Who runs this site
I'm Lucky. I've been gardening in the Pacific NorthWest for over 30 years: raised beds, in ground rows, fruit trees, roses, espaliers, and more mistakes than I care to admit. Rose City Roots is my way of writing down what actually works in the region, in plain language, week by week, season after season.
Portland is a generous climate on paper (Zone 8b, an extended growing season and probably the widest range of plants one can grow in this country), but this abundance comes at a price and will challenge the savviest of dirt diggers: our heavy clay soil that stays wet and cold into spring, then cracks in August; the rainy winters that invite slugs, root rot, and drainage issues; and the bone dry stretch from June through September when the rain gauge becomes decorative. I write with those realities in mind, not generic “Pacific Northwest” fluff, but what I'm doing in my own work boots.
What you'll find here
- Weekly themes: a one line read of what the garden is asking for this week, with the occasional touch of humor.
- Action lists for vegetables, flowers, shrubs, and seasonal tasks, with specific items (soil temps, spacing, variety names).
- An archive you can browse week by week on the home page, useful when you want to look back at what was timely last year around this date.
Why Zone 8b?
Last frost lands around mid March, first frost around mid November, and from June through September we get almost no rain. The 20 to 30 degree nightly drops during summer keep everything from overheating and extend the growing season at both ends.
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