I have a Don Juan in a large container that I bought as a $2 plant - it is so pretty in the container I hate to plant it in the ground - guess I will need to at some point......Could you plant the climbers in large pots for a few years, and use some stump rot solution on the holly meanwhile? If the roots are dead, I have had luck [with the stump of a huge oak tree] keeping charcoal lit on it - it simmers constantly and eventually starts burning the roots - this method got rid of that tree stump with no problem - it took awhile, but was very effective. Meanwhile.....you have your roses in pots growing well. Judith

Dear lola-lemon, diane_nj and jaxondel! Thank you so much for your feedback and help! I appreciate it so much! LOLA: Thank you for the compliment about my Pergola :-) I too see lots of potential in it :-) and am eager to put it to good use! Thank you for recommending helpmefind.com this is a really cool website and I found such beautiful flowers on it! "pierre de ronsard" sounds so pretty already! It still is one of my top favourites! Now I am trying to find out if there is a way I would be able to maybe bring the roses indoor over the winter...at least the first few... I don't know yet. Maybe if I lean trellises up the sides leading to the pergola roof and then take the containers with trellis and roses indoor. For the Clematis I am lucky because I have another additional roof from which I can see the top of the pergola so it might even ass some extra beauty to have Clematis bloom on the top? I have, and am still considering wisteria, thank you! I have just read so many things of them being such an "aggressive" grower and it made me a little shy away from them! I do love the amethyst one and have read that I could grow these in containers! I wouldn't want to do any harm to a plant so if growing roses which I fell SO IN LOVE WITH would be too risky, Wisteria definitely would be my go to choice! With some lavender close by in other containers :-) DIANE: thank you so much for the great resource! I have been browsing the Manhattan Rose Society and am thrilled!! I heard of covering the containers and bottom of the roses with blankets and such over the winter, do you think that would be sufficient? For the size of containers I could have any size built I would need! I will get in touch with people at the society certainly someone will know! JAXONDEL: That's a thought I didn't even consider until now! Thank you for making me aware! the picture shows the view on to the top of the Pergola from the higher roof level:

I would say that container is way too narrow. Get yourself a REALLY big container -- Biggest one you can find. Think about the size of the TOP of the plant, and consider that it needs nearly that much root, to support it. Roses don't grow a long, narrow "taproot." They grow a network of spreading roots, so a pot shaped like that is not ideal. Also, one of those molded plastic pots is better than ceramic. (Yeah, I like ceramic pots too. But roses don't much like them.) Also, I recommend that you get a pot with many drainage holes. Then, set it up on three bricks (or fancy "pot feet") so that water can drain freely out of it. (Do NOT set it in a saucer.) If that is open dirt with mulch, next to the pot, you'd be better to set it there, than on concrete.

Dear all, I ended up with a white Mandevilla for the trash can spot. :-) Hope it will work well. It looks like it will climb up just fine but I am not sure how wide it grows. I may have to add another one there. I also plan to add a few other small annuals at at the base because the container will be quite large, but it should be fun seeing the Mandevilla climb up. As for roses...I am already up to 4: 1 old KO (it's starting to bloom again after restoration, but blooms are quite small and the foliage sparse). 1 Good Old Gold - recently planted...magnificent bloom, but definitely a variety with very short-lived blooms. 1 Dick Clark waiting to be added somewhere in the same bed where Good Old Gold went, just further away from the tree roots. I'd meant to return it until a nice poster here convinced me to wait. I am glad I did because once the bloom opened well, I could definitely see its beauty. Once it matures, blooms will be even larger. It's a keeper. 1 Climbing Pinkie on the way from ARE; it will go in the flower bed behind the deck rails to hopefully climb on it and spill over. Yes, vapor...I've already eyed a few more spots where I could add a few more roses in the future; but for now I am just trying to see how I will do with these four. It's a steep slope for me - since 2 weeks ago I had no idea it was even possible for anyone to grow roses in the South, other than a KO. The bed across the garage - where Good as Gold is and where DC will go too - looks rather empty but this is because it is full of tree roots. Normally, I would try to squeeze a lot more there, but it's so hard because of the thick roots everywhere. Trees are nice but not when they stay in the way of Divas like roses. :)