perennial shrubs or roses in SFG

lpolek 2/21/2011, 4:10 pm

I'm new to SFG this year and am excited to start if the snow ever melts. Thanks to everyone for all the great info on veggies and herbs. I'm wondering if anyone has tried roses or perennials like dwarf butterfly bushes or hardy hybiscus in an SFG or in pots using Mel's Mix?

quiltbea 2/21/2011, 6:01 pm

My roses and perennials get much too large to be confined to a raised bed.
I have not experience along that line, I'm afraid.

I've planted nasturtiums and marigolds in corners of my beds to help keep pests off my veggies, and had great success, but even those sprawl and get huge before season's end so its a good thing they're going in the compost heap.
perennial shrubs or roses in SFG 09-26-10

perennial shrubs or roses in SFG 09-26-10

Here's some of my marigolds last October.

Old Hippie 2/21/2011, 6:08 pm

I had roses in two containers of MM last summer. They did beautifully. For the winter though, I had to take them out and put them in the ground. Our winters get way too cold to winter them over in pots and I don't have anyplace to keep them otherwise. I will probably leave them in the ground this next summer and use the pots for something else. It would be nice if I had someplace to overwinter them without taking them out of the pots because that is a lot of work. I love using lots of pots for stuff but they just don't offer enough winter protection for most things in a Zone 3b.

Gwynn

**Furbalsmom** 2/21/2011, 7:40 pm

lpolek wrote:I'm new to SFG this year and am excited to start if the snow ever melts. Thanks to everyone for all the great info on veggies and herbs. I'm wondering if anyone has tried roses or perennials like dwarf butterfly bushes or hardy hybiscus in an SFG or in pots using Mel's Mix?

Last year I grew rose bushes in two pots that are 26 inch across and 24 inch deep filled with Mel's Mix. If the deer had not decided that the roses were left outside to be their personal dessert buffets, I am sure they would have done much better.

They are already breaking dormancy and there are nice leaves and new shoots on the first one.
The second has broken dormancy and has new shoot and leaves, but not as nice as the first one. The second was the plant most damaged by the deer last year.

In my cool PNW area, roses winter well outside.

lpolek 2/21/2011, 9:11 pm

I had mediocre results with roses in containers last year but they seem to have made it through the winter. I hope the Mel's mix will make the a difference this year. It's encouraging to know that they worked for someone else.

Old Hippie 2/21/2011, 9:38 pm

Ipolek, forgive me for not noticing sooner that you are new to this forum. I just want to give you a proper welcome to the forum like we try to do for all newcomers. perennial shrubs or roses in SFG 396615

Your stats do not say what geographical area you are from, just that you are in a zone 5. We do have regional areas that you can join up with. sometimes it is nice to get to know others in your area and your gardening zone to find out more about sources for seeds, compost, vermiculite or just info on what and when to plant.

I am from British Columbia, Canada and still have at least 12 weeks to go before I can plant a lot of things. But I am counting down the days........

If we can be of help to you in any way, be sure to post. There are bound to be lots of people on here who have ideas or encouragement for you. Thank you for joining us.

Gwynn

perennial shrubs or roses in SFG 90640

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Thanks for the responses

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