Hi Sabine, I have 35 roses in pots (they will go into the ground finally after we build out new home). Some have been in pots for close to 10 years so are still rather small. This year I have been very dilligent in looking after them, weeding, feeding and trimming regularly and they have been flowering fantasticially!!! Im thrilled of course. Best performers this year, Hot Cocoa, Seduction, Radox Bouquet, Angel Face and Rich Irish Marbled. Better performers than other years are Blue Moon, Fragrant Cloud, Fresia and Oklahoma. Disapointing performers this year Adolf Horstman and Dearest.

Mistress Quickly has put on the most growth ever and so has another unnamed rose I have. I think it is a burbon, it has soft cupped fragrant dark pink and white flowers (the name escapes me at present). Over all Ive been very pleased with them. I have started making compost to boost the garden soil for our new place as I am keen to see how they do once in the ground for good.

This is my best year for roses, they have been absolutely beautiful, flowering their little heads off. Joey has been amazing, probably my best flowerer, along with Double Delight - they do have the best spots in the garden though. Except for Lady X (and she is going to heaven), I'm happy with all my roses this year and since I have no room for more, I won't be doubling up and I can't shovel any yet except the abovenamed, I'm not allowed :-)

"Too Loose" Lautrec has a date with the shovel, as does a spindly Charles de Gaulle. Violina will go out into the wider garden world to become a regular general hedge soldier, and sorry, folks, but that mush-bucketlumpenprole Jude has just got to go. Sandie's pic is about the only thing I like about this one - shoulda just photocopied the shot, stick the pix on sticks in a pot, and sprayed some Chanel around.

Now for winners: well, I never expected Fragrant Cloud to be such a champ. Just everything went right with my three specimens - even the one that got ripped up accidently, was replanted crookedly, and then was run over by a tractor. One damn determined little plant, that one. Just Joey as usual was just superb, although more bs here than I got on her in the northern hemisphere.

Getting more of several: of note are Valencia, Adolf Horstmann (okay, toward the end of summer he really WAS a flower on a stick, but oof! what flowers)and the dynamite fragrance powerhouse, Best Friend.

My Charles de Gaulle has been a VERY poor performer for many years now. Hardly grows at all - despite real TLC this year. It is still only small and had two flowers this year. Very disapointing since the descriptions on the books say is a vigorous grower!!!

ROFL! Betsy-I love your descriptions!
Photocopies of Jude LOL!
I still can't bring myself to shovelprune a rose-or nearly any other plant for that matter.
I will transplant the sickly sticks up the back yard somewhere for the time being.
I will not be duplicating any of the great performers-just buying more beauties that are on my 'most wanted' list.
Ultimately I will cut down dramatically on my existing H.T.s and replace with Teas,portlands,hybrid perpetuals,bourbons,austins etc.
regards
sandie

My roses have been doing very well this summer. Good soaking rains in early December and early February, and a mild summer have probably helped. I have also increased the number of fertilizer applications. There was a good flush of flowers in Oct-Nov, then at Christmas. I summer pruned middle of January and fertilized with dynamic lifter in preparation for an engagement party in the garden early March. The roses did me proud and are still flowering well from that flush. I think the combination of the application of DL late January, before the 4 inches of rain at the beginning of February, was very fortunate. I am hoping for a late April-May flush as well. As the first plantings of roses in my garden have now seen three seasons, they are maturing and producing a lovely display. It's interesting to see the comparison between one, two and three year olds. A few are still struggling, I think maybe they have wet feet from where the lawn sprinklers overspray the garden beds.

I love the colours of the autumn roses - so much more intense than spring and summer.

My iceberg hedge around an underground tank is magnificent. There are 24 of them and this is their second summer. I planted them a metre apart and they have joined together already. They are very exposed to the NE winds, full sun and the reflection of heat of the concrete top of the tank. They have grown like topsy and are in almost continual flower. I do not deadhead them during the season. I do deadhead and trim the standard icebergs along both the front and back of the house in order to prevent them getting top heavy and breaking their stems in the wind or the rain (their ties have been known to let go without notice). I have to be quick deadheading these or their new growth will overtake the spent flowers, which I guess is what happens with the ones around the tank.

My garden is still new but William Shakespeare is a lovely colour and blooms so well. I also love the new tea bed, planted from advice on this forum, and I am going to plant another safrano as the blooms are so gorgeous. Mrs Herbert Stevens is also a lovely bloomer and my two Archduc Joseph IMr Tillier) blooms their heads off although still both under a metre.

A DA that has surprised me with its lovely flowering is Dove.

But the best by far would have to be Julia's rose - I have 2 large vases of that in the house at the moment and the two bushes are still covered in blooms. I have no smell much (it is returning after a brain injury but still variable) but on beauty and long lasting vase life, Julia is a winner (I had a vase of Julia and Reine de Violette and had to pull out all the violette after 3 days but still have Julia going and just added some more).

I am new to the rose forum but it is all very interesting, I also am addicted to roses at the moment I have about 50 but would love more I just have to juggle some room & I plan to grow some in pots as I have a carpet rose in one & it is never without blooms, this summer mine have done fairly good but with the milder summer I have had a lot of blackspot but the most dissapointing roses is Burgandy Iceburg they have grown tall & spindly with few nice flowers so they are going to be moved to a lesser showy place I couldn't put the spade through them.
Jan.

