Re: 3 roses in a hole

I've only been scanning this thread so if this has already been said, please forgive me.

The idea of three plants in a hole is not new. This is common practice with fruit trees, especially those in the prunus family (peach, plum, nectarine, etc). You plant three trees in the space that one would take up and then prune them to keep them in check. It works best if you prune in summer as that somewhat limits' the trees' photosynthesis and keeps them smaller than they would normally grow.

The result is three different types of fruit, an amount of each that is household sized, and the ability to chose varieties that ripen at different points in the season.

Trees are planted bare root and in a larger hole than normal. I plant three in a hole about 18" across. For more information, go to http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_what-is.html.

I don't grow many roses but I can't see why this wouldn't work since they are also in the prunus family (though the technique works with citrus, apples and all kinds of other trees).

Three of the same kind of roses might produce a larger impact overall, but it would be fun to try three different kinds of roses - each with a slightly different bloom period. That would add interest and impact - and allow you to grow three times as many roses as you would normally.

Overall success will be determined by your ability to prune such that none takes over and dominates.

BTW, three is not a magic number. You could do two in a hole or as many as 5. I think I'd stop at 5 though...


Nan
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Nan Sterman Plant Soup (TM)
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Talkingpoints@PlantSoup.Com 760.634.2957 (fax)

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