Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Concern about rose depth required

parinitharao16JsfIBIF0parinitharao16JsfIBIF0 Posts: 5
edited February 2021 in Problem solving
Hi 

I bought some bare root climbing roses. My problem is that my house is a new build and you hit concrete everywhere after you dig for a bit, I got to a depth of around 40cm but I'm not convinced. Is that enough? Another thing is the builders have put a lot of hedges which can also limit the space available for the roses. It's a nightmare to remove the hedges, they've now been there for 2 years so can't easily pull them out. 

Do you think it's a bad idea to plant roses in these conditions? How deep do rose roots go and would plants around them be a problem?  Please advise! 

Thanks
PRao


Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I don't think 40cms is enough for a rose. When planting them in pots 60cms deep pots are recommended.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    40cm isn't good enough for climbers and other plants close to them are also a problem. But if you already bought them, what can you do. Some roses can be OK with roots growing sideways. Most probably, they will need more attention from you (watering, feeding) and the conditions can limit their growth. If you can dig deeper or find a spot without concrete under the topsoil and without any hedging nearby, do it. Also, if you don't like the hedges, it would be much easier to remove some of them now than try to do it later. Two years isn't that much, it shouldn't be that hard to remove them.
  • Mike AllenMike Allen Posts: 208
    Roses akin to most shrubs.  The root system will sort itself out.  Back in Victorian times.  Many roses were grown under glass.  Often planted close to awall, it has been discovered that often some kind of flagstone was buried, and the rose was planted.  Plants will adapt and spread their roots.  So no problems.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I grow roses and have rubbish, shallow, stoney clay soil, barely 30cm before hitting hard pan/bedrock in some places, with some deeper pockets here and there. I have created raised beds so the roses have a minimum of 50cm depth of good soil and break up the bottom with a pickaxe. I’ve improved the soil by digging in tonnes of grit to aid drainage and loads of organic material to improve structure and nutrition. Climbers are reserved for the deeper pockets as they do need more energy to climb. So of you are prepared to put in the graft and expense, raised beds are a possible solution.

    If creating one in front of a hedge (as I will be doing this year) the rear of the raised bed should start outside the ‘drip line’ of the face of the hedge to ensure the hedge still benefits from rain and help reduce nutrient/water competition for the roses. You would need to install posts and wires at the back to provide a framework for the roses to climb and plant the rose 45cm out from that, leaning back slightly towards the wires. Consider too, how you access the hedge for trimming, which may need yet more space behind. Whether this is feasible of course, does depend on the size of your garden, this arrangement may just eat up too much space.

    It depends on the type of rose too, some, like rugosas and gallicas can cope better than others with poor, shallow soil. The more vigorous the particular rose the better chance it has. Still, whilst some climbers may survive, produce foliage and occasionally flower, what we want from a garden rose - an attractive plant with lots of continuous, healthy blooms - means putting in the groundwork to give it the best chance to get their roots down deep and ensuring they get extra TLC in terms of deep watering and regular feeding.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • glenaftonglenafton Posts: 3
    My climbing rose is planted in a large box as there's a concrete path beneath the wall of the house where I want it. Each year I remove some of the soil and refresh and feed it. It's been in that box for years and looks great. You need to pay attention to watering and feeding though. Maybe a raised bed would work for you. 
  • parinitharao16JsfIBIF0parinitharao16JsfIBIF0 Posts: 5
    Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I managed to dig down to around 40cm and raise it with a lot of compost and mulch by another 10cm. So fingers crossed 😅. Hopefully that's improved the soil quality a bit. Just wondering if it's a problem for the bare root roses in the ground if the temp drops to -3 or -4 for a couple of hours everyday? The beast from the east 2 is worrying me a bit. 
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Most roses are pretty hardy. If they are planted in the ground they should be OK.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Agree with lizzie, they should be fine in the ground. If you are worried, you could temporarily pile a deep mulch around the stems (but not touching them) to insulate the ground a bit, but really only necessary in very cold climates with some older, very tender roses.

    Which ones did you get?
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • parinitharao16JsfIBIF0parinitharao16JsfIBIF0 Posts: 5
    Thanks ever so much everyone!!! 
Sign In or Register to comment.