The roses in the hugel pots are doing great. Much better than last year before I changed them.
The leaves all stay very green now and the plants don't wilt in between watering.
The best change is that they didn't get the usual rust and black spot disease.
Here's the link to the original posting:
http://lowcostvegetablegarden.blogspot.com/2013/02/rose-hugel-pot.html
These pictures were taken May 7th. The plants are bigger now.
Since I made a lot of changes, can't identify what was most beneficial, but I believe the most significant changes were putting wood chip mulch on top, fertilizing with kitty-urine soaked cornmeal, and automatic daily morning watering with a micro-sprayer, not a dripper.
In another potted plant I did only this and it too improved greatly.
In the hot dry climate here one problem with pots is the soil will dry out at the top and still be wet at the bottom. The wood chips help keep the top moist and evens out the wetness level in the pot.
Also having the top moist encourages small feeder roots critical to the plants growth.
