Should I Use Weed Block for Roses?

by Joe C
(Torrance, CA)

QUESTION:
I have a lot of questions for you as the rose garden I planted last year turned out to be very disappointing and I cannot figure out why.

Part of me thinks it was the soil (the majority of it was older dirt with a lot of bags of compost added to it.

The other part of me thinks it was the weed block that I put in the rose garden.

I then added a lot of bark nuggets on top of the weed block, so I'm not sure if the weed block hindered the roses.

I will be able to send you pictures later, since I am at work right now, but wanted to know your position on the weed block around roses.
Thanks in advance.
Joe

ANSWER: Hi Joe! I do think the "weed block" is very bad for roses.

Other gardeners have similar results with doing that.

Another thing is the soil. I garden in Los Angeles, and the soil in Southern California is very alkaline, and you need to make it more acidic.

The bark nuggets actually increased the acidicy of the soil. You need to use a mulch specific for roses.

Ok, here is may page about soil for roses, it will help you with your garden soil.

And check out my page about rose care it will help also.
Best Regards,
Annelie

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