Home for a new rose bush

[bill_schubert]

Yesterday I bought a 10' metal garden bed edging piece to go with the one we already had. The one I bought cost $24, probably twice what it cost a year ago. Dana bought a rose bush that will grow to a decent size and I'm putting together a bed for it in the back yard. I cleared off the turf this morning, dug about 3/4 of the hole and then quit. It was getting too hot and I was feeling it. No hurry. My life has changed. I'll finish it maybe later today or maybe in the morning. I've got maybe 45 more minutes to being all done. In a year or two it will be one of those huge bushes. These roses do really well here and don't require much water.



It will be a circular bed once I get done.  There is room in the remainder of the bed to plant some small annuals or whatever she wants and it is where our bird feeder goes.  

I wasn't thrilled about another impediment to easily cutting the back yard but I got over it.  The entire yard only takes me about 15 minutes to cut and about the same to trim so this will not make much difference.  And it makes her happy, always a plus.

Comments

[susandennis]

i wondered what was going on when i checked your back yard. i do admire your ability and willingness to get over stuff so quickly and easily.

[beautiful_dreamer_02]

If you do think it helpful, then between digging the hole and planting your newest rose, sink that PVC pipe several feet below the roots as they will 'set' when the rose bush goes in.
The idea is to get the soil moist well below the surface which will encourage the rose's roots to grow deep, where the soil has a better shot at holding moisture even during drought and/or heat, and to keep it moist.
It just occurred to me that two pipes might be better than just one: a shorter one for while the plant is still young and establishing itself so that water's getting to, and just below, the roots as they are and will be for a little while, and the longer, deeper-sitting pipe to wet the soil deeper down to encourage deep root development for the reasons just stated: a deep root system means the plant has a better chance of surviving any tough times. We have a new rose to plant, and I'm thinking we might give that a try despite our fairly reliable one meter of rain per year.