Am hoping someone could please help. A friend needs many of my roses for rose petals at her daughters wedding - but needs to pick 3/4 days prior to the big day.
Does anyone know the best way to keep the petals fresh - on the rose or off - etc....

Mine have had a pretty tough time, all new garden and then the worst weather, 35+ Temps, hot winds and no rain.
The Yellows have been the standouts, Fresia, Gold Bunny, Valencia, Mrs Oakley Fisher have not stopped.
Of the others, Eifell Tower has come good - perhaps because I parked the shovel beside it for a few weekes, Camp David and Hot Chocolate have not stood up too bad either.
Blue Moon, charles De Gaulle and Vol De Nuit have all dissapointed.
The Austins are fair to good with Mary Rose, Golden Celebration and Happy Child, the best, The Countryman looks very sad.
Crepuscles are still getting established and Lamarque has settled in now and looks ok.
Minuette now has the shovel beside her!

Will likely give them all another year as they are still all babies.
Jan

ON the shovel prune list for this season - these are in my pot ghetto:
Rae Dungan (don't like the color combo)
First Lady (small flowers)
Elina (everyone elses grows like weed - mine looks like a weed)
Courage (don't like the flower shape)
American Home (great scent - bad flower shape)
Deep Secret (great colour - bad flower shape)
Champagner (just fading away in a pot)
Mon Cheri (again - not happy in a pot - stems yellowing)
I will probably buy another Mon Cheri though.

My regular workhorse roses (which I would buy 10 of IF I just had the garden space):
Camp David, Spirit of Peace, Cubana, Dream, Kooiana Daybreak (and her twin called Fee - becos I can't tell a difference between the 2 of them really), Tickled Pink, Valencia, Summer Fragrance, Violina, Memoire, Our Vanilla, Dianna P.o.W, Brigadoon, Grand Siecle, Pierre de R, Elina, Mother's Love, Henri Matisse and Jardin de Bagatelle.

Steve,
Would you give me a description of bad flower shape?
Do you exhibit or is it just your personal dislike?
Thanks Pam.

Pam
Sorry -it did come across as a rather definitive statement ... my personal tastes do run to fully double regularly arranged around a central spiral bud form ... therefore those flowers that open up very loosely cupped or with muddled centres or quickly flop open to show stamens ... don't do it for me ... hence the "bad flower shape" reaction. However - I fully acknowledge that others love the more informal flower shapes. And no I don't exhibit ... rather too daunted by the show regs and procedures. However - am more than happy to share flowers with friends and family.
Steve

Perhaps I'd rather show rather than describe what "does it for me" ...

Here is a link that might be useful: Rosey gathering ...

Hi I am new to the forums as well. I have about 40 in large pots as we are rebuilding our backyard. They have been a treat this year very intense colour and staying power. I am resurrecting a few after a possum attack and very pleased to say that Perfect Moment produced a bud a few days ago!This was a favorite one and I was devastated when it was attacked.
So a great year for me and I hope yours has been too.

Thank you,Steve.that was the answer I was hoping for,having ordered Courage recently.Because I live on the east coast,I mostly grow teas and chinas,but in order to give back to local cafe supplying my coffee grounds,I launched into cutting quality hybrid teas mainly reds this year and am growing quite attached to them,despite the expected BS.I'm especially pleased with Camp David,Traviata(wrong form for you,very double,deeply cupped and "cut across the top")Johan Strauss and Apricot Nectar.
Having looked at all your beautiful 2005 rose pics,I am full of envy,and will be adding more hybrid teas to my lists.
Pam.

Steve,that will do it for me too .
I am not sure how i would react to a table full of roses in vases.Very romantic.
I tend not to shovel prune ,I have possums that will help out anytime I don't want them too.
I had a Peter Frankenfeld which survived being backed over by a tractor.I has regrown with one tall "leg" I am now contemplating pruning it as a standard.That will give the possums something to think about.

My biggest disappointment was Graham Thomas. I think that is's a beautiful rose, but mine was never happy despite giving it much T.L.C. As I am short of room I give roses a couple of years and if they don't perform they get the big boot. Last year I also said goodbye to Peace and Chicago Peace. I was sick of trying to keep them disease free. The up side of that is that I get to choose another rose to replace the one removed. As a matter of interest my Julias rose always struggled in the ground and I decided to persevere with it so I put it in a pot and it has grown and flowered beautifuly. I have good success growing roses in pots but I must say that it does take a lot of work to get the best out of them.

pollyanna
i have 6 GT's and one of them has always been sickly in spite of them all getting identical everything - this sickly one also gets BS and does not flower much whereas the other 5 are simply fabulous. I have already planted a second new GT beside the sickly one and will take it away soon - but I could never throw out any rose, so I will just move it somewhere else and see.

You might have a weak one like I do?

Pollyanna57
I ,too, have much better luck growing them in pots. Mind you ,our back yard is a lunar landscape and we will have to improve the crap soil. It cannot grow anything except weeds!We have a lot if work to do out there.
BTW Does having a largish rose in a very large pot produce less flowers than if it was in the ground with great soil?
I heard somewhere that keeping roses in suitable size pots reduces the number of blooms it produces.Wouldnt that happen if it was root bound? I have great blooms.What do you guys think?
cheers

Bump this post up & glad to hear that Charles Austin is a good performer. Love the honesty that folks post here. I'm going to exile Governor Rossilini to the back fence, flowers are small & not much scent. But as a Grandiflora it lives in my zone 5a forever.