah, near Keys and I never have trouble with my roses and I have several varities. I also have no proble with freeze out. This area is actually in zone 7. You really should have no problem.

Charlie

LOL... ORIGINAL QUESTION WASN'T REALLY ANSWERED... WILL LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE...

Gail, there are several excellent rose forums here. You might look at them.