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Pot bound rose advice.

CraighBCraighB Posts: 704
in Plants
Hi guys,

I have some David Austin roses that I have had in containers for a good 4 years now and the pots are not the biggest. They are pot bound and are not performing that great and their growth is quite stunted. I am moving house in a month or so and want to put them in the ground.

My question is will they be ok to be transferred to the ground and will they start to do really well and grow properly... Or is it best to start a fresh with new young roses that will grow straight into the ground?

Thanks
Craigh :)
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Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 27,594
    Always worth trying to save them.   Give them a liquid feed now of rose or tomato feed to perk them up and keep them watered.

    When you get to the new house, dig them good, wide holes and improve the soil with plenty of well rotted manure.   Soak each pot well till no bubbles arise form the compost then remove each one form their pot and tease ot the roots to stop them continuing to spiral.   Plant them with their root graft an inch or two below soil level and back fill the holes with the improved soil.  Gently firm them down and water well.  Keep watered until the autumn rains arrive and then mulch with more well-rotted manure.

    Remove any obvious dead or diseased shoots and any long whippy stems that will catch the autumn gales and rock the plants.  Prune back to good, healthy buds next spring after the worst of the frosts are over.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • CraighBCraighB Posts: 704
    Thanks obelixx,

    Would it be worth taking cuttings too and starting again with these?
  • debs64debs64 West Midlands, on the edge of the Black Country Posts: 4,218
    In my experience roses are tough. I agree with Obelix plant them in the right conditions and prune hard and they will recover and do well. Good luck. Not tried rose cuttings myself but I suppose it’s worth a try! 
  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 27,594
    I would wait for your roses to be growing well before taking cuttings as the better the material, the better the new rose will be.   Feed them, as I suggested and, come late summer, you may well have a stem or two worth trying but I would still advise waiting a year.  The roses will need all their leaves this year to feed their roots.

    https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-take-rose-cuttings/ 
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • CraighBCraighB Posts: 704
    Brilliant thank you. I have a family member with the same rose but her rose is in the ground and it is  a million times nicer than mine. It has nice thick canes and lots of them and holds its roses nicely without the stems bending too much. I don't think I would ever grow them in containers again after seeing the difference.
  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 27,594
    I grow all mine in containers fr their first year or two now because I've had them struggle when bunged straight out in busy borders.  However, I do give them a decent container and good compost and I feed them and water thru the growing season.

    Given half a chance, yours should recover and do well.   Give them a chance.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • celcius_kkwcelcius_kkw Posts: 717
    edited August 2019
    @CraighB I too have many roses in pots but that’s out of necessity given I live in an apartment and don’t have a garden. When you say they’re root bound do they simply stop growing bigger ie they remain the same size, or do they start wasting away? Also do they still flower? Or is it a case of the plant actively dying/stop flowering etc? Just trying to plan ahead lol. I only just planted them in biggish pots this summer. I do not intend to have them grow to their full size anyway and would be quite happy for them to only get to whatever size their pots would allow so long as they keep flowering. 


  • debs64debs64 West Midlands, on the edge of the Black Country Posts: 4,218
    My roses are in half barrels with a mix of John ones no 3 and MPC with s little rotted horse manure. All doing really well although it’s only their first year. Wonderful display of flowers then I cut back and fed them in July getting new growth and buds again. Very pleased with them. All mine are from David Austin so not cheap but they are worth every penny  in my opinion. Good luck with your roses let us know how you get on. 
  • celcius_kkwcelcius_kkw Posts: 717
    @debs64 what’s your half barrel’s measurements in terms of diameter and depth? I have been struggling to find a lightweight 18x18 inches containers. Don’t like terracotta because it’s so heavy! I got all my roses from David Austin too and boy the difference in quality! Worth every penny.
  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 27,594
    I grow mine in big plastic pots.  Some are fake terracotta and others are coloured.   For permanent life in pots I think a 60cm/24" pot is probably best and the best John Innes no 3 compost you can find, mixed with some well-rooted manure and then rgeular feeding and watering thru the growing season and a top dressing of slow release rose or tomato food in spring.

    The extra pot size and compost will give the roots plenty of space as long as they are regularly fed and will also provide some insuation agains winter frost and summer baking.   They will be entirely dependant on you for their feeding and watering needs.

    Plenty around online if you google "plastic planter+60cms", eg
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/CrazyGadget%C2%AE-Planter-Plastic-Garden-Contemporary/dp/B01BRFP0V0?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_4 
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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