Roses in containers?

Does anyone have any experience of growing roses in containers and if so, how did they do? I mean the kind normally grown in borders, rather than the little patio roses which have been specifically bred for the job.

 

Here's a couple of our Albertine climbers we bought at the same time last year

This one is in a sunny position on the side of the garage and has already got a lot of blooms. This was from Bent's garden centre.



This one is in a big pot next to the front door, it was a "twofer" promotion in the Daily Mail, (same price for two as the one from Bent's) but six months later one turned out to be a bright red rose when it bloomed, obviously a different variety (and relegated to the bottom of the garden as my wife doesn't like red roses. It has the same glossy leaves and I've done something "special" with it and will post pictures when it blooms) .... so they sent us a replacement when they became available again, that's in another pot but obviously a year behind the other two. This only gets the sun in the mornings as the front garden is North facing. But it does very well and there's lots of buds other than the two about to come out. It's well watered and I feed both "Wilko's" rose food.
I'm training it to climb up the trellis and follow a wire I have fixed on hooks screwed into the bricks below the bay window. I put bubblewrap round the pot during the winter.

If anything the "container" one is doing better than the one in our South facing back garden. But I s'pose that's the luck of the draw.

The wire mesh is to stop the naffin' squirrels from digging up the compost to bury their nuts.

 

You can grow anything in a container ClaraLou, as long as the container is big enough for the job.
If you choose a big container and keep the roses well fed and watered I think they will get on fine.

 

Thank you, Doghouse and Alice. I think I'm going to give it a go. (I've run out of border space in my little garden!)

 

This thread has delighted me - as our house has no patch of soil next to the house. There is a concrete path that runs all the way around the house! I was thinking that would mean we couldn't grow anythng up the house, but I must be wrong. YAY!!

If the pot is big enough, will it be ok in periods of neglect - eg holidays of a week?

Oh and are we talking GIANT pot here - or this size? Obviously when a rose got really big I guess it would need a massive pot, but for the first few years?

 

That's quite a big pot we've got. Just over 16" inside diameter.
I'd think that would be big enough for any rose. Ours is "romping along. I water it regularly and give it a small feed every couple of weeks or so.
I think it's all about starting with a good quality soil based John Innes compost and keeping an eye on it. As for holidays, we get one of our kids who lives only a mile away to come and water everything if it doesn't rain, while we are away.

 

I'm definitely going to give it a go. Really excited at the prospect of having a rose or two climbing the house.

 

Roses can be quite happy in pots, there are two aspects of it's root system you need to be aware of though. Firstly roses have a long "Tap Root" which anchors it into the soil and allows it to pull up water deeper than most plants. Secondly they have lots of fine roots that spread out below the surface to gather nutrients. For this reason it's a good idea to buy a deep pot as well as a wide pot, you can go for an conical pot as this will suit the root shape.

Because nutrients are gathered from the surface (in the wild, as the leaves fall they rot and release nutrients into the soil surface) you should mulch with about an inch or two of well rotten manure which will slowly release nutrients into the soil. Along with a bi-monthly feed. I step up to a weekly feed when the rose buds first start to appear and have always had strong healthy blooms.

For some reason I've never had a problem with "black spot" on potted roses, something that's dogged the planted ones. I think this is because the black spot molds live in the soil and surrounding area which obviously in a pot is much smaller also one tends to pick up the leaves from the pot.

 

:D They are little horrors for that aren't they?

Lovely pictures.

Bit of a nosey question, but are you the same Doghouse Riley who posts on Digital Spy?

Good luck with the roses Victoria Plum. I tried and failed miserably with one this year, although I'm still worried I gave up on it too quickly. It developed rust and just looked such a sorry sight but I hate chucking plants out, I feel so mean.