Hi Carrie: Hybrid tea are often grafted on a rootstock. If the root is really long, then it's Dr. Huey rootstock. If the root is cluster-like, then it's Multiflora rootstock. Own-root is obtained through mail-order. Sam's club sells BIG roses in container for $8, same with Menards ... those are grafted on Dr. Huey.

Grafted roses need BIG-CONTAINER, at least 5 gallon. Soil in the pot needs to be changed every 2 years if lots of rain. If you have over 40" of annual rain, then use MiracleGro ORGANIC potting soil, or soil with composted pine fines as the 1st ingredient, rather than peat moss. If you are in a dry climate, less than 30" of rain, then use Moisture-Control potting soil, with peatmoss as the 1st ingredient.

I would mix 1 cup of tomato-tone (higher in potassium) per 2-gallon of potting soil. To fertilize, I would use 1 teaspoon of soluble fertilizer, per 1 gallon of water, every other week. If you want to fertilize weekly, then reduce it to 1/2 teaspoon if you use a chemical soluble, like MG-soluble-for-rose.

Watering your rose EVERYDAY would induce black spots (wet soil induces fungi). I would water it less frequently, and everyday only if the temp. is above 80. Dr. Huey-rootstock likes it well-drained, rather than soaking wet. When I had Dr. Huey-rootstock in a pot, I was watering it every other day in hot summer, and that Heirloom rose did great. Then I moved it to my soaking wet soil, and it broke out in black spots.

Drainage is VERY IMPORTANT to prevent fungal diseases. The best type of pot is the big plastic one, with indentation at the bottom, for air-flow, and best-drainage. My best pots were the $5 plastic ones, with a circular indentation, plus 3 big holes. My worst pots were the expensive Styrofoam ones, flat-bottom, so they sit against my cement patio, and the drainage holes were blocked. People have to drill holes 1" above the bottom, or put those pots on bricks (ugly !). I had to line up 2 wooden planks, and put those pots above the sticks, for drainage. What a nuisance. If the soil can drain fast, it can handle any wet rain. The key is fluffy & dry soil ON TOP to prevent fungal spores from hatching. Rose nursery often put dry perlite on top, or tiny red lava rocks (to supply iron & keep dry). You want the top soil to be dry, and the bottom to be moist, but NOT soaking wet.

Best wishes, and please update on your rose. It's fun & exciting to see the 1st bloom.

Thank you so much!!! I appreciate you taking the time to respond :) One other question...should I be spraying prophylactically against insects/pests or only if I start seeing them? And what product(s) would you recommend?

Thanks!

Hi Carrie: Only if you see them. Hand-pinching is best. I used to have bad aphids in pots when it's rainy ... I simply wipe them off with a tissue & stopped the fertilizing. Nurseries recommend very-dilute soluble-fertilizer every 2 weeks. Too much chemical fertilizer (high in nitrogen) will invite insects, esp. thrips. Low-nitrogen organics like fish-emulsion is better than chemical-soluble. The best way to prevent insects is to keep the surface of pots dry: water only if it's dry at root-level.

A bamboo stick wrapped in absorptive paper that shows wetness can be inserted into pots to check for moisture level at 3" depth. If you keep the top 2" of soil dry, rose-slugs larvae and white flies can't hatch. I would top the pots with white perlite. That stuff is dry and makes it hard for insects to breed. Some folks use worm compost, it's dry & fluffy and prevents whiteflies. We have a dry spring: my roses are 100% healthy, zero insects. Plus I don't do spring-fertilizer (I already did it late winter). I water my roses DEEPLY once a week, they are healthier that way. But pots dry out faster-than in ground, so if you get a big pot, and water ONLY if it's dry at 3" and below level, then you are safe. Please keep us posted, thanks.