I whack 'em with an ax sometimes. If you have a solid mass of roots it has to be pruned off. I routinely use the shovel, when planting, to prune off the bottom inch or two or four of the rootball to remove wadded up roots, then slice down the sides, or shave them off entirely. The only roots that pick up water and nutrients are the tiny young rootlets; all that other stuff is just mechanical support. That's for extreme cases. If it's a mild case, then you can just tickle them loose, or make a few scores down the sides and along the bottom. Whatever roots come loose, spread out in the hole. I once read an article in a nursery trade journal where the author recommended pruning all roots of all woody nursery stock back to just a few inches, so the plant can grow new roots in its new soil, rather than have it sitting in container mix or field clay while planted in a different soil type, and to remove any circling or girdling roots. Poor root structure is a serious problem with nursery stock. Having roots growing in two soil types is also a serious problem. But you can't plant this way in summer! and I don't know anyone who does it, it just goes against everything we were taught. I come close when I whack back the rootball with a shovel or ax. Now I've dug extra big holes for bare roots with beautiful root structure. I once got a La Ville de Bruxelles with huge, long, straight roots that spread symmetrically for a diameter of 4 feet. I dug a hole big enough to get all those roots into! they were gorgeous! and man did that plant explode out of the ground its first spring. And it was very drought tolerant its first summer too. I attribute both to having all those roots spread symmetrically through the native soil. But, an unusual case. Most roots aren't in good enough shape to do that with.

Ben... I know what you mean... these days for practical purposes I use lightweight resin pots... they are not glamour pots like the ceramic ones, but they suit my purposes.. they are all straight sided, no curves or bulbous shapes... if I had those I would have to use a shovel and get right in there and dig it out... with straight sides they should pull out easily enough... although my 'Marie Pavie' shown above is in a rounded pot but the sides are straight within.. and that rose will be going in the ground this winter.. ..another trick with these types of plastic pots is that I can cut out the base... here's an example of a climbing rose 'Ballerina' planted in one of these... I did not want to dig a hole here, so the pot was necessary.. obviously I planted it up in situ because the base was removed... so the roots if they want can get out the bottom into the ground below... but again I may not keep the rose that long, but if those roots have gone down into the ground and I want to discard the rose, I would just tilt the pot, sever any roots going into the soil, lay the pot on one side, and pull Ballerina out of it... then start again with another rose... but I reckon this rose could be kept going in this pot, this way, indefinitely... ...this is my Lichfield Angel trough just after I planted it... my Benjamin Britten was in this for 5 years and I noticed signs of deterioration.. it wasn't flushing so well or so often.. I used to get 4 or 5 flushes a season from that rose... so I used a shovel and dug it out... very easy to do.. then replanted with LA... ...some pots I have I think will only serve for 2 seasons, but by then I shall just remove the rose completely... and move on to something else... ...it's the regular watering I dislike the most... I never have enough rain water, and they hate my tap water... that's my biggest issue with pots really...

Thanks for all these suggestions. Kristine I saw Munstead and Darcy at a nursery near here. Great to know they do well, I will try to go find them again. Sharon, I'm in 10b on the west coast near the water. Doesn't get very hot here in the summer, or cold in winter. 50F-80F range. I'll look up Travita and Quietness. I have Lady of Shalott in a big pot and like her so far. I wanted to try Sharifa too but can't find her anymore. How do you like her fragrance? Oursteelers, I have Young Lycidas in my cart. I liked the coloring..is he violet to you or more magenta? I'll look up Sophie's Perpetual and Katharina Zeimet too thanks. Sylvia, thanks for your suggestions. Love Song and Rockwell look beautiful. Will have to find where I can get them. I'd like to have some that stay small in different areas, so Rockwell sounds great. Susan, would love to see pictures if you find them but no worries if you don't :) Thanks for the tip with Eden. I will have to try and find an older one. I saw some big ones in ten gallon pots at a nursery here and should have grabbed one but I kept thinking it didn't repeat.

Let's start with the varieties. What *I* consider a zone 5 rose and what the *($&*( lying websites consider a zone 5 rose are two very different animals. If they really are zone 5 roses (and there really aren't all that many of those) shove them against the south or west side of the house, pile leaves along the sides of the pots, not over the top, and leave them there. If they are only fake zone 5 roses, then start them out against the house, but watch the thermometer. If it gets much below 20F, move them into the garage, or some where that gets some heat. Then move them back out again when the cold snap ends. DO NOT KEEP THEM INSIDE!!. It will be too warm, they will break dormancy, and then you will have to figure out how to keep them in a warm enough and light enough space to keep the growth alive. Not fun unless you have a light setup in your garage. You are suburban D. C. right? I think Maryland? Consider that advice from Philly.