We are moving to NE TN and from what I can tell the soil is red clay with lots of boulders. Any luck with growing roses in the soil or are we talking planters and/or raised beds? I'll have just a small courtyard garden (retirement condo) so space is much more limited than what I had in the past and much more rocky.

I am not familiar with your soil or climate, but if your space is limited, I think you would be best off by building raised beds in which you could control the quality and drainage of the soil to suit the roses which you want to grow.

Thia. If you check the memberlist (bottom of the page) you can see which members live in your new area; they might be able to give you some suggestions.

I can't give you any suggestions about which roses will do well in your new climate, but I can tell you that gardening in rocks and clay gets much, much harder as you start living in an older body. I'd go for the raised beds, if it can work for you.

Smiles,
Lyn

I am in NW TN and I have a lot of that same clay and rocky soil for which the state is known. I grow roses in the ground with a little amended soil. Raised beds are great if you want to go that route.

Thia said:I'll have just a small courtyard garden (retirement condo) so space is much more limited than what I had in the past and much more rocky.

Thia,
I think first you want to have, read, and understand, any HOA (home owners association) covenants that may limit what you can garden.

If a raised bed is permitted I'd use one of them.