New Rose Beds

Me and my partner are in the planning stage of installing a rose bed in our front garden and I am looking for some help and advice on improving the soil, for several year the front garden has been an over grown mess and has been in need of some love and attention, plants which I have been able to identify so fair are, Common Ivey (Hedra helix), Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucupari), Mahonia spp, Bull Bay(Magnolia grandiflora), Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum), various Hydrangea and various different weeds, all of these plants will be coming out of the boarder so we only have Roses in the boarders.
Soil: Heavy Clay
So I would be grateful for any information about how to improve the soil so that we can get the best out of our roses when they are planted.
Regards
jack

 

I know there is a lot of nutrients within the clay however it isn’t always readily available to the plants, do you think it would be worth digging in some Horse manure into the soil and some sand just to loosen the soil

Regards
Jack

 

I'm about to plant some roses in a clay border. In my childhood home we had heavy clay and the roses just loved it.

I'm no expert, but what I usually do is dig in some well rotted manure to improve the soil structure/drainage before I plant anything out. However, rather then just adding manure to the planting hole, I dig it in over a larger area all along the border. The reason for this is that the roots will grow more freely in the improved soil in the planting hole, but when it hits the outer clay wall it's more difficult to get through, so I like to give them a bit of space.

You could dig in some sharp sand as well if you wanted to.

Good luck

 

well i will have to keep you lost posted and put some pictures up when its done

 

Yes please, I do like to see how people's gardens develop