I’ve always preached about making sure your soil is healthy and that it has a living soil profile, which should then be maintained. You’ll find links to a couple of posts below about that. Basically, the takeaway is to feed the soil and it will feed the plants. While I know that commercial potting soils differ widely, I’ve never really done a side-by-side comparison. Yes, we went through gobs of potting soil when I had Ashdown Roses, but we bought it by the truckload and just used one type all season. We might use a different one the following season but never really compared them. As you may recall, I’ve recently been adding more and more perennials to my rose gardens. This is not only for beauty but also to keep building that host environment for beneficial insects. I specifically try to choose those with good nectar as food for the adults and ones that will provide rough foliage through the winter to house them during the cold season. Someone sent me two types of seeds of Salvia Coccinea earlier this year (thanks!). I sowed them in 72 cell trays. For the soil at this point, I actually used very, very old composted manure from the back of our manure pile. Talk about black gold! The seeds sprouted nicely, and then it was time to transplant them into slightly larger pots to grow before putting them in the ground. Considering how hot it is around here now, that will be early September, giving them plenty of time to grow. Eager to get started on the repotting process, I first grabbed a few bags of basic, cheap potting soil. My thought was that they are going into the ground eventually anyway, so why spring for the expensive stuff? Oops! When I ran out of the cheap stuff, I picked up a higher quality soil with more organics in it and even some time-release natural fertilizer. As you can see in the photo, there is no contest as to which was better. I probably don’t have to tell you which was the better one, but just in case, it’s the one on the left. Keep in mind, this photo was taken only about seven days after potting them! I’ll go back and add some time-release fertilizer to the cheaper stuff, but I should have saved myself the trouble. This brings me to roses grown in containers. Lots of roses grow great in containers: floribundas, mini-floras, polyanthas, China roses, and all the smaller shrub roses. Select a container of at least 18 inches (45 centimeters) in diameter and just as deep, if not more. Roses like deep roots. Whatever you plan to add to the soil, make sure to spring for the good stuff. Soil with natural organics and even time-release organic fertilizer is the way to go. The most important thing is getting your roses off to a great start—when it comes to size, soil really matters! Happy Roseing! —Paul