Want to grow roses but have clay soil and you’re worried that they won’t do too well? Will roses grow in clay soil? let’s have a look and find out.
Will Roses Grow In Clay Soil?
Yes, roses can actually do really really in clay soil. Clay soil is normally quite mineral rich and your roses can exploit this to bloom in abundance.
It is always a good idea to mix in plenty of compost into the hole that you plant your roses in, I would also add a bit of gravel to the bottom to aid drainage.
Apart from this though you should be fine and your roses will perform really well as long as the area does not get waterlogged.
If the area does get waterlogged then your rose may suffer from root rot which can kill the plant. This is only really a problem for very heavy clay areas or areas that are at the bottom of a slope and naturally hold more water.
If you have other plants that you want to grow in clay soil and they aren’t doing so well then here are some quick tips on how to improve clay soils.
How To Improve Clay Soils
Everyone will always tell you to dig in some compost or add some sand or grit or maybe even a combination of these things and act like that will solve all your problems.
The simple answer is it won’t. If you have ever gardened on clay soil then you will know that digging anything into it is incredibly tough.
You cant simply add some compost and turn it over, you can’t easily mix anything into clay.
What does work is adding organic matter on top of clay, and either improving through the use of raised beds or just building the soil level up.
You essentially need to start gardening on a layer above the clay that is rich in organic matter and hummus, all of which you will need to provide.
If your soil isn’t too bad but maybe a little on the heavy side then you can add gravel to the bottom of planting holes to aid drainage, and this may be enough for you.