This is a strange situation, in that it seems to depend on where in the world you are. British growers generally believe in it, apparently with some evidence; US growers generally do not believe in it, and don't see the same results. I cannot explain that. I do know that in our gardens (Lakeland, Florida), we've had roses for many years, often with replacements in the same spots. We do tend to add new organic matter when we plant, but we are not at all careful to remove the old soil in the process, with no apparent deleterious effect.

In your situation, with the plants in containers, and some of the plants not thriving as soon as they were planted, I'd think your soil would still be just fine, assuming the original plants were not carrying some soil-borne disease (not very likely). I do like using RootShield when I plant, especially in pots, in that it tends to out-compete any root-rotting fungi that may be present.

I recently watched Paul Zimmerman and Michael Marriot, formerly of David Austin roses in England talk about this topic on youtube. They both said that replanting is not a problem if the soil is well prepared with organic material. I wish I had known this 3 weeks ago, before I planted six roses in cardboard boxes🤣

I am going to echo what Dr. Manners has said: it appears to be a problem more for growers in the UK for some unknown reason, and virtually unknown here in the USA. I suspect that a rose would have to be growing in a location for many years before this became an even remotely possible issue. @seasiderooftop I don't think you have anything to worry about in your scenario.

I agree with every response above. I have planted new roses in the same places some very old (80-100 years) rose bushes had been growing before they died. Other than one instance of downey mildew recurring (which is what the old rose died of - I assume complicated by old age), the new roses have not had any problems and are doing well.

Jackie

I have reused my potting soil for decades. I fill the three seedling tables (each holds 4 cu ft of soil) and raise a crop of seeds in them. I remove them from the tables and use the soil from the tables, adding fresh potting soil to make up the difference required for repotting. I then refill the boxes and plant a new crop of seeds. As I cull the seedlings I no longer find interesting, I recycle the soil and use it to upsize those I wish to evaluate further. As long as the soil hasn't broken down to the point it no longer drains, there haven't been issues. If a seedling isn't vigorous from the start, I've observed it's because it doesn't generate a decent root system and I believe that to be due to the genetics of that seedling. Siblings frequently generate substantial root systems and grow beautifully. Those retained are those with good root systems and they continue performing well even in the recycled soil. If the soil appears to be losing its drainage, I will usually mix it with fresh potting soil (ratios depend upon the condition of the old soil. If it's really nasty, I'll dump it.) to repot plants requiring freshening. It has to be really disintegrated to be thrown out. If the plant removed from the pot has developed gall, that soil is dumped.

A few decades ago, the New York Botanical Garden claimed they had it. However, they had been growing roses in the same soil for about 100 years at that point.

Thanks everyone for these replies!

I guess it won't make any difference, especially for soil that only had roses in it for a month or two.

@malcolm_manners and @User

Very interesting to hear that this seems to be more prevalent in Europe than in the US though as @mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY) says, it seems it can happen there too. I definitely have been hearing about it in Europe. Perhaps there is some reason soils in the US are largely unaffected by it?

@MetteBee_Copenhagen8b

I did watch those videos but for some reason had forgotten they discussed that! I will go and rewatch, there is such a wealth of info in those videos!

@roseseek

Interesting! Hmm looks like I could be reusing soil a lot more then! Good to know, thanks!

I just watched a video by Jason from Fraser Valley rose farm, where he relays the info about replant disease that was given to him by a researcher who had studied this on other members of the rosaceae family like apples and pears. In her studies they had found significant differences in growth between plants that had been planted in old soil vs old soil that had been treated. In that case they used heat to neutralize any living pathogens in the soil. So the answer was that yes, it is a real thing and that whatever causes it can be killed off with heat.

But of course, heat treatment is not an option for hobby gardeners. I did try it once in my oven for a small amount of soil, it was supposed to help prevent damping off when starting seeds... the smell was horrible, never doing it again!

