pot dimension: 18-in H x 21.7-in W x 21.7-in D

Ooh, I would like to know too! Of your list, I have Charles Darwin and A Shropshire Lad, both of which I have tried in pots and both are now in-ground, though you might have better luck in pots because of your climate.

-Charles Darwin is a vigorous rose for me in N California. The first year I had it in a half barrel and it threw out octopus arms to 6 ft. The next year I put it in the ground in a part shade spot because the flowers lose their colour very quickly in the sun. Surprisingly it has been very well mannered in the ground, though I don't know whether it's because of the location or the clay soil. Like you I have heavy clay soil but I break it up periodically and my roses seem fine. I also top up with chicken manure and grape pomace 2x a year. CD is a pretty bush with nice green foliage and looks good even out of bloom.

- ASL is not such a pretty plant. It is lanky and looks like it wants to climb. It bloomed very well for me in a pot, but when I put it against a trellis in full sun the flowers have been shriveling (or maybe it's just the heatwave we're having). Blooms are gorgeous though. I'm beginning to suspect that a lot of the newer DA roses are better for me. At least, some of the earlier ones seem to have beautiful flowers and not such great growth/forms/disease resistance.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing! I think you'll need at least half barrels because some of those on your list (e.g. Golden Celebration) can get quite big, I believe.

Joopster, I don't have any of your roses, but I do or did have Darcey Bussell, Carding Mill, Munstead Wood and Molineux in pots. Molineux had to go into the ground in its 2nd year.=; the others were all bought bare root this year. Darcey and Carding Mill have had to be transplanted from 18 to 20" pots (and they will probably outgrow these as well). Munstead is still in its 18" original pot, but this is known to be one of DA's smaller roses.
In our climate, I think they will all grow too big for containers fairly soon. Sorry about your clay soil, but on the other hand, there are some magnificent super-sized containers out there that will display your DAs in glorious form.

Thanks RabbitRabbit and SFV4Life. Your posts gave me hope.

RabbitRabbit, you mentioned that your break your clay soil periodically, do you mean you dug your plant out in order to do so? And yes, I heard taht ASL is a climber so I'll place my pot by my Pergola column. If it get too big, then I'll ask my hubby to build me a raised box with bricks next to the column.

SFV4Life, 18" and still too small? Wow, I wish we have a warmer climate up here. And I thought the 22" that I bought would be too big.

Forget the pots. Learn to deal with your soil. It will be *much* easier to do that in the long term - like this winter. If you have an entire foot of good soil, that is what I have after a lot of work, and haven't had any complaints from the roses yet. If they need to go deeper, they'll manage.

I was under the impression that while clay isn't perfect , it's good for roses. Dosnt it hold nutrients well and moisture? As long as it drains well you should be fine. My garden in pa was clay . I always broke up my area well and sometimes used some garden soil mixed in but I've heard your native soil is best anyway. My roses were fantastic in no time. Good luck either way !

We are in different zones, and have different Austins but we have hard clay in common! I too love Austins, and have them both in pots and the ground. In the ground they are alot less maintenance once you get them planted. Sure it takes me a whole morning to plant one. I dig a hole 24x24 removing all the soil then with a wheel barrow I mix 1 part red clay, 1 part topsoil and 1 part peat moss then back in the hole it goes. Roses do love clay soil, it just needs to be amended to make them able to move thier roots around easier. But once the work is done, they are so much easier to care for then potted. I have two Austins in pots, Benjamin Britten, and Mary Magdalene. The Austin catalog recommends which Austins are good for pots so you may want to take a peek in the catalog to check on your selections. Benjamin, in a 22" plastic pot is doing alot better than Mary, who has stayed small and is in an 18 inch pot. But who knows it may just be Mary is slower than Benjamin as its only been a full year. Potted are more maint as I need to keep them moist in my summer heat. Last year I lugged them in the garage in the winter as our weather was unseasonably cold, which you will likely need to do in your zone. In summary, I have a couple potted just because I wanted to put them in locations where they needed to be in a pot. Most of my Austins are in the ground and doing great. I'm with Mad_Gallica here, learn to deal with your soil, and I think you will be happier in the long run.

Hi Joopster,

I just use a hoe to break the hard surface of the soil periodically under the plants. I only go down about 2 to 3 inches, but it helps drainage. I've also been steadily amending the soil over the last 4 year and it's getting better tilth. I tend to agree with other folks' suggestions - it's probably easier in the long run to do that. I used to keep bonsai, and eventually in a container you have to take the plant out and trim the root ball/repot to keep it healthy. That gets harder and harder with larger pots and half-barrels! Good luck :)