How Long Have You Grown Roses in Pots?

9 years ago

I have 8 David Austin varieties.. I am starting on my third year growing roses so I am really still very much a novice.

I only have two in the ground. Abraham Darby and Tradescant. Tradescant has hardly EVER bloomed but continues to have healthy foliage.

A.D. is over 7' tall and blooms almost continuously. So far it's my very favorite of all my D.A. but it's in the ground!

Everything else I've been afraid to put in the ground because I only have so much space with late day shade.

I also like being able to move the pots as the year goes on.. the hottest part of the year I end up moving them to more late day shade. I think I am just afraid of failure too!!!

How long have you successfully grown roses in pots?

I just pruned most of them, a couple had already really put out lots of new growth so I left them alone.

A couple looked a bit ragged and I will be planting them for sure in the next couple of weeks.

Should I move the ones that seem do be doing well in pots into larger pots? Half of them will be starting their third year with me.

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Comments (9)

jacqueline9CA
9 years ago
What size pots are they in? I have roses in pots all over my garden, but the pots are so large that it takes my DH and one of those hand truck things to move one, so we don't do that hardly at all.

Jackie
mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
9 years ago
Daisy, I have only been a home owner for the past 10 years. Prior to that I grew roses in pots on my apartment patio for seven years. Even after I moved into my house, I knew I was going to redo the entire landscaping and hardscaping in my back yard so I still had the roses in pots for at least three or more years.

If you want to keep roses in pots, if they are not mini's, I would put them in the biggest pots I can. I had mine in at least 24 inches across and at least 14 inches deep. It gave them enough root depth to bloom quite nicely. I never did move them around (I had a small patio and now, not much of a back yard), but they did well. I also used insulated pots when I could afford them. My summers get very hot (over 105 degrees most days) so it helped to keep the roots cooler.
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Hi, I have grown miniatures in pots for years and love them because they provide flowers most of the year and cheer up the patio area. They will suit your balcony if it catches the wind. I go looking for the more unusual ones or the old fashioned varieties such as Dresdon Doll. Otherwise,the best roses are the ones grown on their own roots as grafted stock can have roots that fill an entire pot once mature. Depends on the size of the pots but they need to be very large. Compact floribundas, patio roses and polyanthas are okay though. Having said that I have friends and neighbours who grow ht's in pots quite successfully. I just don't like the look of long stems. One is growing the David Austin rose, Christopher Marlowe in a pot and another grows Mutablis. They need constant care to do well - regular water and regular feeds as they use up any nourishment in the potting mix quickly. I use a good potting mix and add compost. I also add a cup of dolomite now after reading that potting mixes can be quite acidic. I don't fertilize until they are established because of the compost and then I use a slow-release type. I also feed them some liquid fertilizer but I dilute it well. I use whatever I have. If fish emulsion than I might add some potash or a little seasol. I always water them with liquid seasol when they first go in the pot and I flush the pot out before fertilizing to prevent a buildup of salts like the experts tell you. You can be a bit offhand with garden roses but pots need more tlc. You will find if you observe them carefully every day or so you will get to know when they need a water or feed. They will need good drainage and consider using anti-rot. I find this product very useful. I use diluted milk when there is a fungal problem and pull any caterpillars off by hand. Protect the pots if it gets very hot because the roots can become heat stressed. You can insulate them by lining the pot with newspaper or simply group them together or move into the shade. I repot every second year and trim the roots a little. I hope this helps and I haven't put you off. It sounds like a lot of bother but it works for me.
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daisyhair
Original Author
9 years ago
Hi! Thank you both of you.

I have them in 20" mostly.. they are 14" deep. (just measured). I have a couple in 16" though. I think they are going in the ground this year.

I can maybe up size to 24" on a couple but I can already not move the 20" by myself. Hubs does help me though.

I will slowly be getting them in the ground in Jan. and Feb. this year.. at least half of them.

Thanks again!
floridarosez9 Morgan
9 years ago
I have some that have been in five gallon pots for over a year because I can't seem to decide where to put them. I feed them half strength liquid concentrate every week and an occasional handful of alfalfa pellets. They are healthy and bloom often, but they have to be watered almost every day unless we're getting a lot of rain.

The ones that I intend to leave potted are in huge pots. I move them with a dolly when they have to be moved. I really have to watch out for fire ants in my potted roses. They seem to adore roses in plastic pots, and they will quickly kill a potted rose--or any plant for that matter.
kittymoonbeam
9 years ago
most potting soils begin to rapidly degrade after 6-7 months. You can help by mixing soil or sand in but only for the 15 gallon+ sizes has it been successful for me. Rose roots need air and as the soil degrades, it gets more and more compacted and if there was mostly peat,it might get mucky too. I usually try to use all new potting mix and get rid of the old stuff when I prune and am starting again as with a bareroot. The roses look better than if I let them remain on the old exhausted soil.
Brian
9 years ago
I've been growing about 40 roses (mostly DA's, about 1/4 of them OGR's, and then just about 5 or 6 are HT's) in large 24" terra cotta pots for about 7 yrs since I rented a house. I finally bought my first home last spring on a huge lot, and will finally be planting all the roses in a new designed garden I'm planning, next month. They have always performed great for me, but do take a lot of watering especially during the summer. At least I thought they were great until I compared them to my mother's English garden that I had planted 2 yrs ago for her as her 50th birthday present. Her DA's grew much faster then mine did and bloom larger and more profusely than mine ever had. So yes you can grow roses just fine in pots, but I really can't wait to get mine in the ground and see what they can really do!!

Brian

This post was edited by ocbrian on Sun, Jan 18, 15 at 21:45
buford
9 years ago
Tradescant can be a very large rose and will need a much larger pot if you want to keep it in a pot. I have smaller roses, Glamis Castle for one, permanently in a pot and they do well. But they are smaller roses. If I am keeping roses permanently in a pot, I don't use potting soil. I use regular garden soil and amend it regularly with organics. Every few years I will repot and root prune.
seil zone 6b MI
9 years ago
You can keep roses in pots indefinitely if you are willing to do the extra work it requires. The pots will get root bound and you'll have to take them out and root prune them and repot with fresh soil. For me that takes 4 or 5 years but in your much longer growing season it will happen more often, probably 2 to 3 years tops. You know they need to be repotted when the water runs out the bottom as quick as you pour it into the top. That usually means the soil is pretty well spent and the roots have more than filled the pot. I repot mine in the spring right when I prune them because they usually need to be pruned down in order to prune the roots back.
rosefolly
9 years ago
Potting soil is only meant to last about a year. For ideal rose health, repot each year.

I have stopped growing roses in pots altogether other than as a temporary measure. I think they are an awful lot more work than growing roses in soil. However, some people have no reasonable choice. There used to be a person over on the Rose Forum who had oak root fungus in her garden soil so bad that the only way she could grow roses was in pots.

Rosefolly

How Long Have You Grown Roses in Pots?

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