How large a pot can you place there??? How large is a "... large pot ..."????

Jeri

What will happen to the pot during the winter? If it has to stay out, then the rose will need to be very hardy. This will limit your choices. If the pot can be moved into an attached garage, then the rose can be a tender variety.

Polyanthas might fit the bill for you. Many of those will stay pretty compact and most all of them are very prolific bloomers.

I am attaching a link to a photo on HMF of 'Green Ice'. I prefer to grow this rose in a container because of its weeping habit. We have had several weeks of night temps below freezing and GI is still blooming.

Smiles,
Lyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Ice at Twilight

Lyn, I'm considering planting a row of 'Green Ice' at the top of a high retaining wall. Is 'Green Ice' "self-cleaning", or does it require dead-heading? Thanks.

I rather liked Green Ice, but my husband HATED the look of the faded blooms.

Jeri

Thanks for the responses. The pots would be about 20" diameter . They will be kept in an unheated garage over the winter. I currently have some miniatures in pots on the steps but would like to try a compact OGR. Something I could possibly keep pruned to 2 or 3 feet tall and wide. Which polyanthas would be best? How about Tea roses? Any there that would fit the bill?

I kept Tea Roses here, on my patio, in very large pots -- perhaps 40-in across the top. Maybe 3 ft. tall.

The plants grew very well for about 3 years, but started to max out after that. To maintain them in the pots, I'd have had to un-plant them, root-prune, and re-plant, and Teas really don't take well to that.

We moved them to the garden where they immediately began to grow like weeds.

At the risk of incurring criticism because I do not know your climate -- I would not do this with Teas.

I would consider doing it with some of the older sort of Polyanthas -- not Poly-Teas, but things like maybe 'Muttertag,' or 'Dick Koster,' or 'Margo Koster.' Maybe 'Lady Reading.'

But at that, you might have to root-prune and re-plant, in a few years.

Jeri
Coastal Ventura County,
Southern California

Thanks Jeri. Sorry to here that about the teas. I was really hoping to try 1 or 2. Would Marie Pavie be a good choice? I have a small plant of it's sport Marie Daly. I also have a band that I got this spring of Pretty Jessica and haven't decided where to put it yet. Could she work in a pot?

My steps, by the way, will have full sun after we have a big Silver Maple taken down in a week or 2.

What about some potted David Austin's? In your climate they should stay fairly small, and many have good fragrance and repeat.

I can't vouch for how it does potted, but I have The Fairy in the ground and it stays nice and small, and repeats very well...

~Tammy

Hi Tammy. Yes I was wondering about DAs. I have Pretty Jessica and I know he has some others that are known to be compact. I also have The Fairy and mine is rather large. Too large to consider for my front steps. It gets to be a good 4ft x 5or6ft wide. What about Souvenir de la Malmaison, the bourbon?

Hikerman -- I'm not going to discourage you from trying a Tea. I think you will just need a much larger container.

Lily Shohan, after all, DID grow Tea Roses in containers, and bring them indoors in the New England winter. And Mrs. Drennan ("EVERBLOOMING ROSES") maintained that Tea Roses were far hardier than we give them credit for (tho she grew them at a Mississippi Plantation, and later in New Orleans).

What the heck -- If you want to try something -- DO IT!
How much could you lose, after all! And then, you will know. Consider a rose like 'Niles Cochet,' or 'Maman Cochet,' or 'White Maman Cochet,' and give it a try. Be adventurous!

Jeri

windeaux .......

I would not say that Green Ice is totally self-cleaning, but I did not have time to do a lot of deadheading this year and the old blooms did not hang on long enough to bother me.

I do know that when I do deadhead, I have more blooms than I had this year. I really like the rose, so next year I plan to give it more attention.

Smiles,
Lyn

I've had Clotilde Soupert in a pot for several years. She smells heavenly. In cool weather she's pink; in hot weather she's white with a pink center fading to white. I love this rose. She seems to bloom nonstop. I also have several of her in the ground. They are larger than the one in the pot.

I've grown more than 50 rose cultivars in pots, I prefer own-root plants as they can grow to be up to 50% smaller than the same plant on rootstock, when mature.
These are some of the ones I've grown that thrived in pots:
I suggest growing these two Poly-Teas in your climate as they are not as tender as regular Tea rosebushes.
1. Mlle. Cecille Brunner' dainty pink roses with a good fragrance. Be sure to get this form and not the larger spray or climbing form.
2. Perle d'Or' small pale apricot roses with a bit of pink, mine loves being in a pot.

