Make sure you have excellent drainage from the container. If the drain holes are getting plugged, the soil will stay too wet and eventually rot the roots. We had the same thing happen to a tree rose in a container. When I freed up the drain holes it was like a river coming out the bottom.

I am so happy someone asked this, as I also LOVE yellow roses and since I am very new at growing roses in general I am always looking for new suggestions for yellows. I have both Shockwave and Julia Child, and it is extremely hard to choose between them. To me it honestly depends on which is more important to you, vividness of yellow, or scent. The color on Shockwave is an amazingly vivid Crayola-yellow, the color doesn't fade until right before the flower blows, they last surprisingly long on the bush, and it seems to produce buds continually. They aren't the most fragrant yellow, there is a pleasant mild fragrance that I definitely enjoy, but Julia has it beat on the fragrance side of things. Shockwave also seems to have more of a hybrid tea habit, it is much taller and skinnier than my Julia (but she's still young yet) Julia is my newest rose and hasn't really had the chance to show me what she can do in terms of volume of blooms, but the few she has had so far have been very lovely, they are a much richer butter- yellow color, fading to soft yellow and eventually to white as the flowers age. So far the flowers seem to last a little longer on shockwave, but I think it's too early yet to really tell. My Julia has a decently strong licorice fragrance that I have heard will only get stronger as the plant ages. I can't wait to see her in full bloom, about 12 buds popped up out of nowhere in the last day or so, and she has only been in the ground for about 2 weeks! That HAS to be a good sign :) I have a midas touch HT that is growing up from a bare root I planted this spring, it seems to be growing fairly slowly, but that is probably my own fault because I had to move it from the original planting location (shame on me for my incredible indecisiveness) It seems to be finally putting on some more growth, hopefully it will continue to do well, I will update as it comes along. One more thing, my least favorite yellow award has to go to Happy Go Lucky, although the blooms are beautiful, and the foliage is a lovely bright glossy lime green, the flowers both loose color very quickly and don't last long on the bush at all. When it blooms only the inner half of the rose is truly yellow, it starts turning white from the edges in before the flower is even halfway open. It does flower fairly continually, so I will probably keep it around for a while, but it certainly isn't my favorite. I took a chance on this one, it was a new rose from Weeks this past year (I think) and I couldn't find any reviews on it anywhere, and I bought it on a whim. It was described as being a rich non-fading yellow, but certainly does not live up to that in my garden. Oh well, maybe she will get better with age. I think if I really HAD to choose, I would probably go with shockwave, purely because I LOVE that bright lemon yellow, it just puts a smile on my face. BUT, I am super glad I don't really have to make that decision, because I'd much rather have BOTH. I don't know if I really helped with your decision at all, but I hope so! I'm sure you will fall in love with whatever you end up with! Jessica.

I can't speak about Mellow Yellow but can't help jumping in here to give a big shout out to Julia Child. I just got Julia in the spring due to so many on this board praising her and I totally agree that she's amazing. I have to spray my rses but JC has been clean all summer, blooms constantly and just thrives when the rest are tuckered out from the drought, heat, etc. I can't wait to see how she thrives in the next few years if she has done this well the very first.

The 36" standards are great for miniatures, mini-floras, or short growing Hybrid Teas such as Bolero. They will be at eye & nose level if planted in a 18" tall pot. They look odd planted in the ground, unless it's a mass planting with boxwood or lavender underneath to hide the skinny stem -- or you like the lollipop forest effect. Another attractive option is to use them as an elevated background for shorter rose bushes planted in front. 48" standards (or even taller) are the epitome of formal garden design and look best planted in pairs or in rows. In large pots the flowers are too high up for closer inspection, but rather create an impressive candelabra effect above your head. However, planted in the ground, the 48" standards bring Hybrid Teas to eye & nose level, and make pruning a breeze. They need careful staking and garden placement. Strong winds can knock them sideways or snap the bush right off at the graft union. Frost protection is also more time consuming and labor intensive. I have bushes of Sunsprite and Sparkle & Shine, with Julia Child as 48" standards in my garden. Ultimately, I don't think your husband will be happy with their coloring. If you are willing to be patient, I highly recommend you order two 48" standards of 'Shockwave' or 'Henry Fonda' from Weeks Roses in the autumn for next year's delivery. Both of those varieties are saturated unfading deep cadmium yellow. David Austin, USA, is offering 'Charlotte' as a standard, it is soft yellow with a white rim and beautiful cabbage flower form. However, my bush of Charlotte in Southern California forms a 15 foot tall climber -- perhaps the tree rose rootstock has a dwarfing effect... or not. Here's my Henry Fonda. I had to color correct because the picture was taken tonight under LED lighting: