Roses and drains
I am thinking about creating a rose garden which would include plants, shrubs and climbers.
The land that I would be planting on has pipework directly below it - soil pipes/drainage etc.
Do the roots of roses go deep enough and would they be strong enough to cause a problem with the pipework?
Thanks for all comments.
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In my experience I don't think that the roots of roses would cause a problem as long as the drains are relatively modern and in good repair.
Well there are roses and there are roses. You could have a whole bed of patio, miniature and ground cover roses and ne'er a root below about a foot deep. Or there are the hoooge ramblers - Kiftsgate for example - which probably have very extensive roots.
Roses do have quite 'strong' roots - they thrive in clay soil so have a fair amount of 'push', iykwim. There are two problems with roots and drains; the roots themselves can break a drain and block it - unlikely with most roses if you stay clear of the monsters; and they can cause ground movement which may cause the drains to move and then leak. More likely but again, probably only with the very large rambler roses that have extensive root systems.
Any idea how deep the drains are? If they are shallow - less than 500mm deep say - you would probably be wise to put in a root barrier of some kind between them and any large roses, then plant geraniums, geums, asters - good companions to the roses - over the drains and roses outside the barrier line. If they are deeper most of the smaller tea roses and bush types will probably not cause a problem.
Not promising though, it's a chance you take. I've got paths over my drains, It's just easier should we ever need to get at them in future.
Last edited: 04 October 2016 10:53:37
Thanks for your input raisingirl very helpful.
The drains are deeper than 500mm. There is an existing bed which had lots of shrubs and a few trees in there which I have removed. They don't seem to have impacted on the drainage but I am concerned about planting anything deep rooted in that bed now.
Food for thought!
I think you would be ok with roses. Any ramblers would probably be up against your fence or wall and therefore away from the run of drains. .
I think that could work hogweed, at least for the climbers, the shrubs and plants may still be a concern though as the would be further away from the wall.
Thanks for your advice