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Climbing Rose In Pot Or Ground

VoyagerxpVoyagerxp Posts: 651
in Plants
Hi a few months ago i brought a Strawberry Hill Climbing rose by David Austin to climb up trellis and eventually above my window. I had put the rose in a big pot but my friend said it would be better in the ground. Where it was going to be i had slabs there so i've  took a square peace of slab away and dug just under 2 feet deep. Is that deep enough and what kind of soil should i use. This year is the first time i've brought roses.

Rose in a pot at the moment


Trellis for the rose to climb



Hole For The Rose





Posts

  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,154
    100% for planting in the ground !
    They are thirsty creatures at the best of times ; some of the best specimens I've seen are growing in sticky clay soil covered with a membrane . The larger it grows , the more water it will need to sustain itself .

    Hmmm...that's bad , using the word 'best' twice in the same sentence ! :*
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    I would remove as much of the rest of that sand, hardcore and sub-soil as you can - it doesn't look as if it will provide anything useful to the rose other than keeping the roots moist, so you'll really need to treat it the same as a permanent planting in a large pot.  I'd then fill the hole with 75% John Innes #3 mixed with 25% well-rotted manure (bagged stuff from garden centre is fine.)  I think I'd put a sheet of plastic (or old compost bag) against the brickwork of the wall underground as a liner to stop the wall sucking moisture out of the compost via the wick effect.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Are you confident and experienced enough to take that rose out of the pot now and plant it?  I'm not sure you are, as you do realise that it is likely much of that compost will fall away from the roots, as it's not been in the pot that long.  Some people panic when that happens.  If you're not confident of handling that, you best wait until mid to late October and do it then, as it won't matter so much if it becomes 'bare rooted'...

    Your hole is fine, nice and deep... whatever is left in the pot throw that in, mix with garden soil and more compost to make it easier to work with.  Some bone meal if you have it but not essential...
    ...You must firm it down as you go so there are no air pockets.   Please understand, the rootstock your rose is grafted onto, is a dog rose type that originated in Turkestan or thereabouts... it's tough and adaptable to British soils, from pure chalk to stuff like you have there.... it will find its way around...  some people say that amending a planting hole is worthless as those roots have to leave the hole and venture forth, and not be encouraged to stay within it,... so unless you amend the whole area it isn't worth it too much... just enough to make it easy for you to back fill and firm in when the time comes...

    'Strawberry Hill' is a lovely rose, I find it actually smells of fresh strawberries, even though it takes its name from a London property..
    East Anglia, England
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