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Container roses

geoffjarvis99geoffjarvis99 Posts: 2
in Problem solving

Last December I bought a dozen bare root roses, var: “Lovely Lady”, and planted them up in a dozen assorted containers of various sizes. I knew that some of the smaller pots were marginal from a capacity standpoint but went ahead anyway – a big mistake.

The differential in growth between the plants in the larger and smaller pots is so marked that I now realise that for the latter to thrive they will have to be transferred to larger containers. I have decided to standardise on a single type of pot and have bought a dozen with a capacity of 45 litres.

My question is: can I re-pot now while the roses are flowering and/or in bud, or should I wait until November or December when the plants will be dormant?


Posts

  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    45 litres sounds like a good pot for a rose. The usual recommended size (minimum) is 45x45cm. But roses can be happy in much smaller pots if it is only for one season with good watering and feeding so I am surprised you can see the difference.
    It's a good idea to upgrade all to the 45l pots, they will be much happier long term. But you would still need good watering and feeding regime and if some of your roses struggle in smaller pots after less than a season, I would guess you maybe don't feed or water enough.
    Regarding the repotting, I would wait until they are dormant. Unless you have them in so small pots that they are already rootbound. If that is the case, I would repot now. Maybe you could try to repot the rose in the smallest pot and see how the rootball looks like. Basically, you don't want the soil to fall off the roots and risk damaging too much of the fragile feeding roots in the process.
  • geoffjarvis99geoffjarvis99 Posts: 2
    Thank you for your help - much appreciated.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I'd pot them up now. Plenty of growing time left this season..
    You'd not think twice about planting a rose in the ground at this time of year, so no worries about potting them into a much more appropriate pot. 
    Devon.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I agree with Hostafan. You can buy roses in pots to plant at this time of year so it should be fine, they they will be able to benefit from the new pot. Peter Beales "Classic Roses" say that when a rose is newly potted up in Spring from being a bare root then don't plant it before June as the new roots will be fragile but by now they will be fine.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    Roses bought in 3-5l pots would have their roots trimmed in March and would be in these pots for months. There is usually a warning to not plant before June because the soil around the roots is still loose and it would fall off during the planting.
    From June on, these usually have firm rootball. I bought and planted a potted rose in mid-July and planted it without any problem, with minimum root disturbance. It started growing happily days later.
    But a rose in 15-25l pot would be a different story, I think. I think, in this case, the rootball wouldn't be firm enough and if a significant part of the feeding roots gets damaged, there could be some leaf loss or transplant shock. And a rose in a pot of this size can be easily kept happy for two more months with good watering and feeding so repotting isn't a pressing issue. It's also much harder to be gentle when trying to get a rose out of 20l pot than from a nursery pot.
    So to be more specific, I would say yes to repotting if it is in something very small like 5-10l.
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