Having grown roses for most of my life, sadly due to my local circumstances and sadly so many losses. I have turned to growing roses in containers eg; 15 Ltr pots. Even now there are a few hits and misses. As mentioned in my othere posts, not all roses sent out by nurseries are upto standard. So how do I find this growing method. Firstly the garden looks more like a garden center with all the pots. To ease the strain of lifting the pots, I bought a trolley gadget, like a minature golf caddy. I can move the pots/tubs around with ease. Lifting the pots onto a stool-like stand, I can comfortably tend to them, manicuring them,removing damaged leaves etc. and even applying feed. Getting up close also enables me to see how much the soil/compost has settled, firmed or whatever. So to keep the graft site just below the surface. I have my wheelbarrow close by with a mixture of compost, (multiprpose compost) and some bagged farmyard manure to which I have added a few handfulls of rose fertilizer. A great thing about gardening is. You never stop learning. Now. I find that these multipurpose compost that we use, albeit some are not mush more than 'floor sweepings' and others are more scientifically prepared, compare to the good old garden soil. These mixtures do tend to sink down. Thus exposing the stock graft/bud. Obviously one can't even think of repotting or potting on. So my next thought will be. To perhaps take a 15Ltr. pot, and cut it across say about halfways. Then to carefully push this down inside the planted pot. Now there is chance to add more compost. Problem. Take extra care when lifting.
Glad you enjoy your roses Mike. I know little about growing them but my mom loved them. She was British, we came to Canada in the early 50s. She had some roses in her front garden since about the 60s. She passed away in Nov 2005 and the house was sold soon after. I dug up a couple of the roses in Feb and stuck them in the ground at my house. I figured they would likely die, but took the chance. They made it, bloomed the next summer. Shows the hardiness of them. I moved a year later and didn't get a chance to move them again......Might not have survived anyways but I wish I would have tried. I have planted a few roses here, going to add a couple more this year.
Yes it is proving OK at present. Reading comments of forum friends. Geographical location often seems to be the problem, such a shame. A bit strange though, as it seems the US is the home of the worldwide rose society. However for me. I started growing roses back in the 1960's. My dad had a large allottment and the soil was good. I was a young traffic cop and my patrols took in the Royal Parks. I made friends with the Supt. at London's Regents park He is now long past, but he was a great rosarian and he wrote several books. His name. S.M Gault. He nominated me to the RHS. I was accepted and became a Fellow. Now anyone can join. So now and again I could retrieve a few of the roses that were being replaced. Then when I married the girl of my dreams, my love of roses increased. Please forgive me for going on but. My dad had served in both world wars and was not in the best of health. He spent agreat deal of his time on the plot. Dad was a very humble and honest man. He at times mentioned a workmate in the Royal Arsenal Woolwich. Old Jack. Always whistling military marches. Long and short of it. This young beauty turned out to be. Jack's granddaughter. Then. The neighbours whose garden backed onto my sisters garden.Another of the family. It was love at first sight. Valerie loved roses, her favourite. Ena Harkness. So at her passing. I decided to make the tiny garden a kind of memorial to her. I shy away from getting the calculator out, to tot up what I have spent on roses. Not only financially but also professionall and educationally. Despite all, and in all honesty, questioning myself at times. Mike. Do you really understand roses. Finally having done soil test etc and having spent a small fortune on soill improvements. I have finally arrived at growing my beloved roses on pots/containers.
@MIKE ALLEN, thank you for telling your story. I am a veteran of the Vietnam War era, but was not in Vietnam. I was sent to Turkey where there was terrorist activity against us. My dad was in the Army during WW II but was not in combat. His dad served in the Philippine American War, so we were three generations. My eternal respect and gratitude for WWI and WW II vets. There are many beautiful flowers, but somehow roses are the royalty of flowers. If not for deer, I would plant a lot more of them. I'm glad containers work for you. I should try that. Deer don't come up onto the deck, so that is an option. I have grown tomatoes in containers. Those worked like a champion.
Just as an idea so your yard doesn't look "like a garden center with all the pots"; have you tried burying or partially burying the pots? I mainly do this to prevent spreading of the more invasive plants, but maybe it will work for your roses. Just a thought.
Many thanks Beeker. I have sunk/buried the pots before, especially with other plants that I have intended to re-lift at end of season and overwinter etc. With the roses this would be too much to handle, plus I move them around.
I have one bush in a tub, and my other roses are in the ground. I try to take good care of them, but am not always so good at it. I love roses. My paternal grandmother had a garden full of roses. She died when Daddy was little not long after this picture was taken, I think, so I never knew her. I hope now that my chicken coop is done, I can get at things like weeding and pruning and tending to my various plants. But I also need to build their play yard.
Thanks to forums such as Gardenstew, gardeners and interested folk can share interest in plants etc. In particular it is very rewarding to me, to learn first-hand just how individuals across the world share the delights and sometimes problems of growin the same or similar plants. For instance. My main subjects are, roses, liliums and fuchsias. Continuing my posts about roses and container growing. Each of us have our own success and perhaps failure stories. So, growing roses in containers. Perhaps in general we may have plants, even roses that are planted in the garden. Quite often our garden plants are for the most part, left to fend for themselves. The soil beneath our feet is such a wonderful thing,place etc. Think about all those creepy crawlies, then the chemicals etc. Perhaps the only time we think about the soil is when we do a pH test to determine the acidity or alkalinity of the soil. Well potted or container grown subjects also require all of these nature provided sustanances. The big difference is. The garden planted plant, has the soil as the proverbial,'world's oyster'. Most of the plant's needs are there, moving back and forth, feeding the plant. Poor old rose in a container. Roses are very hungry plants. At first after planting, all looks well. Then gradually the rose isn't living upto your expectations. Please. STOP! and think. The garden planted rose has all the natural benefits constantly passing by. Poor old container rose has been confined to like a prisoners cell. The walls of the container have closed of the big wide world. So we really must substitute and feed and supply a good diet for the plant. So. Pay particular attention to the plant, it's general condition. Feed regularly. Water frequently. Make sure the compost remains freely drainable. Remember. The container is like a bucket. It will dry out faster than the garden soil. Being a container it can easily overfill. Make sure there are enough drainage outlets.
Well hopefully I will be able to get some time in, in the garden. There is so much to do. Thankfully I got some good news at the hospital. For the third time, my cystoscopy was looking good. This has cheered me up. So tomorrow, I will continue to tidy-up my lily tubs, several are already showing new growth. Then to the roses.Those that I purchased recently are all sprouting away nicely. These will only get a tidy up this year. Then I intend to lift and pot up the remaing roses that are planted in the garden. The climbers and ramblers will remain in situ. The local council will be coming soon to decide what to do with the gigantic conifer, so the less plants for the guys to trample on, the better. So I must be careful and not over do it. Fingers crossed.
