My favorite potting soil is Black Gold potting soil. I've tried many types through the years, and it's the best for all containers and plants I grow in them. It may be a regional brand, so I don't know if you can get it in Florida, though you could check online. I get large bags of the Tones, shipping free, on Amazon, so you'd be surprised what you can get online. I'm not a huge fan of Miracle Grow, though I've used the Miracle Grow moisture control and don't like it. However, though I grow many plants in pots and containers, and they do well, I don't grow roses in containers. Diane

We are too wet here for Miracle Grow. The soaking soil make thethe soil amoxicillin and keeps the roots from growing much likelike standing watwr. With a wet climate I need to ensure good drainage above all else and then fertilized weekly weakly.

‘We are too wet here for Miracle Grow. The soaking soil make thethe soil amoxicillin and keeps the roots from growing much likelike standing watwr. With a wet climate I need to ensure good drainage above all else and then fertilized weekly weakly.”

I recently completed 7 days of Augmentin. I had a clinical response, but then a relapse. Probably should have gone with 10 days.

I'm in a very dry climate and I didn't like the moisture control, either. Hmm. Maybe no one likes it. Diane

I hate MG moisture control myself .seems like compacted soil .

Diana

Thanks for the tip , l found Black Gold on Amazon :

Sun Gro Horticulture 8-Quart Black Gold 1310102 Purpose Potting Soil With Control, Brown/A https://a.co/d/egzRIOt

Pink Rose, that's a really high price. I'd keep looking for big bags of the stuff. I usually buy it by 1.5 cu ft. I'm not sure if mine contains the slow release fertilizer. Let me check. Have you looked at the big box stores in your area? Diane

Pink Rose, I just checked and my last purchase, last year, was 2 cu feet, but usually I get a 1-1.5 cut ft bag. It does have the controlled release fertilizer. I don't think the 2 cu ft bag cost me more than $12. I got it a farm and ranch supply store, but I know a chain called Fred Meyer carries it, and I think Lowe's or Home Depot might, too. Check Walmart while you're at it. This stuff really is good. They make other soils for other purposes, too. Diane

a whiskey barrel of basil I let go so seed. We always have way more basil than we need. Courtesy of Black Gold--ha Hot pepper plants, huge are next to it.

Diane

I found the same bag of Black Gold on ACE hardware for $9.99 . I think I will go pick up some to try .

Ken

Excellent idea , I will get those bags from Lowes and try them too .

Should have read anoxic! Soil conditioner AKA pine bark fines.

I am making my own potting soil for containers veggies and petunias. Still under the consideration what soil to use for baby own roots roses. Know for sure, that using potting soil with granulated fertilizer is no-no.

Any experience with https://coastofmaine.com/product/rose-flower-planting-soil/ ?

ingredients are easy to replicate.

Ken, I am also using peat moss to make potting mix more fluffy.

Copied this from Houzz a few years ago:

Magic Mix for Roses
Posted by Christopher (AquaEyes 7a NJ) and endorsed by Lisa:
 2 parts peat moss
 2 parts Black Kow composted manure (or Bovung)
 1 part vermiculite
 1 part perlite
And the soil recipe isn't that hard. Get a small bucket, fill it twice with peat moss,
twice with Black Kow, once with vermiculite, and once with perlite. Dump it in a
wheelbarrow, and mix by hand.
For each gallon of mix, add 1/2 cup Espoma Garden Tone organic fertilizer, or
whatever your favorite brand is.
When you repot the rose, pour the fertilizer in slowly as you go, so it's mixed
throughout. If you have a bunch to repot, making that mix is cheaper than
buying the pre-mixed.
Since I collect used coffee grounds from Starbucks every day, I also add about
an inch on top as a "mulch", and put used filters in the bottom of the pot before
adding mix to keep it from spilling out of the drainage holes.
Christopher says he adapted this recipe from “Mel’s Mix” in square foot gardening book.

Ditto! I am using Mels Mix for veggies and flowers., would be interesting to adopt this recipie to roses as recommended. Thanks to Christopher and Deborah!

https://squarefootgardening.org/mels-mix-resources/

I just use Pro-Mix, big cubic size, mix with ground soil, and add some alfalfa and fish meal, and some osmocote caustiously when planting in ground. When potting, I add few inches of pine bark mulch to bottom, then Pro-Mix, small dusting of alfalfa and fish meal with small amount osmocote (1-3 tsp) in bottom, more Pro-Mix and light alfalfa and fish meal with small amount osmocote near top. Also, add mulch to finished product whether ground or pot. However, I don’t ever recall my plants looking as nice as Ken’s.

I recently switched from MG Moisture Control to 1-1-1 of coco coir, steer manure, and pumice with alfalfa, earthworm castings, Espoma Biotone, and sulfur. MG Moisture Control worked well for me the first year, but plants in the second year of being in a pot would start dying after a hot summer and daily watering. The ones that made it were larger roses with vigor (Blush Noisette, Rouge Royale, and Black Baccara) mostly in the shade at least 3 feet away from walls that could reflect heat. I'm hoping the new mix with pumice will help with drainage and airflow so I will see how it goes for the new roses.

Mix your own, by all means. Custom made to your needs is the way to go.

Here's a lickity-split, cheap, excellent potting mix for wetter climates.

1 part sharp pea gravel (substitute smooth pea gravel, more easily available)

1 part sharp builder's sand

2 parts sphagnum peat moss

2 parts aged/composted cow manure

1 part top soil

6* parts small pine bark (variously called mini-nuggets, or mulch, just make sure the size of the pine bark pieces are mostly between 1 inch to 1.5 inch, no more...if you can get aged pine bark the same size range per piece, that's good too)

Everything above is pretty easily available from any Lowe's or Home Depot.

6* parts small pine bark...mix all ingredients together and judge if a bit more or less pine bark is needed, but no more than a part more or a part less.

Mix in small batches. Using a quart measuring vessel in your trial batch is the way I would go. Also, mix everything on a tarp or wide wheelbarrow, and do not over mix. Just until everything blends enough, no more, and at the measure of a quart the above amounts should yield about 3 gallons volume.

It's a fun process making your own potting mix. You learn a lot by adjusting amounts of the different ingredients to meet your exact needs. Almost all potting mixes made commercially are too high in sphagnum peat moss which ends up to be a mucky, water logged potting mix as the sphagnum peat moss breaks down in the pot. Root rot is the consequence.

Moses