I have heard that if you plant a new rose where an old one has been, it often fails to grow due to rose sickness. As I'm about to replace an existing rose with a new one, I'd like to know if there is any alternative to replacing the topsoil.
Steve Bradley (Brad): In the past, experts recommended you remove that topsoil and add new topsoil to plant roses in the site of existing beds. This can be a lot of work, and expensive for a whole rose bed, but is possible for a single plant. Watering and feeding can help the plant grow quickly. Rose growers report having success with a root dip called Rootgrow, a powder of friendly fungi that helps roots to grow.