Following...most of mine are in the first year and doing fine. Just curious, how are you fertilizing them?

Google "roses in pots houzz" and you'll find several amazingly long discussions on the topic!

Rekya I don't fertilize them. Which might be part of my problem. First year planted they have the fertilizer that comes with roses in pots. Generally second year, I plant them into the ground. Would like to know how to keep roses growing in pots.

FruitCat, I did as you suggested and googled "roses in pots houzz". Didn't find any discussions on the topic as I want to know. I don't really need to know which roses to plant in pots. Already have that info. What I need to know is how to keep potted roses growing vigorously with lots of new growth after the first year in a pot. Year two and beyond. Do I need to replace soil each year? Do I need to use special fertilizer? Perhaps the roses simply don't do as well in pots? What about heat to their roots when growing in a pot? Does this make them less robust?

I am pretty sure they need fertilizer. Unlike in ground, the plants in pots survive on what you feed them. Most people use osmocote, or you can try a liguid.

Mine always did well the first year and then went downhill after that , but usually they were larger bare roots . I wonder if you tried the smaller own root ones would they go longer ? Definitely needs fertilizer, the heat can stress them in the pots , also if you keep them on the patio like I did you’ll have even more heat going . I do think some fresh soil helps , also usually after the first year I found the roots filled the pots completely! So for that reason I tried to only do it for a season. I just didn’t have best of luck with that !

I know several people that grow all their roses in 15 and 25 gal nursery pots. It takes a little bit more attention but their roses are great. Watering is the big thing with potted roses.

What zone are you in?

Well, I have many roses in pots now.. make sure they are well watered, fish emulsion once a month , liquid all purpose or rose fertilizer once a month helps the roses in pots . I side dress with worm castings.u can throw in some delayed release osmocote. For me , most of them are in 3rd or 4th year now. I assume that I will have to either pot up or root prune all of them to keep them smaller and change the soil as well By next year. I have all of my own roots in pots as well.

Your pots seem to be nice sized. Fertilizer and water them regularly.

Also, wait for an expert to answer. :)

I have taken mine out of the pot after about 2 years, root pruned and added new soil. I kept a Carefree Wonder going for about 6 years like that but this past winter I moved it to the ground.

Mine are doing well, in fact they’re better than last year. Fish emulsion, drip watering, some shade during the day in 9a. I’m going to try the Osmacote too.

Lots of good feedback, thanks everyone. Rekha I am in zone 8, Pacific Northwest. Cold isn't the problem. However light is a bit tricky as it is morning shade and afternoon sun so can get hot. Did you all find the second and third year that your roses in pots put out new healthy growth? This mine don't seem to do. They will flower the second year, but you can see them going downhill. I'm thinking fertilizing is where I am not doing it right. I'm afraid of getting too much fertilizer salts building up in pots.

I cut mine back in Feb. and they always put on new growth.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/roses-in-pots-permanently-dsvw-vd~1717641

You can keep roses in pots, but they won't do as well as roses in the ground. I have both, in full sun, and live in your region. Fertilizer is absolutely essential for roses in containers, since potting soil doesn't have the mineral content of actual soil (it isn't real soil, it is a growing medium). Without it your roses will suffer. I use osmocote and alaska fish fertilizer for my roses in pots. Re-potting and root pruning will also help, if you are willing to do that. If your pots get enough water to drain out the bottom on a regular basis, I wouldn't worry too much about salt buildup.

P.S. pots drying out is also a concern. Depending on the weather I try to water mine (in full sun) every other day, and if it is extremely hot I'll get out there every day to give them a drink.

I had all my roses in 22" plastic pots the first years. I would take them out in winter and put fresh soil in the bottom, because they sank down over the months. This was brutal and bloody with the thorny roses, btw!!! This only worked with plastic pots, which were "bendy" and so I could loosen the rootball. Most of them would grow roots through the holes into the ground, so I would try to rotate them regularly.
In my experience NO plants like having their roots at air temperature or hotter, so it is better if you shade the pot part, and leave the greenery in the sun.

Carla in Sac

K S I do have some garden soil as part of my pot mix. Don't use bagged potting soil. I mix about 1/4 garden compost with 1/2 peat moss and a bag of steer manure all together to use as potting soil. This seems to be a good mix. But I agree, I do need to do some fertilizing. As to watering, have generally managed to keep the pots watered.

FruitCat thanks for the link! I read the entire thread. Was surprised by all the comments regarding watering, especially with peat type soil mixes. I add peat moss to everything. As soon as you mix something into the peat, like compost or manure, there is no problem with getting the mix wet. It stays moist well too. My garden soil is sandy so I always top dress with peat moss and manure mix. It helps enormously with keeping garden plants from drying out. I tend to be an under waterer as opposed to over waterer. Which is another reason for using pots. Like in Spain, pots are much easier to keep watered than the ground is. It is easy to see when potted plants need water, they droop. Plant speak. "Water me!" As to over watering, that has only happened to me when a pot's drainage holes get plugged. It is easy to spot too. The pot turns into a pool! Or in case of attempting growing heuchera in ceramic pots, the roots rot off leaving just a crown of leaves. Seeing as I dislike heuchera anyway, this is a non issue. So I've never been concerned regarding watering when growing plants in pots.

Sautesmom soil temperature in pots is a big concern and one reason I started this thread. I can't move the pots from their location. They get afternoon sun including the pots. They are backed by cedar siding of my house. The wall will reflect a bit of heat, but being natural colored wood, shouldn't be too much of an issue. But I know roses don't like warm roots. They go dormant in this type of situation. So again, is it possible to grow roses in large pots for several years without the plants deteriorating? The ground is gravel driveway chip path. I don't need to concern myself with saucers or whatever. It is fine for water to drain into this mix.

Here's a picture of what I've got going right now. These are all bare root roses that I planted over the past two days. I've previously grown roses in these pots in this location. However as said, after a year or two, the plants decline. Rose in foreground is growing in the ground.