I have 18 roses in containers. My climber is in a 15 gallon plastic container and the rest are hybrid tea roses in 5 and 6 gallon containers (5 gallon plastic and what I am calling 6 gallon are terra cotta pots that are bigger than 5 gallons but not by much - they could be 7 gallons). My roses started bare root (with 2 exceptions - 1 pulled from the ground and 1 purchased already potted) 6 years ago. Obviously it's better to have a bigger pot, but I haven't had major problems with this size pot. I have changed the soil once so far just to keep it fresh. I fertilize every other week at 1/2 strength with liquid fertilizer similar to Miracle Gro and once per month I fertilize with fish emulsion and an organic slow-acting fertilizer like alfalfa meal, blood meal, or Grow More. I never apply all of this on the same day, so that usually means a schedule similar to: Wednesday Week 1 Organic granular fertilizer Saturday Week 1 Weak liquid fertilizer Saturday Week 2 Weak liquid fertilizer Wednesday Week 2 Spray fungicide Saturday Week 3 Weak liquid fertilizer Wednesday Week 3 Fish emulsion Saturday Week 4 Weak liquid fertilizer Wednesday Week 4 Spray fungicide (I try to do the nasty things like spray chemicals and smelly fish emulsion during the week so that my neighbors and I don't have to deal with it when we are BBQing and the like on the weekends.) I spray for insects when they become a problem, except that I do proactively spray all of my buds with spinosad because thrips are the bane of my existence. For instance, I don't think I sprayed an insecticide at all last year. Most years I end up spraying maybe twice. I don't want to kill the praying mantis and hover flies that I get. Fungicide is a different story and I spray every other week (the week I do not fertilize). I use Immunox alternated with Mancozeb/Banner Maxx. When I do use an insecticide I use one mixed with yet a different fungicide just to switch it up. That's about it. Here in CA I usually prune in January, although I pruned in February this year. We usually get 3 flushes per year, although I had 4 this year with the mild weather. The biggest challenge I face growing roses in containers is keeping them watered. A rose in the ground can withstand even the fiercest heat for a few days between waterings. My container roses need to be watered every day when the temperature is above 90 degrees and when it's 100+ sometimes I water them twice if they look sad when I get home from work. If I miss a day the roses don't die, but the new growth gets crispy and the flowers I work so hard for burn up. Luckily, this is usually just for a couple of weeks in July or August. Otherwise, I water 2-3x per week. Right now with the rain I am watering just 1x to supplement Mother Nature.

Here's an e-mail I just recieved from Carpet Roses: ------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks for your email Our Flower Carpet Roses, including the latest release, Flower Carpet Amber are typically available at Home Depot, LoweÂs and Walmart stores. You can also search for Independent Garden Centers by logging on to one of our Licensed Wholesale GrowerÂs sites  www.Monrovia.com where you can enter your zip code to find retailers near you Flower Carpet is also available on line at www.WillowCreekGardens.com or www.CottageFarmsDirect.com We hope youÂll give Flower Carpet care free roses a try Anthony Tesselaar USA

Thank you, frnchcuffs! I've now had them for about a year..and they're both doing well. Here are my thoughts... veterans honor - I love! I think this and firefighter are my favorite red roses. I love the bloom size, the longevity of the blooms when cut, the subtle raspberry fragrance, and how the red doesn't blue with age (like mr.lincoln). Pretty long rest time between flushes. black magic - is almost constantly in bloom, the color is nice..a bit darker than usual, but the blooms are really small. I had heard this about black magic before..so it is true..tiny blooms! Still pretty, but no fragrance. im excited to see how well they do in their second season.

Duchesse de Montebello is quite vigorous and fragrant. My garden is small and full, so I purchased a grafted one from Palatine. I've only grown her own root until now and hear she can grow larger when grafted, but she's always been substantial enough for me when own root as well. Allegra is on my list, too. The negligible suckering is a plus! I second Belle Sans Flatterie. Gorgeous! My Orpheline de Juillet is a baby, so I can't report on it yet, but Alana's has sold me and I have high hopes! I hear it's quite fragrant. I see you have listed a moss rose. I did not grow mosses in MN, but I wish I had. Two dark ones that are very fragrant are Capitaine John Ingram and Nightmoss. HMF lists them as 6b. Salet is very fragrant and listed as 5b. All are good growers for me in the PNW. Another thought for fragrant, vigorous, cold tolerant roses: Albas. This class performed well for me in MN and since my Albas and Gallicas began blooming at different times, my rose season was extended. Felicite Parmentier and Queen of Denmark are very fragrant and trouble free for me. Alba Semi Plena shrugged off cold and grew large and disease free in MN. Very sweetly perfumed. I still grow Semi Plena, FP and QofD as well as Maiden's Blush, Celestial and Maxima. Carol