6 Best Soils for Roses to Help Your Buds and Petals Thrive
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Roses are among the most rewarding flowers to grow, if you ask me. We all know how beautiful they look when they bloom and how great they smell. And, best of all, they can grow really quickly if you provide them with the proper growing environment. In this article, we’re going to get deep into the weeds of the best soils for roses (pun certainly not intended).
Although there’s a lot to get through, at the end of the day roses have fairly simple needs in terms of the soil they’re growing in. Of course, they do love nutrient-rich soils made from high-quality organic materials, but what plant doesn’t?
I’ve collected 6 options for the best soils for roses, one of which I’m sure will be perfect for your gardening needs.
Let’s jump right into it!
Key Takeaways
After carefully considering all the soils for roses I’ve used in the past and conducting tons of research online, I’m really happy with the list I’ve put together. Overall, I decided to recommend the Coast of Maine Organic Natural Potting Soil Blend for Roses as the top pick among the best soils for roses.
Not only is it a high-quality and consistent product I’ve used for a long time, but it’s also flexible enough that just about any rose gardener could use it as part of their gardening routine. That remains true whether you’re looking to renew soil outside or start growing in a new grow bag or raised garden bed.
I also included a number of options that have more constricted use cases, like Rio Hamza Trading Planting Mix for Plant Propagation and Gardenera Premium Desert Rose Potting Soil. What that means is, whether you’re looking for a great all-purpose rose soil or something more specific, there will be a great product for you on this list.
Best Overall: Coast of Maine Organic Natural Potting Soil Blend for Roses
Why This is a Quality Choice: This excellent potting soil from the Coast of Maine brand contains everything that roses need to establish themselves and grow. It’s a great solution for people who are looking to grow roses in a garden bed or pots because it has the perfect texture for allowing water to drain while retaining enough moisture for your thirsty roses.
Who is this for? Anyone who’s growing roses in a pot or raised garden bed can feel perfectly comfortable using the Coast of Maine Organic Natural Potting Soil Blend for Roses as the centerpiece of their soil mix.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: This soil doesn’t contain any ingredients that directly raise N–P–K levels, so it would be a good idea to add a nice fertilizer to the mix.
Component ratio: 70% organic, 30% mineral | Texture: Loamy | Ingredients: Compost, bark, lime, and peat moss | Package size: 15.52 lbs
Best Budget: Miracle-Gro Potting Mix
Why This is a Quality Choice: This Miracle-Gro Potting Mix has been specifically formulated for supporting the growth of flowers like roses. It offers a lot of value to gardeners who want to increase their growing space by filling pots and raised garden beds with high-quality soil, especially if you buy a two-pack of potting soil bags.
And, as a bonus, the soil mix contains fertilizer with enough nutrients to feed plants for up to six months.
Who is this for? I’d recommend this product to budget-conscious gardeners who don’t want to compromise on quality when they’re buying soil for their roses.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: The soil is not all-natural or organic, so some gardeners might object to using it.
Component ratio: 60% organic, 40% mineral | Texture: Loamy | Ingredients: Processed forest products, sphagnum peat moss, peat, perlite, fertilizer, and a wetting agent | Package size: 9.02 lbs (x2)
Best for Desert Roses: Gardenera Premium Desert Rose Potting Soil
Why This is a Quality Choice: Desert roses are an increasingly popular species for home gardeners to grow, but they have specific soil needs. Gardenera Premium Desert Rose Potting Soil provides the perfect growing environment for these particularly picky roses. That’s because this loamy soil provides an excellent balance of aeration and moisture retention.
Who is this for? As you’d expect, this product is tailored for those who are passionate about growing desert roses.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: This isn’t the largest package of soil on this list of the best soils for roses, but since most people grow desert roses in smaller pots, that isn’t the biggest issue. You can also order the soil in larger quantities if you need to.
Component ratio: 70% organic, 30% mineral | Texture: Sandy | Ingredients: Coconut coir, Canadian peat moss, sand, perlite, and lime | Package size: 15.2 ounces
Best All-Purpose: Espoma Organic Potting Soil Mix
Why This is a Quality Choice: Espoma Organic Potting Soil Mix is a high-quality and flexible potting soil for all your flower growing needs. It contains a lot of bio-active materials, such as bacteria that are beneficial for your flowers and mycorrhiza, which is a fungus that helps with root growth.
Who is this for? This is an excellent choice for gardeners who are planning to grow roses, but also other types of plants in pots. You can take care of all your soil needs with just this one purchase.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Some gardeners have reported in online reviews that this soil contains gnats, but that’s a possibility with any bag of potting soil.
Component ratio: 60% organic, 40% mineral | Texture: Loamy | Ingredients: Sphagnum peat moss, humus, perlite, earthworm castings, alfalfa meal, kelp meal and feather meal | Package size: 5 lbs
Best for Propagating Roses: Rio Hamza Trading Planting Mix for Plant Propagation
Why This is a Quality Choice: Propagating cuttings from my rose bushes is actually my favorite part of the rose growing process, which is why I love Rio Hamza Trading Planting Mix for Plant Propagation.
