Container gardening allows for freedom to add more colour and fragrance to spaces that a traditional garden bed cannot reach. Patios, verandas, front porches or seating areas are all transformed by the presence of a well-chosen rose in a beautiful pot.
Choose Your Rose
Any rose can be grown in a pot though some are naturally better suited than others. Smaller varieties of either floribundas, hybrid teas, shrubs, groundcover and miniatures can be great choices and a number have been bred specifically for their compact form with potting in mind. Choose a continuous or repeat blooming rose for colour all season long.
Select A Pot
Take note of the expected mature size of the rose keeping in mind that the root system typically extends as deep as the rose grows tall. Your pot needs to be large enough to allow the root system to flourish. Generally a 10-15 gallon or 37 to 57 litre pot is a good starting point. A drainage hole in the bottom is essential.
If winter temperatures cause freezing in your area, it’s also worth considering your pot material carefully. Clay and ceramic containers are vulnerable to cracking and breaking when their contents freeze and expand.
Darker pots absorb the heat from the summer sun more heating the rose root. Extremely hot roots, particularly in container-grown roses, can cause stress, damage root tissue, or cause the plant to stop growing and enter survival mode. Keep this in mind when you are selecting a pot as it can impact the longevity of your rose.
Once you have chosen your pot, position it where your rose will receive the sunlight it needs, be able to easily be watered often and be enjoyed!
Soil Mix
It’s best to use a good quality potting soil mixed with composted soil. The combination will create a light, more nutrient rich blend suitable to your roses. Soil from your garden is not recommended as it is too dense and compact for pots. It also contains weed seeds and organisms that are beneficial for the garden, but not necessarily when contained in a garden pot.
Choose something with no added fertilizers as synthetic or mineral fertilizers as they can burn the new roots of a freshly planted rose.
Planting
Partially fill the pot with soil paying attention to how large the root system is as you gauge the depth. Remove the rose from the pot. It’s ok if some of the soil falls away. Bury the grafting union under the soil by 1-3” or 2.5-8cm or to the depth that is suitable for your growing zone. Top up with soil, packing down gently. A great method is to fill the pot part way, water the rose, then top it up with more soil and water again. This helps the soil fill in all the little spaces around the roots to be sure there are no air pockets.
Watering and Fertilizers
Roses growing in pots need to be watered more often as pots dry out quickly and are exposed to heat and sun on all sides. Containers also require more regular feeding than other garden areas as their watering needs deplete them more quickly of nutrients. For more details on what to feed your roses for nutrition and when, click here.
Potted roses require additional care to help them through the winter months. Be sure to check back later in the season for more information on overwintering potted roses.
