1. You want to keep a 20' rose in a 6" pot? It will be ok for a while in a series of gradually larger and larger pots as the root system grows, but if you want the full beauty of the plant, it will be happiest in the ground.

2. Leave it outside. Roses are outdoor plants. Sinking the pot in the ground will help protect the roots from temperature extremes.

At least get it out of the 6" pot! Put it in a gallon or 2-gal and then sink that into the ground. It is terribly unfair--and ultimately unhealthy--to constantly trim back a large plant to keep it small, roses or anything else. If you don't have room for it or if you want a pot-size plant, give the large one away and get one that fits your size.

I'm a landscaper and I come across this problem all the time and it drives me wild. If you want a 4' shrub, get a 4' shrub; don't get a 15' shrub and then cut it down every season.

"I come across this problem all the time and it drives me wild. If you want a 4' shrub, get a 4' shrub; don't get a 15' shrub and then cut it down every season."

a-MEN! Not in response to the original poster, though, just in general.

OP: pot up your rose, being careful not to destroy the brand-new feeder roots. Let it go dormant for the winter, and like hoovb said, sinking the pot in the gorund will help protect the rose from heaving and freeze/thaw cycles.

So sorry--I didn't mean to hit a nerve!

Yes, I agree that it's nutty, but here's what happened: I took a bunch of cuttings from a gorgeous old rose. It's probably ASG, except that it is INCREDIBLY thorny. All the cuttings rooted and I've given most of them away. I had a plan to have the last one grow up and into a maple tree that's slowly dying, but realized that until the maple dies, the rose won't get enough sun. And when we do have to take down the maple, the rose will be damaged, if not killed.

I don't have any other place in my yard that would be suitable for a huge rambler, and since it's so happy in its present situation, I though maybe I could treat it like a bonsai.

Is that completely unrealistic? Maybe I should have posted the query on the bonsai forum.

Thanks again, Ginny

If your rose appears happy in a pot, I see no reason why you shouldn't keep it there. I rooted a cutting of 'Albertine' which grows to be 25 feet tall here in California, and it's been in a 5 gallon pot for more than 5 years.
I've observed that my Albertine is self limiting in its' growth, because the roots are cut off that grow out of the several holes in the bottom of the pot, it retains a small size (4' tall). Alister Stella Gray is a lovely Old Garden Rose, of Tea-Noisette breeding, you can read more about it on the Antique rose forum.
Good luck,
Lux.

Ah, thanks for the kind words, Lux!