You won’t have any problem getting your cuttings to develop if you start them off in this excellent planting mix. Its soilless formula provides plenty of air, which is just what cuttings need.
Who is this for? If you’re planning to expand your rose garden through propagation, this product can definitely make your life a whole lot easier.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Unlike most flower and vegetable potting soils, this mix doesn’t actually contain any minerals or soil, so you’ll have to transfer your cuttings once they start to sprout.
Component ratio: 100% organic, 0% mineral | Texture: Loamy | Ingredients: Worm casting, perlite, peat moss, lime | Package size: 2.2 lbs
Best for Outdoor: FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Soil Mix
Why This is a Quality Choice: Most of the options on this list of the best soils for roses have been focused on growing in pots and raised garden beds, since that’s how most gardeners prefer to grow roses.
This soil is ideal for growing roses outside as a result of its strong texture and high-nutrient levels. With a mix of organic materials such as bat guano, fish, and crab meal, it won’t have any adverse effects on the surrounding environment.
Who is this for? This is the perfect product for someone who wants to renew outdoor soil or to establish a new patch for roses to grow.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: The product has a fairly limited use by date as a result of its bioactive materials, so you can’t leave extra sitting in a cupboard for extended periods of time.
Component ratio: 65% organic, 35% mineral | Texture: Sandy | Ingredients: Earthworm castings, bat guano, fish and crab meal, forest humus, sphagnum peat moss, | Package size: 11.5 lbs
Buying Considerations for The Best Soils For Roses
Ingredients
Roses grow best in natural soil that’s made from high-quality ingredients. The best soils for roses typically have lots of peat moss of some type, whether that’s sphagnum peat moss or Canadian peat moss. They’ll also include plenty of compost, which helps provide much needed nutrients to roses.
And finally, you should look for the inclusion of lime in rose soil, since this indicates that the soil won’t be too acidic for your flowers to thrive.
Texture
Roses generally prefer to grow in loamy topsoil with some more clay heavy soil underneath. Whenever you’re looking into soils with the intention to use them for roses, you should try to ensure that they’re loamy in texture. The exception to the rule is for desert roses, which require a sandier soil to thrive in.
Intended Use
There are a lot of different stages to the rose growing process. Exactly where you’re at in the journey makes a big difference to which products it makes sense for you to use, as you might have seen from the spread of different products I’ve recommended.
If you’re establishing a new rose patch outdoors, you’ll want to pick a different product than if you’re just planning to renew some soil that already has roses growing in it. The same goes for gardeners who are getting ready to do some propagation and start some new bushes.
How I Choose These Products
As a passionate rose gardener, I have no shortage of opinions about all aspects of growing these beautiful flowers. That’s why I placed my go-to soil, Coast of Maine Organic Natural Potting Soil Blend for Roses, at the top of the list of the best soils for roses. I’ve been using it for years.
For the other options, I again used my personal experiences with products I’ve tried and found to be high-quality and consistent. I also leaned on some advice from a WhatsApp group that’s full of passionate rose gardeners, which was particularly helpful for finding out about Gardenera Premium Desert Rose Potting Soil.
Finally, I took the time to go through dozens of customer reviews for each product I recommended in order to make sure that other people have also had positive experiences. I hope you enjoyed the list and found a product that suits your needs.
Final Verdict
Overall, I always recommend Coast of Maine Organic Natural Potting Soil Blend for Roses as tops among the best soils for roses. It’s made from the kind of high-quality natural ingredients, like compost, bark, lime, and peat moss, that your roses will love growing in.
It’s a great choice whether you’re looking to renew some old and tired soil or start an entirely new grow bed for your latest gardening project. Whatever soil you choose, I’d like to wish you the best of luck this upcoming growing season.
FAQs
What is the best soil mixture for roses?
Roses aren’t the most picky plants out there in terms of the texture of soil they like growing in, since they’re very adaptable. However, if you’re looking to create the absolutely ideal growing conditions for roses, I’d recommend using a loamy topsoil that has lots of nutrients above a lower layer of more clay-heavy soil. Roses do like to root into the more secure texture that clay provides, allowing them to grow taller and support heavier flowering.
What compost is best for roses?
Since roses require a lot of nutrients to grow to their full potential, it’s very important to regularly add compost to their growing environment. A mature compost that contains a lot of manure is the best way to support the growth of roses. That’s because a compost like that will provide those essential nutrients without making the soil too acidic for your roses to thrive. You can use rooting hormones too.
Do roses like acidic or basic soil?
Roses prefer a soil that is fairly balanced in terms of pH. Many growers say that the ideal pH level for rose soil is 6.5, which is slightly more basic than acidic. However, you’re pretty much fine as long as your soil isn’t overly acidic. If you’re worried about that, I’d recommend soil testing as a way to know for sure about your soil conditions. You can either use a home test or send a soil sample to a lab near you.
