Rose Bed Construction

Most rose beds in our area are built as raised beds to ensure proper soil drainage and aeration and, therefore, require some sort of retaining wall to contain the soil and the top dressing of mulch.

If you have a sandy or gravel subsoil, you will have no drainage problem and can build beds at ground level with just enough curbing to keep out the grass and hold in a 3 to 4 inch layer of mulch. If your subsoil is limestone rock, caliche or heavy clay (more typical of the Austin area), you must build your bed from 6 to 12 inches above lawn level. You want a soil depth of up to 20 inches (see below) in the bed. The depth to which you are able to excavate will determine how much material you will have to provide to raise the soil level. In other words, if you are able to excavate down 12 inches, you will have to provide materials to raise the soil in your bed an additional 8 inches. Before you begin construction, use a line level or some other method to judge the contour of the land. You want the top surface of the bed to be nearly level in order to keep fertilizer, water and bark mulch located in place, rather than having them washed down to the lowest part of the bed.