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Container grown roses

MeomyeMeomye Posts: 949
in Problem solving
I have a few roses in pots and I was wondering if you do anything to refresh or replenish the soil and if so, what time of year is best ?  Also, is there anything I should do over winter? many t i a

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  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    How old is the compost?  A complete compost change would be OK at this time of year.  Use John Innes No3.  Nothing speciaL over winter.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I find the soil level in pots drops naturally, so I usually end up just scraping a bit off the top and remulching with compost annually. Anytime from mid season to now, but timing is not that important.

    Every few years, depending on the rose and size of pot I will tip it out and knock more soil off from around the rootball and repot to refresh it more thoroughly. I have been working my way through the pots recently doing that for those that need it. 

    When the roses have stopped flowering and are going into dormancy, around about now, I pick off any diseased leaves and those that have fallen in the pot which is supposed to stop disease overwintering in there. I usually take that opportunity to top up the level a bit again. For tall roses with any long canes waving about, I normally shorten them by around a third to stop them getting whipped about in winter winds. I then do the main annual prune around Jan/Feb.

    Everyone has their own ways and means of doing things, but roses are hungry plants and the potting medium does get exhausted after a while so its a really good idea to replenish you pots 😊 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    When I had roses in pots I did the same as Nollie.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • MeomyeMeomye Posts: 949
    Thankyou @bede @Busy-Lizzie and @Nollie for your replies. I think the longest any of the roses have been in is 3 years, some only potted last year. I have reduced the length and removed spotty leaves. Should I put some well rotted manure around the top like I would on my bedded roses during winter?  t i a
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    That would be fine Meomye, so long as the manure doesn’t touch the stems. I tend to use a woody compost in winter because I mound it up as a dry mulch right up the canes to insulate the crowns. You won’t need to do this unless you have potted roses in the frozen highlands of Scotland or something! I have short, dry but very harsh winters in my mountain climate so a bit of winter protection like this helps with vulnerable pots:

    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • MeomyeMeomye Posts: 949
    Thank you @Nollie, I will do as you advise and replenish the soil levels and add a little bit of manure avoiding the canes. 
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