Definitely take out the "self watering" thing and drill holes in the bottom. Large ones. Then get some "pot feet" to raise up the pots, so they will drain. I would not put the pots back onto the dirt where the "mat" is, or it will grow into your pots through the holes in the bottom. I would put them over brick, blacktop, or something like that.

I do not garden in FL, but I think any good potting soil should be OK. I take it that you are going to grow some roses that are rooted cuttings, and others that you ordered? Are you going to actually dig up some of the unhappy ones already growing in your garden? If you are going to dig any up, cut them back to about 2-3 feet tall first. Get as much of the root ball as you can. After you plant them in the pot, water very well (make sure the pot is draining). In the beginning, put them in partial shade. In a month or two, you can move them into the sun. Do NOT feed them (there is food in the potting soil). Do NOT spray them with anything - they are in shock from being dug up and need to be left alone for a while. Make sure they have adequate water. Don't worry if they do not "do anything" for a month or two - they are growing new roots.

When they start producing new growth, you can feed them with any good rose food (don't use "2 in ONE" or "Three in One" - those contain poisons), but diluted to half strength. Good luck!

Jackie

I did a lot of pot growing when I lived in FL. :-) Any way, minimum size I used was 7 1/2 gal. nursery pots for miniature roses and anything that stayed small. 10 gal. pots for all my miniflora's and a lot of medium sized roses on their own roots. 15 gal. pots for all my large own root roses. 25 gal. pots for everything grafted onto any type of root stock. As far as soil, any good LIGHT potting soil. Before doing anything, drill at least 4 to 8, 1" holes into the bottom of the pots. Like Jackie said, get them up off the ground. Something else I use to do was painting all the pots with with a flat, medium green paint to help with reflection from the sun.

I'm not in Florida, but I did experiment with Hybrid Teas in large pots. Personally, I grew to not like them this way -- modern Hybrid Teas are typically stiff and upright, and raising them up above ground level in pots seemed to exaggerate this. In the end, they succumbed to last year's extreme (for here) Winter, and I'm kinda glad they did. Now, I prefer bushier roses in pots -- Chinas, Teas, Polyanthas, etc. The only Hybrid Teas I have in them now are the smaller and wimpier ones like 'Nigrette' and 'Chateau de Clos Vougeot', since their "lighter, airier" habit is less extremely gaunt and stiff. The ones I had before were 'Oklahoma', 'Mister Lincoln', 'Chrysler Imperial', 'Nocturne', 'Red Masterpiece', and 'Rose of Freedom'.

This was just my personal preference. In terms of "will they do ok?" the answer is "yes, one can grow them in pots." I made my own potting mix -- worked out to be more of what I wanted, and not as expensive as buying the same amount of something pre-mixed. But again, that was just a personal preference. As for the water-absorbing crystals, I've heard good and bad. They do work, but in a heavy-rain area like yours, they may remain always saturated. And keep in mind that they do break down in a few years, but roses in pots will likely need to have their soil changed by that time, anyway.

:-)

~Christopher

Ken, Did you ever grow non-fortuniana roses directly in ground in Florida? I'm wondering how long they would last and if it would be worth doing that with some of the inexpensive bagged roses. Sharon and I both have some of the same sized pots and they are about 21 wide ×18 high. Do those sound big enough?

Chrisropher, Would you mind sharing your recipe for potting mix? Those big pots do use a lot and any savings would help.

Thanks

Mb

Sure! Get a wheelbarrow, a 1-gal bucket, and a 1-cup measuring device you don't mind getting dirty. Into the wheelbarrow, mix 3 buckets of peat moss, 1 bucket of Bovung dehydrated manure, 1 bucket of perlite, and 1 bucket of vermiculite. Then add 3 cups of the organic rose-type fertilizer of your choice -- I use Espoma Garden Tone. All these ingredients I find at Home Depot. I also add about an inch of used coffee grounds as a top layer for each pot. I use this for new band-sized roses to push growth in pots before planting them out in the garden. This has enough nutrients for a year of growth in my climate -- perhaps not quite that long for you, since your growing season is longer. If you see signs of nutrient depletion, start feeding with a dilute liquid fertilizer. You'll probably want to remove them from their pots every couple of years or so, trim back the roots a bit, and replace as much soil as possible with a fresh batch.

:-)

~Christopher

Thank you for the recipe and the good advice Christopher :-)

Adrian, I was hoping we would hear from you. Your pot collection looks amazing. Looks like that takes a lot of dedication. You must like all the rain we've been getting so you don't have to water all those.

Thanks for your recipe too. Basically, I'm just trying to decide which roses to keep in pots permanently. In that case I would like to just put them in large pots to start with. You helped a lot by saying the bagged roses don't do well in the ground. They are the ones I would probably put in pots. I have plenty space to plant fortuniana roses in the ground. Maybe I'll put a few Dr Huey in smaller pots and decide later whether to try in ground or pot up to larger ones. I don't mind experimenting with $5 roses. Even if they lasted three to five years, it would probably be worth it.

Is Diamond Fertilizer local or do you get those pots mail order?

Thanks again

Mb

I take a drive down to Homestead to buy them: http://www.diamond-r.com/

Everywhere else charges considerably more for the same pots, even used ones cost more than what I can get them there.

Don't get me wrong, my front yard is planted up with almost all the roses on Dr. Huey, but I know I'll have to replace them after a few seasons. I'm hoping Cool Roses has their sale again this year, lol.

I use Jungle Growth from Lowes. Mix that with a good topsoil like Miracle Grow garden soil, add a little perlite and some composted manure. I use chicken and rabbit manure but use what you can get. Black Cow is composted cow manure and sold at most big box stores.

Jungle Growth potting soil was discontinued for awhile but our local Lowes has started to sell it again. Thank goodness! It is a chunkier version of potting soil and has pine fines in it. Really awesome for all my potted tropicals and the roses also love it.

I would not use water crystals in a pot unless I lived in the desert. It rains so much here (NE FL) during the rainy season that the water crystals blow up and come out of the pot. You don't need holes in the sides of your pots unless you are going to sink them in the ground. Just put several in the bottom. Make sure they are large enough they won't get clogged up.

~SJN

I like Jungle Growth, too. Please don't use Miracle Grow potting mix (w or w/o water crystals). I lost most of an order of bands (sob) a couple of years ago when I potted up to gallons with it. It just has too much peat and becomes sodden and stays that way. What I had left, I mixed with a lot of perlite and things stopped dying. I'm in Central Florida.

Veronica