You can buy those watering globes to water your pots while away. Some places also sell those ceramic stakes that screw onto a water bottle that you invert into a pot.

I only water my roses once a week, including those in pots, twice during hot summers. You will be gone for only a few days, do you really need to water while away? Try doing a test to see how fast potting soil will dry on a test pot before your roses arrive to see if it’s necessary to water more often. If you give your roses a good soaking right before you leave, they should be fine for a few days.

edit: I just realized those pots are pretty small. You could also pot the roses into larger pots. Bigger pots allow the soil to hold more water, so they dry out slower than a small pot would.

Thank you very much! I forgot about the globes that I used long ago before discovering that my house plants do much better when submerged into a tub filled with water. I'll check locally for globes though I'm not hopeful because most nurseries have only limited supplies of anything at this time here until the weather warms up. There will be 7 roses and unfortunately I don't have that many bigger pots. I wish I do...

I'll definitely soak them before leaving and thank you for this great suggestion. I wonder how much and, I'm afraid to admit, but I'm not sure what good soaking of roses entails - submerging the whole pots in water for a few minutes or watering them thoroughly with the regular watering can?

Sorry if this sounds too basic but any advice on it will help. Many thanks again.

You can do the same thing with a two liter pop bottle. Just fill the bottle with water, put the cap on and poke a hole in the cap. Turn the bottle upside down and bury the cap in the soil. I've done this several times and it seems to have worked well.

What a great idea. Will do! Thank you, Seil.

You might also apply a layer of mulch, or moistened newspaper which has been torn into strips.

I'm sure moistened newspaper should help too. My concern was that the soil would quickly dry out because we will leave the heat on (pushed air) at a moderate temperature as these roses are coming from warmer climates and need time to adjust. Now I'm sure that buried bottles with water (similar to globes) plus moistened newspaper on the top of the soil should give a good protection. I cannot thank you all enough.

A 2 litre pop bottle will work?

Thank you, Seil, for reminding me of the excellent Readers Digest article

https://www.rd.com/culture/regional-sayings-phrases-words/

And more proof it (the article) "works": Earlier today, on the "money saving rose tips" discussion, I stated that many good garden tools can be found at 'garage sales'.

Yup - I'm in that tiny pocket of the northeast/mid-atlantic that calls them garage sales, just like the heartland. Most everyone else out this way says yard sale.

As for soaking, you can just give them a thorough watering. To save on water, you can dip all 7 of your 2gal pots in a bucket filled with water.

Or maybe you could add some of those moisture crystals to the bottoms of the potted roses? I know it’s meant to be mixed into the soil, but they do hold a good bit of water. Just a thought, I add them to every container planting to help avoid drying out. Lisa

An excellent suggestion about moisture crystals and I'll start doing it when I repot roses in the future. For this particular shipment though, I don't think I'll have enough time and material to do it before our trip and will have to keep them in the same nursery pots in which they arrive until we get back from the trip.

BTW, Lisa, one of them is Louise Odier and it was your gorgeous LO that inspired me to order it.

Awesome! I hope you love her as much as I do! I cut my Louise Odier back by about half in early January, and I see buds showing color now. It looks like she’s going to be my first “Spring flusher”. She’s been the superstar of my garden! I’m so glad you got her, too! Lisa

There is also a procedure where you can use a wick to water. Get some cotton shoe laces. Bury one end down into the pot. Place the other end into a bucket or bowl of water beside the pot. The lace should wick water up and into the pot as needed.

Be careful with those moisture crystals. They can help but only use a very small amount. This is one of those cases where more isn't better. If you put too much in it can actually withhold water from the roots. Not to mention make a soggy, gooey mess out of your soil.

Another tip is don't use clay or unglazed ceramic pots. They are very absorbent and will withhold water away from the roots. They also allow the water to evaporate more quickly into the air.

The wick idea is a good one. I forgot about that one. I’ve read that it works better if you wet the “wick” portion completely before putting it in already moist soil. That way, there is a continuous water connection from the plant roots to the water source.

Lisa, do you just add the water crystals only at the bottom? I think you also said before that you use them in the garden? Do you mix them into the soil in the garden or just the bottom of planting holes?

I tried using those crystals before, and they heaved/pushed my plants out of the soil whenever they re-expanded after watering (I did mix them in). I gave up on them, so I’m curious how you make them work.

Yes I too am one of those crazy people who added way too many of the moisture beads it looked like the blob was coming up out of my plants less is more on that.

The wicking idea sounds like a really cool idea for small plants.