Roses for Foggy Areas

Q. Are there any hardy roses you would suggest I could plant that will survive Pacific Grove’s sandy soil and fog?

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December 2013

A. In December, it’s appropriate to strip leaves from roses to encourage dormancy. Just pull them off by hand and rake up under the rose bush to minimize any disease and over-wintering pests.

Treat the sandy soil and fog as two different issues. (They are both manageable.)

Sand in the soil helps drainage (which roses and most other plants appreciate), but there can be too much of a good thing. The sand content of your soil should be between 10% and 30%. I recommend analyzing soil texture so that you will know what you have. Here is a link to Fine Gardening magazine article, “How is Your Soil Texture?” that describes a simple procedures that you can do in a few minutes and without cost.

If this test shows an excess of sand, add compost or other organic material to improve the mix. During January or February, you could lift the rose, dig a hole about twice the size of the root ball, fill the hole with a mixture of garden soil, sand and compost, replant the rose, and water in. There is no correct mixture, but you might try for something like 70% soil, 20% sand and 10% organic material.

When lifting the rose, first use a shovel to cut the roots to about six inches around the plant. You could lift the plant without soil around the roots, but keep the roots moist (or at least out of the sun) until replanting.

A foggy environment has good and bad effects. Fog will help to keep the rose from drying out, but it will also promote various diseases, e.g., mildew, black spot, rust. The best strategy lis to select disease-resistant roses. Here’s a link to a Sunset magazine article, “Roses for Foggy Coasts,” with a list of rose recommendations.

The article recommends seeking advice from members of the local rose society. The Monterey Bay Rose Society has several members who are qualified Consulting Rosarians, and generous with their expertise.

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