I have a medium-sized pot ghetto alongside my carport. I used to have roses out in the yard too, but the lawn-mower people kept running them down, no matter how often I admonished them about it, (you know, you can explain things to people, but you can't understand for them). So, I got disgusted and created a pot ghetto near the carport where I could control everything. I may have 20 or so 24" pots snuggled there. Watering is easier since I do it overhead off a home-made system, and I water them for 30 minutes every other day, (we are on water restrictions because of the drought here in the southeast). Ferilizing is easier too, and I still have the roses I want right at hand. Once upon a time, in another life, I looked after over 400 roses in another garden, but now that I am unencumbered, have only about fifty. A gracious plenty, I assure you. Besides, our local society has a Memorial Garden downtown with 45 or so in it, and that takes care of the desire for more. I have never been a big fan of HTs, but can tolerate 45 of them rather well downtown. Here at the house, I have all Chinas and they are very disease resistent, yet give me the blooms and colors I like. As far as room for a pot ghetto is concerned, I can move the pots around into as many combinations of bloomers and colors as I want depending in the amount of sun the roses like and will tolerate. I just have to remember that roses in pots need watering and fertilizing more frequently then roses in the ground because they tend to drain more quickly and the ferilizer moves through the soils faster then otherwise. I'm very happy with my pot ghetto, and wouldn't change a thing about it.

I just did the count thread and I really only have 2 roses! Seil, I had 60 something in pots for about 8 years and through some bad weather, my mother spraying Round-Up around them without asking or telling me (about 40 or more went to the landfill because i thought I had RRD), and neglect for various reasons, I am down to 30. I am determined not to let that happen again (losing roses because of neglect)...and my mother knows not to spray Round-up in my yard anymore.

squirrel ... I've experimented in the past using hay bales placed into long rectangles covered with plastic with holes with space inside to place covered and uncovered containers. This system works just fine. What I found was heat retention in the coral is sufficient for sprouted containers to have their tops completely removed very shortly after sprouting even in the coldest and hardest freezes. At the same time, you'll still want to keep the tops on the unsprouted containers to have a more ideal greenhouse effect going until they pop. The real key to success with this method is to make sure the plastic top is constructed to be easily and effectively adjusted to increase or decrease ventilation in the compartment space according to fluctuating direct sun and temperature conditions. I do think you'll find the coral will make for a very nice appearance. Good luck.

Was out walking the garden after the rain stopped today and everything is looking good. The daylilies are really greening up and sending out new fans. Both the ones I transplanted and the ones that were not moved that I gave a good dose of Neptunes Liquid Seaweed Fetilizer too after blooming. I am please with the redos, I think its going to look very good next year. Am especially very pleased with those daylilies in the steep driveway slope, I think that was one of my better ideas. Even if it was difficult to get them planted. I am also glad I relocated those large roses, they look great in their new locations and the daylily section in started in the empty space they came out of is coming along well and should look good next year. My side of the house redone rose garden turned out really well, I might not even have to do any more there but just wait for the little roses to grow. I also like the regrouping of the daylilies in the terraces garden and the fact that I decided to make tower square a combo very late daylily garden with iris. The redone plateau, I think is better than the first time around. I am dissapointed that I don't have at least an empty row in the plateau for new purchases. When I planned all this moving around, I really thought that I would have a row or more leftover for new stuff.