David Stone, former head gardener at Mottisfont Abbey, believed that what people called Rose Replant Disease was actually a condition caused by a lack of organic matter and if I recall correctly, an overdependence on chemical fertilizer. I personally interpreted this to mean that there was probably an insufficiency of mycorrhizal fungi, though I never heard him actually say so. In any case, while he was head gardener, they did NOT change the soil when planting new roses, but rather added lots of compost to feed the soil. It would be pretty hard to argue with his results.

He is retired now, and I have no idea what is happening there now.

@Rosefolly z5

Thanks for that info!

It seems that it comes down to two main theories: either the soil doesn't have enough organic matter, or there's some kind of "bad guy" organic matter involved.

It seems to me the two theories might be right:

If a soil has enough "good" organic matter (good fungus and good bacteria), then it's better able to fend off whatever "bad" bacteria/fungus is causing replant disease.

So it would make sense that both approaches work: either nuking the bad guys (heat treatment), or strengthening the good guys (compost).

Here's another thought, English climate is very rainy and damp, I wonder if that could actually have more to do with replant disease. Excessive rain can be hard on soil life and that might actually be the issue. I know around here (English style climate) we are told to be careful of apple replant disease and move the new tree 10 feet from the old tree.

England gets less rain than we do.

@ann beck 8a ruralish WA @mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

It's definitely not only an English thing.

I have seen websites and blogs from Belgium, France and Spain also discussing replant sickness.

Also, Germany: see this paper from researchers at a German university, which seems to identify a fungal element to rose replant disease:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-79878-8

One thing I wonder after reading that paper, which specifically focuses on rosa laxa, is whether laxa rootstock (widely used in the EU but hardly in the US) might be more sensitive to replant disease.

This is a very interesting subject indeed. I myself have the impression that replant disease IS more of a problem in England, but does exist elsewhere in Europe. When you read instructions for replanting a rose where another has grown previously,an Italian nursery,for example,says that if you must do so, plant the new rose slightly further away from the spot where the old one had been growing. Others say just wait a few years before replanting,another Dutch nursery advised adding a wheel-barrow full of new soil and organic matter to the spot. Instead, English nurseries tend to take a much more severe attitude,advising you to completely REMOVE the old soil, line the hole with cardboard,and plant the new rose in new soil with the protection of this cardboard barrier,adding mychrorriza(sp?) ,etc.But even they say that it's only an issue if a plant has been growing in that spot for a year or more.

Personally,everytime I dig out a rose to move it,I wind up with such a big empty hole that I have to add new soil anyway; besides, my soil is so bad that I always take advantage of a chance to re-work it and add new goodies. I think one also has to consider the size of the plant removed-if it's a mongo-huge,well-established plant,the soil is definitely going to be depleted and in need of refurbishment; there will also be a lot of old roots left that should be removed,so a spot like that will require a lot of new soil,etc . But if the plant is small,not really established, with an easily removed, compact root system,refreshing the spot is going to require a lot less effort.

I also heard that for plants to avoid planting where there were previous dead roots of the same kind of plant. The decay of the roots was toxic to the new plant. I also did hear that some plants will eventually die when they cannot escape their own dead roots. That is why they age out and die but if you replace the soil on one side, then another a few years later, then another side and so on, the plant continues on. I have done this with penstemons instead of completely digging them out and dividing them then moving them to new locations. If I leave them there and do nothing they eventually die. The experts at the prominent water wise nursery say they will only live three years. Mine go on and on but I have to give them new soil.

In nature they spread through seeds or root on stems touching the earth. My potted roses always prefer fresh soil. Since I heard that plants do not like their own decaying tissue, I feed the rose blossoms to the camellias and the camellia blossoms to the roses. No complaints yet from either shrubs.

I replace the soil whenever I plant. I talked with the plants men at the UC citrus research center and they do it for the citrus trees they study. The new trees go in the path and where the trees were becomes the pathway. I think I recall that in the rose growing fields they let the soil rest two years with other crops on it before having roses there again. That gives time for the tiny dead roots to break down completely after the plants have been harvested for sale.