Container roses

[GrannyBloomers]

I love roses but I’m in rented in a place with a huge garden but no borders.
Are there such things as container roses and if so what do I need to know about them?

I think you can plant most roses in a container! I have certainly done this. Just make sure it's a nice large pot and google care of roses in pots!

David Austin are one of the top rose growers in the country and this is a page of their suggestions

www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/collections/ideal-for-pots-containers

Most roses will grow fine in a container as long as it’s big enough.
David Austin is often recommended but a lot of their roses have this bizarre drooping habit where the flowers are so heavy they droop/flop downwards, not very pretty imo.

I’ve grown plenty of roses in containers, including climbing roses, but varieties that stay small are generally happier. They do best if they get fed fairly regularly. Drainage is important so don’t leave them sitting in trays of water. A very large pot is often recommended but in my experience you can get away with something slightly smaller for the first year or two then pot up.

Lots of David Austin roses have that droopy habit but not all of them - Munstead Wood, Sharifah Asma, Princess Alexandra of Kent happily grew in pots for me with upright flowers. But there are lots of other possibilities too depending on your taste - the Trevor White website has a large selection and you can search under situation: suitable for containers.

I've got a couple of roses in pots, and the one that is happiest seems to be this one www.britishroses.co.uk/acatalog/For-Your-Eyes-Only.html. It's compact and beautiful, flowered all summer last year and is already budding up to start this spring!

(As an aside, I've had David Austin roses with floppy flowers when young, but they've always strengthened up and supported their flowers better once more established. I can't speak for all varieties though.)

I've got a flower carpet rose in a container - it was beautiful last year. Big container - slow release food in it and I'm going to scoop out some of the compost this year and replace it. Used John Innes compost. eu.davidaustinroses.com/products/flower-carpet

Also got a Rhoald Dahl in a container - that is doing really well.

Choose a big container and feed/water it regularly and there are a large number of roses that will do very well.

I've found Peter Beale roses to be very healthy and minus the dropping habit of DA ones. In particular, I've grown Grosvenor House very succefully in a large pot - it was a real star with strong, upright blooms.