I just use Gardner and Bloome Flower and Rose potting mix for pots and to augment my potting holes. I used Dr. Earth Rose planting mix too successfully. I think it is easier than mixing my own. My poor husband is well known at our Grange. They start to go for the rose soil bags before he gives them the ticket.

Hey Carol. :-)

I'm not sure this is much help, but we've been using the following when planting (all purchased at our local Lowes):

3-4 parts Ecoscraps Natural & Organic Potting Mix

1-2 parts Timberline Soil Peat Humus

1 cup bone meal

1 medium shovel full of Black Kow (placed near/at the bottom of the hole)

And not exact measurements because I rarely exact measure anything. (Makes Al crazy when I cook. ;-) ) But it seems to be working well for the roses?

I also drill a slew of holes in the bottoms of all of our pots and add 2-3" of large size gravel (pieces range in size from approx 2"-3")

Sheila - you can find something that is soil especially for roses? Wow! That's a lucky find! If you think it works really well, could you tell me the ingredients from most to last?

Sun - I wonder what peat humus is? Bone meal is a good addition. I should have done that.

lkayetwv - Darn...I thought Miracle Grow would have been the way to go. The stuff I use is 5 parts bark fines; 1 part perlite; and 1 part sphagnum peat moss. It too is way too acidic. So I've been adding tons of calcium carbonate (lime). I have the same issue...the stuff I used to buy isn't made anymore. Please keep me posted on your successes and failure. :)
Thanks everyone!

Carol

Carol I thought the 5-1-1 mix included lime? There’s a recipe on one of the other forums for it if I remember. I used the mix one summer and liked it for things that will be potted for a long time. For my annual pots I’m lazy and just use the stuff from Menards :)

Carol, could you google Gardner and Bloome rose planting mix and Dr Earth Rose planting mix?

Honestly I’m not sure exactly what the peat humus is. I know that it has some type of decomposing vegetation in it. It seems to hold water well and I think that helps with all of our potted roses. When it does dry out it dosent solidify like clay. Which I figure is another good thing?

Given the nature of the soil (we got by the truck load for a deal -_-) for our raised beds, i believe it is helping to incorporate these elements in the raised beds too. The raised bed soil has large chunks of clay in it and tends toward alkaline. I’ve been adding a lot of organic stuff and things like perelite to it to lighten it up. We are getting there.

And. Well... last year when we started all this I asked Al to go to Lowes to get “preferably organic potting soil without fertilizer” and “peat” these are the two products he came back with. They weren’t exactly what I was thinking, but he is the one that usually makes our supply runs. My fault for not being more specific. Though after looking at them they seemed decent options worth a shot. A year later everything seems to be responding well. I think I’ll stick with this system for now. ;-)

Dingo...oh...maybe I forgot that part. Well, I've been adding lots of lime...and the leaves are getting better on my roses. There are only 4 roses out of 59 that have bad leaves now. So, maybe, this mixture will be alright. I'm not sure though. My next batch of repotting, I want to be sure. I'm glad that your way seems to working for you...that's good news for me! :)

Sun - yes, I agree, not solidifying is a good thing. :) I agree with you about getting large amounts of potting soil being cheaper. That's why I like my 5-1-1...it's pretty easy....it all comes in one cubic yard bag. I don't think I'd be able to find your stuff here. I found this about peat humus:

Although peat humus is often confused by gardeners as being a fertilizer, it has no nutritional value to plants. With compost, plants feed off the decaying matter, but peat humus is fully decomposed before it is found and used, so there are no beneficial microbes present in peat humus. Incorporating peat humus into soil contributes to soil density, absorbing heat from sunlight, retaining nutrients, and retaining moisture.

Effectively, peat humus provides plant roots easy-to-reach access to essential nutrients. As true peat humus can only be found in the lowest levels of peat bogs, it is an expensive soil amendment and isn’t easily replicated. However, it can be created through the continual addition of organic matter and finished compost to garden soil. Additionally, it should be noted that no soil can be made entirely of peat humus, yet it is a staple of creating healthy viable gardening soil.

Sheila - this is what's in it. The first 3 ingredients are what Dingo and I use. Then there's a bunch of organic amendments. I add the alfalfa, lime..but I don't use the castings, guano or kelp meal. I think the kelp may make the soil too salty??

Ingredients: Recycled forest products, bark fines, peat moss, perlite, sand, composted chicken manure, alfalfa meal, bone meal, oyster shell & dolomite limes (as pH adjusters), worm castings, bat guano, kelp meal

I'm learning..thanks everyone!

Carol