With bare root rose deliveries expected from July, now's the perfect time to start preparing their bed to allow time for the loam to decompose ready for planting.
Soil Quality The best type of soil for planting roses in is loam – it’s essentially a mix of organic materials (compost, old animal manure, leaf litter), inorganic materials (soil), water and air. To test the quality of loam, take a handful of soil, squeeze it and it should generally stick together.
Getting the soil to this consistency is easy but takes a bit of time. Tackle the project now when the soil is still warm but moist and easy to work with, as it allows plenty of time for the new bed to decompose ready for planting in a few months.
Four simple steps to achieving ideal soil.
1. Add loads of organic matter to the bed. This could include decomposed compost, leaves, dried vegetable matter or grass clippings, mixed in with animal manure, or if you don’t have access to that, a healthy dose of blood and bone.
2. Adding gypsum and liquid seaweed into the mix will go a long way to adding nutrients to the soil. Liquid seaweed in particular is an excellent soil conditioner and can be applied weekly – it will have the added bonus of feeding the worms which will do all the decomposing work for you.
3. Till the soil in the rose bed, making sure not to disturb the roots of any existing plants in the bed.
4. Finally, mulch the area with pea straw or lucerne hay. With weekly watering the patch will ‘bed down’ and decompose nicely providing the perfect home for your new bareroot roses.
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