Little white Pet. very constant bloom.
Borderor' pink Bourbon shaped roses.

and the Hybrid Musk 'Bubble Bath' did well in a large tall pot for years.
as did The Fairy which I actually prefer it growing in a pot because its' graceful canes and pretty green leaves drape over the sides of the pot. A light colored pot shows this to best advantage.
Roses in pots need c. 33% more fertilizer than the same rose planted in the ground.
Good luck with your roses,
Luxrosa

Taking your zone into consideration, I'm thinking you might like to try some of the Portlands (Damask Perpetuals).

Also, take a look at the Hybrid Perpetual, "Enfant de France." It's a small, Portland like HP. (See the link below.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Enfant de France

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I really would like to try some more tender roses that folks in warmer climates always talk about. And I'll stick with own root just in case. Several polyanthas will definitely be on my shopping list. More suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

James

Warmer climate roses? Then, yes, try Marie Pavie and Pretty Jessica, which you've already mentioned.

Back in the day when I grew Teas, I remember Homere and Mademoiselle Franziska Kruger being described as smaller teas.

A new one for me is "Aunt Margy's Rose," a found polyantha. Ingrid's posts and pictures enabled me into that one. Mine is about to bloom for the first time and I'm anxious to see the fat little buds open.

Let us know what you settle on and how they perform.

With moderate pruning, my in-the-ground Marie Pavies grow about 5' x 5'. With a more ruthless hand I can keep them at 4' x 4'.

I have Tamora growing in a pot here and it is hardy, fragrant and about 2x2 in size, perfect for container. Been wanting to try Souvenir de la Malmaison in a container because I've lost it three times in the ground over winter. That one would need winter protection in your zone (as well as mine). The ones I grew in the ground never exceeded 2' either.

floridarosez9, I've been looking at Clotilde Soupert for a while so that's good news about doing well in a pot.

I guess another thing I should be considering is whether or not the roses have a lot of vicious prickles. These roses will be close to our front door

I just noticed on ARE web site that they recommend Ducher, the China, for containers. Anyone have experience with it in pots?
I love roses with citrus fragrances.

James

My Ducher is in the ground, and it's not especially huge. Chinas are very easy to prune since they're so twiggy, so you could probably keep it small. My Jean Bach Sisley is short and fat and might be good in a pot. I can't remember what scent it has.

Clotilde S. I think has some prickles, but I don't remember her being well armed. I'll have to check tomorrow.

If you like citrus scents, try Spice, one of the found Bermuda roses. Some call it a China, some a Tea. It smells like grapefruit.

well, my suggestions are for the procumbent , so called ground cover roses, especially the county series or the flower carpet types. These little roses are much more graceful than minis, flower almost continuously, need no winter protection although scent is often missing. The remarkable Kordes rose, Sommerwind or Surrey, although just a globe shaped generic pink, is guaranteed totally healthy, floriferous and blooms longer than any other rose in a colder climnate. As already suggested, some of the Poulsen roses such as Margot Kloster will also do well in containers. Finally, there are a few of the older hybrid teas such as Mrs Oakley Fisher, Dusky Maiden and Dainty Bess which do fine in large containers - although you do need at leats 60 litres of loam or compost for each plant...and on that note, your planting medium is as important as the pot or the rose variety - avoid the multi-purpose soiless composts and make sure you have a good loam (we use John Innes in the UK). Good Luck - for many years, my entire garden was a pot garden - lots of watering but also loads of life and colour.

I totally forgot Spice, and mine is fairly small. Not as large as Ducher here and also fairly twiggy. My Maitland White has remained small and prostrate. Don't remember about scent, though. I think I'm going to dig it up and put it in a pot and see if it's happier.

Gruss An Aachen is good in a pot. I've had one for 5 years or so.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Here's what I've decided so far:
I will stick with roses that are not hardy to my zone (or marginally so) and protect in my unheated garage for the winter. Here's the short list:

Teas- Madame Antoine Mari, Duchesse de Brabant
Chinas- Spice, Ducher
Polyanthas- Perle d'Or, Clotilde Soupert
Bourbons- Souvenir de la Malmaison, Souvenir de St. Anne

I think that I'll try to stay with 4. Any input on these is most welcome.

