Help! Soil and amendment recipe for planting hole for new standard roses

Look, I know this topic has been discussed in great detail somewhere on this excellent site, and recently, too, but I can't seem to find it with the search engine.

Reason for asking: A very dear friend of mine has just purchased 10 potted Iceberg 90cm standards from Treloars. She has never had a rose in her life, and no, I didn't recommend these. Still, she hasn't bought a dog of a variety, and she might be very happy with them.

She is organising to put them in the ground at her new property(a local tradesman, not a horticulturalist, is doing the work) and wanted my advice on what sort of soil to put in the holes. She was just going to put in potting mix!

I told her to hang on, that I was no expert in these matters, but I knew several. I told her I would get the best recipes from the best experts - that would be you people. No idea what existing soil is like, but if her tradie is doing the hard yakka, I figure he can create planting holes to order, using your best composites..

Can you point me to the thread(s)?

I personally don't have much success planting in summer even if I water them daily

Bruce , wrote up a planting advice just recently......

Teesh, the roses are ordered and on their way, so not any option. To make things more complicated, they will be renting out their property for a year beginning in January, while they go o/s on sabbatical.

Your point is REALLY important. I will make sure to emphasise the need for regular water and food. Not sure if they will have a gardener tending to the place in their absence, but I doub t it. I am happy to take on teh job of going over to their place to look after things, but I doubt that tenants would welcome the intrusion. It may be wise for the real estate agent handling the place to make it a point in the lease.
Thanks, Teesh, for bringing up that issue xxxxooooo

Bruce, do you recall where you posted the info ?

The only things I can suggest (having dealt with this very recently) is that you get some 'wetter soil' or those crystals to keep the soil wet. They seem to help. Also a good mulch on top, and they will need to be watered twice a day with Seasol. One of my roses survived but the other I don't think will The longer she can leave them in pots the better in the shade. But if she has to plant them then just get her to try keep them well watered.

Betsy, maybe you mean this written by Finbarr:
" new plantings should go into a slurry and be kept wet until 3-5 sets of leaves. from then on slow flow with decreasing frequency is best. improving soil organic levels reduces frequency" in the thread How often do you water your Roses in your garden bed in summer months ?

The Vic Rose Society recommends using Humus Plus (which I haven't tracked down yet) Apparently made from aged mushroom compost. Make a slurry from this (or use bagged compost) in wheelbarrow and plonk rose in on the slurry, cover sides with slurry then backfill with soil. Top with peastraw or lucerne, which retains moisture well.

Hope this helps. Good luck to your friend.

For me i would do a rose bed with a good garden mix or veg mix soil, I would then dig in some aged organic cow manure, Richgro has a good one.
I would then mulch with about 10cm of the same cow manure.

Betsy I am sure it was Finbarr.
Your friend should soak her plants in the pots for a day or so in buckets.
With mine David digs me a big hole. make a slurry in the hole. I always have a watering can filled with water and seasol as directed on pack. Some goes into the bottom of hole, add the rose with the soil from the pot as it is used to it,then as the hole is filled I pour more from the can on. When the hole is filled we pour the rest of the seasol mix over. David puts a little mound of earth round the plant to create a little pond for the plant. We then give it a very good watering and if no rain I will water it each day till it is growing well. I feed every couple of weeks with seasol mix plus I add Thrive or one of those. Mulch will help to retain the water in the soil. Fish emulsion I find is good added to feeding mix.
I hope this helps, I will ask David if he can add anything and most probably Finbarr could help.

All the above information will help as long as the tradesman adheres to it. The bit I would add is make the hole about half the size again of the pot with all the good soils incorporated with existing soils so the roots from the pot can get into it quickly. I would check each of the pots and make sure they are not pot/root bound. If they are some teasing will be required, I just do it to all pots in case.

This is great great great stuff. Thank you everyone . Cutting and pasting an info sheet for my friend now.

Also need advice on amendments - how much manure should be incorporated into the soil for each standard? Should it be mixed into the daren soil and placed in the bottom of the hole, or mixed and distrbuted in tgeh back fill soil?

Sorry to be such a pest on this, but I've never dug in standard roses and even then my experience is pretty much limited to the forgiving noisettes.

Betsy, if you choose to use 'manure' make sure it is OLD and matured. I would mix it through out all the soils.

Roiseman, my friend orders her horsesupplies through the local stock and feed store, and they have plenty of good stuff - huge bags of well-rotted manure. compost, lucerne. I am just wondering how much per rose at planting time. I've never dealt with cow manure, so I'm not sure about quatities.

Betsy if it was me I would only be using it to add food for the soils and microbes, not as a food for the roses. If it is well rotted it will hold water. Proportionately amounts to the other added material. If say for each rose hole you have about 20lt of medium and have 5 ingredients. A good 60 percent existing soil and 10 to 15 percent potting mix and so forth. Maybe 5 percent cow, possible 10 to 15 percent compost. The lucerne as the mulch. Hope this helps, amounts are changeable, just depends on the final number of ingredients.

Excellent. Thank you, roseman!

A nursery near me has Hummus Plus !!!

Maree, in your opinion, what might be in it

Roseman , much to my delight it is raining down here , not heavy rain , just slow drippy rain , sorry , can't send it up , so i'll do a trip to nursery and find out , the nursery is about 30 mins away , i think i have used it before , i'll buy a bag and bring it home ....