Anyone growing roses in raised garden beds?

Rose Care
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Hi everyone,

I’m in Virginia and have been growing a few roses directly in the ground for the past couple of seasons. Overall they’ve done reasonably well, but the soil in my yard is pretty heavy clay, and after a good rain it tends to stay wet longer than I’d like. Earlier this spring we had a stretch of rainy weather and I noticed a few spots in the bed where the soil stayed soggy for days.

Because of that I’ve started thinking about putting in a raised garden bed for a small rose section in the backyard. Nothing huge — maybe just a dedicated area with 4–5 rose bushes so I can control the soil a bit better. A few neighbors nearby use raised beds for tomatoes and herbs, and they keep telling me the drainage and soil structure are much easier to manage compared to planting directly in the clay.

While looking into raised beds I’ve seen quite a few people online mention brands like Vego Garden, Birdies Garden Products, or Greenes Fence. Those seem pretty popular for metal or cedar beds. I also recently came across Garvee, which seems to have some metal raised beds in different sizes. I’m still in the “looking around” stage and just trying to get a sense of what might work best.

Before I actually build or order one, I wanted to ask anyone here with more experience growing roses.

A few things I’m curious about:

• How deep should a raised bed ideally be for roses?
• Do roses in raised beds tend to dry out faster during the summer?
• Any soil mix that seems to work particularly well for them?

If anyone here has tried growing roses this way, I’d love to hear how it worked out for you. Appreciate any tips.

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While I can’t offer suitable suggestions for the type of raised bed nor the soil mix suitable for your conditions (which are the polar opposite of mine), I can offer to be aware that any soil “mix” you put in the raised bed is going to break down over time. Raised beds for vegetables are splendid because you rotate out the crop once to several times a year so you can add to or replace the soil each time. Once you plant the roses, they are there permanently (hopefully). Any soil “mix” you use contains high amounts of organic material which digests out rather quickly so the plants sink lower in the raised bed. Adding more soil will eventually bury the crowns of the plants. To prevent that, you would need to dig them up and replant at the new soil level. Even grown in containers, the potting soil breaks down and washes through the drain holes so eventually you have to remove them, add soil and repot to the original, higher level.

Do the roses in the ground appear to be suffering from the standing water after rains? Perhaps a more workable solution may be to build a mounded area and use mainly the native soil where excess water may flow off and possibly drain through a bit faster due to being elevated above the natural soil level? Replacing a good, organic mulch on the surface where it will break down and flush Humic Acid through the soil, helping to break up the native clay will be far easier on both you and the plants than having to remove and replace them every few years or so to replenish the broken down soil mix.

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Yes, I do. I have roses in huge pots, raised beds and in the ground. I’m in Florida, sandy or sandy soil and nematodes. Like Roseseek said - be aware that roses in pots/raised beds will sink over time and the soil compacts. Those in pots do need to be raised up/replanted with the soil freshened and partially changed out/added to no matter what. My raised beds are gigantic: 1 is a 16’ diameter circle made with stacked landscape block, another is a circle about 8’ diameter also stacked landscape block and bricks. The last ones are large triangles made by combining metal raised bed panels into a huge equilateral triangles (12’ to a side). The raised bed metal panels are 1’ high. I also put in two 3’ long rebar stakes per side, on the OUTSIDE of the long metal beds to prevent the soil/water from warping/bending the bed sides outward. I spray paint the rebar stakes to match the color of the bed, and drive them down 2’, leaving the top of the stake flush with the top of the metal bed wall.

Depth: I believe it depends on rootstock some. In general, deeper is better than wider. I would advise - turning and amending the soil UNDER the raised bed before laying in the raised bed and filling it with your soil mix. Perhaps dig down about a foot+the raised foot of the bed=approx. 24” of soil. That said, I do NOT do this - as I don’t want to stir up nematodes in my case and our soil is mostly sand, not hard packed clay. We have great drainage.

Drying Out? The bigger beds, not as much. I do find that the triangle corners can be a bit dryer. Most of the time, the soil mix in my raised beds holds moisture better than my soil - I have to be careful not to OVER water. Pots or small (2’ x 2’) beds - yes, I’d watch those carefully. Get a soil moisture probe that will stick into the ground better than 8”. Test all the time, every time. The top might be dry, but the root zone can still be wet.

Soil mix: There are lots of ‘soil mix’ recipes for roses out there. Easy to Google. Roses are heavy feeders, so they need lots of nutrients. If you can build the soil so that there is a good mix of drainage, organic matter, etc. Great. Watch the pH level. If you’re watering with ‘city’ water - that pH level is likely too high for roses to really do well. Might need to add some acidifiers to the soil to help. Mulch with pine straw/needles will also help. You can find out the general water pH from your water company.

Another tip: Ideally you want your roses to last a good long time. Most wood or even coated metal panel raised beds will not last as long as your roses. (hopefully!) Make a plan for future wall replacement, or situate your beds where you can remove the old bed walls and just let the soil mound up - adding new soil to the edges/margins to create that slope. In my case, I cannot do that, so I will have to build a new wall next to the first, then remove the old panels and fit the new ones in and connect. Not sure if that will work yet or not… ask me 10 years or so, lol.

Question: why not dig your in-ground rose holes at least 2’ x 2’ big or more. Then mix, amend the clay soil you have and put it back into the hole? The soil will mound up since you added some soil, and your new rose bush would be planted therefore - a few inches above the main grade of your land. That elevation would help with drainage, right? (sorry for the long reply!)

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from Fairfax, Va- I dont think you need to go to a raised bed. Vegetables yes, it is about farming, with roses, it is about design. To deal with Virginia clay, I agree with Kim. Dig a hole , 18- 20 inch wide and 18-20 inches deep. Use recipe for planting. If you send me your e-mail. I can send you the I have used for successfully planting thousands of rose bushes. -Pam

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