James

I don't mean to rain on your parade, and I could be all wrong about this, but the roses you have listed tend towards huge, which means the pots you will need for them will be enormous and not easily moved. I mean you will want pots that are at least 15 gallons; are you going to put them all on dollies?

Nah. You do realize I grow Mutabilis in a 20 inch pot. It's enough different that keeping to small roses isn't really necessary. Larger ones may need to be repotted/root pruned more often, but they can certainly be grown in reasonably normal pots.

Now investing in a good hand dolly isn't a bad idea for pot growers. They can also be used for other purposes, amazingly enough.

I think that Madame Antoine Mari and Souvenir De la Malmaison will do well in large pots for you - Souvenir de St. Anne was slow to build up size for me but she is now approaching the limits of a pot that I consider reasonable for me to move even with a dolly. Kronprincesen Victoria Von Pruessen might be a better choice - she is another Souvenir sport who stays small for me and has lovely white blooms with a hint of lemon in the center.

The first two I believe will maintain indefinitely in a large pot with adequate water and fertilizer. They are totally different in appearance but absolutely two of my favorite roses. The new growth on Madame is almost as beautiful to me as the flowers on some roses and her blooms are phenomenally huge and beautiful although as with many teas they do face down.

In my experience Duchesse de Brabant was not happy contained much past her third year and had to be liberated to the ground. The others I have not grown although I understand that Ducher is fairly slow to put on size.

Souvenir de la Malmaison is in my opinion the most bullet proof, easy to grow, and beautiful rose in the world. I would not be without her. One of my three is currently covered with blooms as we approach the end of November.

Well, then, I stand corrected. I do have a question, though, do you know how many gallons that 20" pot holds? Or can you tell me how tall it is? I'm just curious since I've been unwilling to try any of the large or very vigorous roses except in the ground.

Speaking from personal experience, growing roses well in containers is a labor-intensive proposition that requires almost constant vigilance. In addition to a thorough knowledge of the variety you intend to grow, careful consideration must be given to pot size, potting media, DRAINAGE, nutrients, placement (most well-potted plants are far too heavy to move easily), and your own willingness/ability to invest the additional time and attention that containerized roses require -- especially during the warmest times of the year.

I feel that it's important to acknowledge that no container planting is permanent. Eventually, the rose, if it is to continue to thrive, must be removed from its container, root pruned, and re-potted in fresh media. Additionally, potted roses often are maintained where space limitations require atypical pruning measures. I've found that containerized roses eventually reach a point where they need either to be planted in-ground or cycled-out in favor of a new plant.

It's been my observation that no rose does as well in a container as it does when situated in a regular garden location. That fact, however, doesn't prevent me from continuing to grow roses in containers and invest the additional time and care that they require. Have to say, though, that some of my finest garden roses are former long-term container roses. Containerized roots seem to develop differently, and well-tended plants that have been grown for long periods of time in large pots often explode with growth when planted in the garden.

Jaxondel, your post resonates with my experience (limited) about roses exploding into growth when moved from pots into the ground. I wonder if you have observed any of those roses for long enough to ascertain whether it is a continuing advantage or just an initial burst of joy?

I should also note that I have had roses which were lagging make the same joyful growth spurt when taken out of the ground and put into pots. Of course they then have nice loose potting soil and the attendant nutrients all to themselves as opposed to having to fight for them in the wilder world outside the pot. Yet another reason to explode with growth.

Maybe the grass is always greener, even if you're a rose???

Maybe, the SIZE of the pot matters. Jeri

and the growing medium is vitally important.

Oops, I forgot there were two spices. I have Bermuda's Spice, and mine is only about two feet tall by three feet wide and would be excellent for a pot. I did move it from a less than perfect spot about two years ago, but it didn't even wilt down when I moved it, so I don't think that has affected its size.

The roses I have in pots here seem to be like fish in that they grow in relation to the size of the pot. That is, the bush itself doesn't get nearly as large as it would in the ground, but the roots are another matter. They do become rootbound after awhile. I have had Clotilde Soupert in a small decorative pot for several years. I stuck her there as a cutting, and there she's remained. She's about 1x1, but blooms her little head off. The mother plant, which is in the ground, is about three feet tall by four feet wide. I do have to water on a daily basis, and I feed frequently.

Actually, these roses in pots will most likely be short term. 5 or 6 years maybe. I just want something that I couldn't grow otherwise and be able to keep it a small enough size that it won't block the front door (or create a hazard for visitors). Ducher being a possible slow grower may be fine....