Pros and Cons of Growing Roses in Containers


We know that the best time to plant bare-root roses in central Florida is during the winter months, usually around pruning time. This gives the root structure a chance to settle in to its well prepared hole and start to develop before the soil warms and the bush begins to put out leaves and stems. This is also a good time to plant the potted roses that we buy from nurseries, and for the same reason. But since the potted roses usually have a pretty good root system when we buy them, you can pretty much plant these bushes in a well prepared hole at any time of the year.

But your decision on where that well prepared hole is going to be depends on a lot of factors, and the answer is going to be different depending on your circumstances. Do you want to plant in the ground, or in a pot? There are a lot of pros and cons to consider!

Containers offer distinct advantages. If you plant in a container, and keep that container above ground, you don’t have so far to bend over to weed, feed, water, and prune. You probably won’t be using native soil and dealing with root nematodes, so you can plant own-root roses rather than Fortuniana-grafted roses. You don’t have to worry about invasive tree roots robbing your roses of water and fertilizer. And the fertilizer that you do apply stays in a relatively small area, so you don’t have to use quite as much of it. Your roses are even portable, to some degree, depending on the size of the pot you use!

Naturally, there are disadvantages to container growing as well. First and foremost is the need for more frequent watering – daily is good, twice daily is even better in the heat of the summer. And speaking of heat, temperature control can be a big problem. The soil will warm faster in the spring, and then get downright hot in the summer, making it a hostile environment for tiny little root hairs and feeder roots. (Fortunately, there are several ways to mitigate this heat problem.) These particular issues are complicated by the type of container that you choose. Black plastic is cheap, but hot; clay or terra cotta will suck the water right out of the soil. More decorative materials are expensive and natural materials will break down.

Also in the disadvantage column are the difficulties you encounter when you try to plant a permanent stake to which you can attach the main cane. To do it right, you’ve got to pound that metal stake right through the bottom of the container. There’s also a problem with root development. Since the surface area of a 25-gallon pot is less than 6 square feet, and a rose on Fortuniana prefers an area up to 16 square feet, the roots of your bush are going to have to fight for space. Even in a big pot, the roots are going to migrate to the sides of the container where they encounter the most hostile conditions and hasten the time when the rose may become “pot-bound.” (There are products to deal with this.)

It has been my experience and good fortune to have produced at least three Queen of Show blooms on pot-grown rose bushes, and my good fortune has been nothing compared to exhibitors from Auburndale and Lakeland who grow almost all of their roses in pots. It has also been my experience that roses don’t live as long in pots as they do in the ground. I’ve also had a lot of trouble regulating my soil chemistry in pots while rosarians like our own Ed Easom don’t seem to have that problem at all.

There are other problems that in-ground and in-pot roses share, but the effect is much more pronounced for the pots. You know all that organic material that you’re supposed to plant your roses in? Well, over time, it breaks down and the soil seems to settle. In a pot, this settling can be significant, as the frequent waterings tend to wash dissolved materials right out the drain holes in the bottom of the pot. And once the soil settles, so does the rose, so if you try to add additional material to the pot, you tend to bury the bud union and hasten rotting of the union and the main canes.

Still, the use of pots lets you increase the size of your garden and grow more of the roses you love. Pots are movable so you can take advantage of shifting sun and shade patterns, or put roses in areas where tree roots would make in-ground planting impossible. It’s easier to get around the bush to cut roses or do your annual pruning. Fertilizer and water stay in a small area and don’t get wasted.

Personally, I like the part about not bending over so far!