Planting Roses in Pots

The Basics of Growing Roses in Pots

Potted roses are an easy alternative for people who want all the beauty and color of roses but do not have space for a full garden. Potted roses average two to three feet in height and can easily be maintained and stay shapely with careful clipping. Besides obvious beauty, roses in pots provide a practical solution for:

• Limited space – potted roses expand gardening space onto decks and patios
• Poor garden drainage – holes in the bottom of your pot offer sufficient draining for roses
• Poor garden soil – the quality of potting soil can easily be controlled

The key to growing roses in pots is selecting types that are well adapted to the confines of a container:

• All that Jazz
• Ballerina
• Blush Noisette
• Bonica
• Cecile Brunner
• Clotilde Soupert
• Green Rose
• Gruss an Aachen
• Hannah Gordon
• Hermosa
• Katharina Zeimet
• Mrs. Oakley Fisher
• Peace
• Perfume Delight
• Precious Platinum
• Sea Foam
• Sexy Rexy
• Souvenir de la Malmaison
• Stanwell Perpetual
• The Fairy
• Valentine
• Whiskey Mac

Container Sizes and Materials

Tips on Container Size

• For roses less than four feet tall (ground cover, miniatures, small shrub types), choose containers at least 14 to 16 inches in diameter and equally tall
• For roses 5 feet or taller (such as floribundas, climbers, standard tree roses, and hybrid teas), choose containers a minimum of 18 inches in diameter and 16 to 18 inches deep
• Tiny or cascading roses in small containers and hanging baskets are charming, but beware that they are difficult to keep watered in most climates. If you're lucky enough to grow roses in the moist Pacific Northwest, enjoy pots of all sizes.

Tips on Container Materials

• Be sure any pot you use for your roses has a hole in the bottom for draining
• Use a saucer to be sure the water can run out the bottom
• If planting in large concrete containers that sits directly on the ground, check drainage before planting
• Porus terra cotta pots are ideal for roses, improve air circulation to the roots
• Concrete containers work well but can be heavy
• Plastic or fiberglass are lighter weight and retain moisture longer during extremely hot seasons

Choosing a Potting Soil

Bayer Advanced™ All-In-One Potting Mix for Roses & Flowers Potting Mix (product discontinued) is especially formulated for roses by combining fertilizer and insect protection and moisture control in a premium quality potting soil. The Merit® insecticide built in to Bayer Advanced™ potting mixes helps protect roses from aphids and other pests that love succulent new rose buds and lasts up to three months. This mix also provides roots with good drainage, plenty of air space and still retains needed moisture.

A good rose mix should also be bulky enough to anchor roots without toppling.

Planting Instructions

Planting a Potted Rose

• Gently remove the rose from the container and untangle matted roots
• Add moistened potting mix in the bottom of your pot so that the top of the root ball will rest within a couple of inches of the rim of the container
• Fill around the root ball with moistened potting mix, pressing the soil gently as you work
• The final fill line should be no more than two inches from the rim of the pot and level with the top of the root ball
• Avoid overfilling the pot or the soil will wash over the rim when you water

Planting a Bare-Root Rose

• If planting a bare-root rose, form a small mound of moistened potting mix in the bottom of the pot
• Place the rose on the mound, fanning the roots out in a circle to cover it
• Add soil to fill in around the roots
• Level the rose so the crown is one to two inches below the rim of the pot
• Fill the pot with mix up to the rose’s crown
• Water thoroughly but gently to settle the soil

Watering

Water thoroughly after planting. The soil will settle during watering; you may need to add a little more soil to bring it up to the proper level.

Some Planting Tips

The ideal time to plant is in the late winter or early spring, while roses are dormant or semi-dormant. This gives them time to become established before the summer heat.

• Pots can be heavy and hard to move after they are full of soil. Work in or near the spot where your roses will rest.
• Cover the drainage hole in the pot with a square of window screen to help keep soil from washing out.
• Mulch with a one to two-inch layer of compost or bark to conserve moisture and keep weeds from sprouting in the container. Mulch also helps insulate roots from extreme weather. Depending upon its size, a rose may be top-heavy when it is first planted and require a stake for support in the container. Anchor the rose with a tall, green, tomato stake, if needed.
• If growing tree roses where gusty wind can topple them, fill the bottom third of lightweight pots with gravel for extra weight.
• Moisten dry potting soil by pouring what you need into a wheelbarrow, adding small amounts of water, then mixing with a shovel until the soil is uniformly moist.

Care and Maintenance

• Because pots dry out plants more quickly, potted roses will require almost twice as much fertilizer and water than garden roses. However, the nearly perfect soil and drainage of potting can produce better results than roses planted directly into the ground.
• Roses need regular watering. Water to a depth of one to two inches whenever the soil is dry. Use your finger to test.
• Soak the soil thoroughly with a small trickle of water. To help prevent leaf diseases, avoid splashing water on the leaves.
• Roses are heavy feeders, especially those that bloom repeatedly from spring to fall. Fertilize three times a year – early spring, early summer and late summer – One application of Bayer Advanced™ 2-in-1 Systemic Rose & Flower Care Granules lasts up to six weeks. Apply according to label directions.
• Every week or two, snip off the branch tips bearing old bloom heads. This promotes new growth and more flowers on everblooming types.

Products Mentioned In This Article

2-in-1 Systemic Rose & Flower Care Granules