You may use the link below to contact Kitty directly through the Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society. It is to their web page listing their officers. That way, you can ask her those questions directly and get the correct answers. Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: SCVRS web page

We've grown our roses this way for many years. I think we began doing it before Kitty did. One thing we've learned over the years is -- the more holes the better.

Jeri

It looks like those in the ground aren't in pots, they have some kind of plastic edging/border material around them, possibly for watering purposes? I see the pots on the driveway, but, unless my eyes are fooling me greatly, those aren't pots in the dirt.

I've HAD a pot that size sunken in the dirt, and once I got it in, I couldn't get it out at all, as it was far too heavy. Who ever got my garden allotment had to dig out the lemon tree in the pot and empty the pot of its soil and then remove the pot itself at the end.

I could be completely mistaken, but that's my guess.

Melinda

I did this with two roses...they are shade roses..and my soil in that area is poor..full of pine needles..so I had hubby dig a big hole..and dropped a beat up old plastic pot..gosh..maybe 25 gallon size...and I used really good soil in those pots..I took out the bottom of the pot..and they are doing great!

Jeri can you tell me what the reasons are to sink the pots in the ground?

I grew citrus, tropicals & some roses in a sunken bed in large nursery containers.

I did it when I lived in on the hot, humid coast & watering all of the huge pots became too much of a chore. The point was to basically store the plants in a location where their roots would remain cool & moist.

I dug down into the hard black clay about a foot. Dumped compost & leaves in the bottom, settled the pots in then stuffed hay & leaves around them & on top. I could stick a hose in the "well" created & just leave it a while. The pots & mulch would be soaked & would stay moist for a week or even 2.

It worked GREAT for my situation. I did it at a period of time where we anticipated a move. I wanted to hold things in pots--especially big specimen plants--but the plants needed water & winter protection. In winter we'd assemble a pole shed & cover it with clear plastic.

It wasn't beautiful, but it functioned very well for the purpose.
And I think the same scheme COULD be applied in an attractive way for permanent plantings. You could space the plants properly & top with an attractive mulch. Later, I even added plastic at the bottom of the well. Water could still drain well from the sides but the plastic delayed run-off from the bottom.

While I lived in central & southeast Florida I grew almost all my roses in pots in the ground. Before even considering putting pots in the ground, you MUST have good drainage. I started doing this in the early 1990's to see if it would work for me. I took a section of a new garden site and put 5, 25 gal nursery pots in the ground with a bunch of extra drainage holes in them. Used good, light weight potting soil and planted Hannah Gordan, Royal Amethyst, Touch of Class, Uncle Joe and Crystalline. Those roses grew and thrived as good and better then anything in the ground. No weeding. No grass. No encroaching roots from anythig in the area. Everything that was put in the garden after that was in a large pot. 1998 I moved to the S.E. Fl. coast (Port St Lucie) and was able to do a new garden. I had a BUNCH of large pots and a good source for any more I needed. My backyard was solid grass, so instead of a "formal" garden, I dug my holes where I wanted my roses and dropped the pots in the ground with about 2" of the pot above ground. Did the same thing out front. Ended up with about 120ish roses. All the roses were 5' on center and 8' between row's. It ended up looking quite nice. I was able to control the water and food for each bush, plus I enjoyed walking around my garden in my bare feet. After retiring and moving up to N.E GA., I found out I had very slow drainage and didn't bother trying to do the pot (??) garden. Everything up here is in the ground except for a few mini's in decor pots.

In parts of California, roses planted in the soil will die from the oak root fungus. A large pot with the bottom removed and no holes in the sides reportedly provides protection. If the bottom is removed, you get nearly normal soil drainage. If the fungus is not an issue, cut 1" holes in the sides to let the roots escape and you can get away with a smaller pot. Planting in pots protects against gophers and voles.

Hmm, I like this idea. My only concern would be that you may be limiting the amount of space for the roots to grow. But in S. Florida where my soil is so sandy, it may be a really good idea. I grow some of my roses in grow bags (the fabric kind, not plastic) and i might try sticking some of them directly in the ground. Some of the ones i have are supposed to last 3-5 years before decomposing. Maybe they will eventually decompose in the ground once the rose is well established. Do you think this would help with nematodes? I know they are microscopic and could get through the bags but the don't like organic matter so they may not bother to try and get the roots if the roses are in good soil inside the bags. :)

When dealing with active Armillaria, any root contact with infected roots can be deadly. The mycelium can be massive, spreading over a quite large area. Once infected, death can come fairly quickly, or result in a lingering decline. Personally, I won't use submerged pots for that purpose. It would have to be above ground pots set on pavers to prevent any soil contact to prevent potential spread of the fungus. I've dealt with an infected garden and it was NO fun. The only plant material which actually "resisted" the infection were giant timber bamboo and a magnolia grandiflora. The bamboo grew, but not as rampantly. The magnolia flowered but lost chunks of limbs annually. Nothing else could be planted in the soil and last more than a season or two before beginning its downward spiral.

The uphill neighbor lost an enormous xylosma two years ago. Not that far from where the tree died, I lost 90% of my Mutabilis. Fortunately, it had layered itself and I was able to sever the new plant from the old before the old died. So far, the new one is maintaining. I am not watering the area the tree and rose were planted in and I'm keeping a very watchful eye on the other plants near there.

There have been some very promising results in avocado and citrus orchards using copious amounts of fresh horse manure as mulch.

Submerging pots in this climate isn't a great idea. The transpiration rate is too severe, Even submerged in the cooler soil, they can dry out in a day with this sun, heat, wind and aridity. Any nearby trees infiltrate the pots to make good use of the richer, more regularly watered soil and any benefits are quickly lost. I have several roses planted in fifteen gallon cans which I have cut the bottoms and a third of the sides out of so they can be used on a short, steep slope to permit planting roses in the ground on the slope. They require as frequent watering on this hill as those which sit above the ground. Kim

In our case, we do this because of gophers, which infest our entire area.

The Western Pocket Gopher is one of the worst garden pests in the Western States, and anyone who thinks they can eradicate them is kidding him/herself.

We use 15- 20-Gal pots, but before planting, DH drills the pots full of 3/4- 1-inch holes. Like Swiss Cheese. The number of holes drilled has increased over the years. The upper part of the pot is left solid, and the pot sticks up 2- to 3-inches above ground level.

This is NOT an ideal way to grow roses. But given the resident gopher population, it is the ONLY way to grow them.

We have had gophers eat ALL of the roots from a rose, in the space of a day, leaving a dying, rootless plant that falls over at a touch. I know of people who have lost important roses from extensive gardens to gophers, and wire baskets are a frail reed to depend on for protection.

The more holes in the pot, the greater your chances of long-term success.

Jeri

I wish they would sell a pot like jerijen describes! Incidentally, what is the diameter of a 20 gallon pot, I wonder? I am thinking of moving a potted rose, pot and all, from the back garden to the front of my house, but am concerned because there was a lot of coal ash in the front when I took up the concrete.

I'd go measure one for you, but they're all in the ground here and there. :-)

Jeri