Amending a slowly draining clay soil planting hole with a lot of moisture retentive potting material is a recipe for disaster!! What you will get is the 'bathtub effect'......a bucket of overly wet soil contained by the slower draining clay.

I wish rose sites would stop with the unnecessary and often damaging instructions about amending soils for roses. They really do not need it. They are no different from 95% of the other plants we commonly grow. Well drained soil, unamended backfill and a good organic mulch or top dressing is all that is necessary to grow healthy roses full of blooms.

If you are growing your rose in a container, just a good quality, fast draining potting soil.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5894651/container-soils-water-movement-and-retention-4-11-20#n=33

That looks like fertilizer burn to me. Thoroughly water the roses to decrease the effect of the fertilizer. As far as the roses planted in a flower bed go, I would have used at least 50-75 per cent soil from the bed, mixed with the amendments. It wasn't clear to me when reading your comment if you used any soil from the bed. Years ago, I grew a lot of The Fairy in our alkaline desert soil, and had an awful time with chlorosis (yellowing from iron deficiency). This rose doesn't like alkaline soil, to say the least. If your soil isn't alkaline, then you won't have that problem. I'd just take it easy on the fertilizer for now, but roses planted in the ground should not have all the natural soil replaced with potting soil. I'm not a fan of peat moss, either. Diane

Thanks for the advice! I'll dig them up tonight after the sun goes down and add in some pulverized soil (clay) like we have in abundance here. I didn't use ANY soil from the bed before, just potting soil (which probably contained fertilizer) and...more fertilizer. Sigh. I'd read before that you should fertilize roses "before blooming" and I figured that they were definitely in that state! The good news is that the pic above shows the worst of it. Most aren't affected and the bushes look healthy. I just wanted to be proactive and head off any potential damage!

“Thanks for the advice! I'll dig them up tonight after the sun goes down and add in some pulverized soil (clay) like we have in abundance here.”

Them. Them! ( I am reminded of James Whitmore).

Clay. Just what The Fairy needs not.

Usually the advice is to wait until signs of new growth before fertilizing or even up to a year for new own root plants. Did you use a granular fertilizer on the potted plant? Potted plants do best with dilute liquid fertilzer to minimize burn to delicate new roots.

Regarding clay soil, a better idea would have been to dig deep and fill with gravel creating a French drain of sorts.

I frankly have never read to replace soil with potting mix, but rather to amend it. I think folks confuse the two or read old books where the soil on an entire bed is removed quite deep and replaced. Amending the soil can be especially helpful in sandy soils, but needs constant replenishment from above. Even David Austin recommends just adding a bit of compost in the bottom of the hole and refilling with the native soil and then top-dressing with compost. Without know where the OP got her info, it's hard to put blame on rose sites. Fortunately, the situation can be corrected.

Rifis, her Fairy rose is in a pot, not in clay soil. Diane

Yes, the Fairy is in a pot, with the potting soil/vermiculite/peat moss mix. I DID use granular fertilizer, once, when I first potted it up. Lesson learned! Oh, I did top-dress the bedded rose (Awakening) with compost. Actually, I do think I did a broken up-clay soil/compost/potting soil mix with that one. I can't figure out why it isn't draining...I probably dug a hole big enough for a tree!

" Actually, I do think I did a broken up-clay soil/compost/potting soil mix with that one. I can't figure out why it isn't draining...I probably dug a hole big enough for a tree! "

Reread my initial comment. Adding any kind of amendments - and you added a lot - to a planting hole in clay soil will always create slow drainage issues. A big hole just means a bigger bathtub :-))

I am confused. Are those affected leaves on The Fairy in the pot or Awakening in the ground? The problem with yellowing leaves is that there are several things that cause it and BOTH too much and too little water can cause it.

I am in Michigan on lake bed clay. When I plant a rose I always do a drainage test first. Dig your planting hole then fill it up with water and leave it alone. In an hour go back and check it. If it has drained pretty well you're good to go ahead and plant. If it is still pretty full of water you need to dig deeper and test again. Or you can do the French drain method by adding a good thick layer of pea gravel to the hole and then some soil and then plant. The pea gravel gives the hole a place for the water to sit that is not in direct contact with the roots. I never change out my soil. Always back fill with the soil I dug out of the hole.

I never fertilize a new rose until after the first bloom. The rose will not put out buds until its root ball is prepared to support them. Then you know the rose is ready to take on fertilizer because it has a sufficiently healthy root ball.

I'm not sure I would dig them up 2 weeks after you planted. I might focus on careful watering and top dressing with healthy compost and hope and pray.

Sorry - those leaves are on Awakening, which is in the ground, but the Fairy (in the pot) is showing a bit of the same - not as much. I got up early to water this morning. Checked the Fairy...soil moistness is finally going down. Checked Awakening (in ground)...still wet, and I noticed today that the entire bit that I dug out is sunken a bit today. Water level still showing wet. I've got pea gravel - should I pop it out, dig a big deeper, lay down gravel, and plant again? Shelia, I know you said to leave along, but we've got rain coming this week, maybe 3/4 inch, and I'm concerned about the excess water. I will note that I have lots of other things planted in this area (coral bells, penstemon, coreopsis) and they're all thriving. But I can't deny the water meter and the yellowing leaves!

Diane Brakefield

yesterday

Rifis, her Fairy rose is in a pot, not in clay soil. Diane

bosewichte

yesterday

I'll dig them up tonight after the sun goes down and add in some pulverized soil (clay) like we have in abundance here.

OK, does the pot that The Fairy in have any drainage? Is there one of those saucer trays under it?

I do think you need to do something for Awakening. And I don't think top dressing will suffice. I think you need to dig it out and replant it with proper drainage and some good dirt. NOT potting soil or a mix. Just plain old dirt from the garden. You can mix some stuff with it but it needs some real soil that will drain properly. Otherwise I think that poor thing is going to drown.

Yes for drainage. It doesn't have a drainage tray, but sits on top of gravel. I am definitely planning on digging up Awakening...sigh! I hope I get the hang of this soil thing soon!