Ken,

I've shied away from using them simply because they are not rigid. I envision trouble with root damage when being moved around, especially anything 10 gallons or larger.

The Gro Pro black plastic nursery pots suit me just fine for a utility pot.

Moses

I hear they're great for air pruning roots so you don't get that spiraling and get more feeder roots. Was was looking into these, too, but decided they wouldn't work for me because I'd have to water everyday as opposed to once or twice a week. I've read that the soil dries out faster since they get air circulating on all sides. If you live in a wet / humid climate, or have access to lots of water and no drought, they might work well for you.

Ken,

Here are some additional random thoughts on fabric pots.

I think fabric pots used to get some size on a rose liner before it goes into the ground sounds like a good idea.

A gallon or two sized fabric pot that a baby rose will grow in for one season, staying in one spot, not being moved around, is something I would do.

That way, when it is planted in the ground there would be no need to cut circling roots, or disturb the roots in any way, minimizing transplant shock.

Growing a potted rose permanently in a 10+ gallon fabric pot is questionable, since portability is necessary.

I do not know how easily a rose will slip out of a fabric pot. I envision the soil falling apart with root damage if not handled very carefully, especially if the rose is ready to be planted in the ground going by the top growth, but the roots have not filled the pot yet.

I often carefully ease a growing on rose out of a rigid pot to check its root development/progress, then gently slip it back into its pot. Can this be done in a fabric pot?

Maybe the pot is just cut away at transplant time.

I like to let a liner rose dry out a bit, that's ready to move on from its growing on stage in its rigid pot. The soil mass will shrink slightly, and draw away from its rigid sided pot. It slips out easier. I don't know if this would work with a fabric pot.

Moses

I bought some for growing things like lettuce and broccoli in. In my climate these are winter crops, so I don’t need to water every day. I don’t think I’d grow a rose in one, though. Just this week I ended up using every fabric pot I had. I had unopened packages of 7 and 10 gallon fabric pots. My sons and I spent two days at “Cliff’s Low Desert Garden” digging up roses to take home. (Cliff is downsizing his rose collection). We had all sorts of containers in the SUV, but at the last minute, I threw in the packs of fabric pots. I’m so glad I did. We ended up having to leave behind some of the other containers because we didn’t have room for everything once they contained roses. If we hadn’t had those fabric pots with us, we would have had to leave some roses behind as well. I know that’s not what you meant when you asked about fabric pots for roses, Ken. I’m just throwing this out there for anyone who might find themselves in a similar situation. They don’t take up much space, and because they’re not rigid, many can be squeezed together. They are great for transportation of freshly dug roses. As for growing things in them, I love them for short term crops. I can make the soil just right, don’t have to give up any rose space, and the gophers don’t eat the plants before I do! Lisa

I have used them, first for vegetables, but I gave that up. You can use them for roses if you are going to keep them potted. If you want to keep them permanently potted, you use the fabric pot as a liner and place the whole thing in another pot. They do dry out a bit, so you use a bit heavier soil that you would with a regular pot. The roses I have taken out and replanted have amazing root systems, very fine feeder roots.

Very informative. Buford, how do you take them out of the pots? That's always tricky for me and end up damaging the roots.Moses, that's a good idea to let them dry out a bit.

This is the situation I'm looking at. I have a bunch of mini and minifloras in 7 & 10 gal nursery pots. I keep them in pots to control everything I do with them. That also goes for every 3 years or so I take them out of their pots in late Feb. I bare root them, prune the roots as needed and repot them in new soil. This is a major hassle with plastic pots and I always end up braking a good branch or two and tearing up a lot of roots. I was thinking with the cloth pots I can put the pot where I want it, pull down the cloth and wash the root ball clean with water. This way the rose isn't messed with at all and I get a good bare root rose without pulling on the bush to get it out of the plastic pot. If I need new fabric pots, buy new pots. They are a darn site cheaper then plastic.