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Rose planting question

PrivetPrivet Posts: 86
in Plants
Hi all. Last year I planted a rose, Natasha Richardson, in a large container. I’ve not been happy with it...attractive to saw fly, prone to black spot, flowers not as fragrant as I would like and a bit sparse. I would like to replace it with a different, recommended rose. Do I need to replace all the compost before I plant the replacement, or can I get away with just replacing half? 
Many thanks for any advice.
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  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Derbyshire but with a Nottinghamshire postcode. Posts: 16,463
    Replace all the compost.  If you don't you may get rose replant disease.  Use a loam based compost not a fibrous (coir or peat) one.   Roses are not usually at their best in containers unless it is a really big one.
  • PrivetPrivet Posts: 86
    Thanks for that. I had heard about this but was never sure what the name of the disease was. I think my container is big enough, but I think I’ll buy a smaller rose next time. 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Billericay, EssexPosts: 9,861
    Some roses take a while to settle-in.
    I bought 4 x Gentle Hermione and 3 x William & Catherine from DA 3 years ago.
    The 1st year I was very disappointed.
    The flowers on GH were washed out and barely lasted a day before fading to dirty white and W&C just had a few puny flowers.
    This year they have both performed as I'd hoped they would.
    So maybe give Natasha a bit more time?
    All roses seem to be prone to black spot, and some of mine have been attacked by sawfly larvae too this year - c'est la vie...

    If you do want to replant, I'd change all the compost.
    I've no experience of roses in containers, but when I've planted a new rose where there was one previously they take years to catch up.
    I planted 3 x The Garland on my pergola. One went in very close to where a rose had been growing several years previously.
    2 of The Garland have stems about 15ft in length. The one that I planted close to where a rose had been growing previously has stems about 5-6ft. It has started to catch-up this year though. I did use the mycorrhizal granules when planting, but it didn't seem to help.
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • PrivetPrivet Posts: 86
    That’s great, thank you. Maybe I should just give Natasha another year and if I do decide to replace her, I’ll change all the compost. I chose this variety as it was one that had ‘suitable for containers’ on the label. 
    Thanks again. 
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge South LondonPosts: 2,307
    Always worth asking what a large container is to you @privet reading up about it it seems to be quite a sizeable cultivar. We all have different ideas about relative sizes after all. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • PrivetPrivet Posts: 86
    It’s 16 inches tall by 18” in diameter. Do you think this is too small?
  • NollieNollie Girona, Catalunya, Northen Spain.Posts: 6,545
    Also what ‘compost’ did you plant it in? Compost on it’s own doesn’t have enough oomph or nutrients for very long to sustain a rose, which is why Fidgetbones said use a loam (soil) based compost - like John Innes No.3. If you can mix in a couple of handfuls of bagged, composted manure and some garden soil all the better. If you only used a general multi-purpose compost, that will be exhausted after about 3 months, so thats one reason why your rose will be struggling - if so, worth repotting into a heftier mix. Another reason is insufficient food and water, roses are hungry and thirsty plants, so need to be regularly and deeply watered and fed with an inorganic rose feed, either a slow-release granular type or a given a regular liquid feed. They also need lots of sun, but don’t like the roots to be baked dry, so shade the pot itself in very hot weather.

    I’ve made that sound as if roses in pots are demanding and difficult to grow well, but honestly they really aren’t, but it is a case of ‘you get out what you put in’. Treat Natasha well and she will reward you fulsome foliage and lots of lush blooms 😊 
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge South LondonPosts: 2,307
    The usual guide is no smaller than 60 litre capacity...yours should be just a bit short of that. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • PrivetPrivet Posts: 86
    Amancalledgeorge...I get a bit lost with litres when it comes to pot size, but I’ll check that out. Thanks.

    Nollie...it was a mix of good garden soil, John Innes number 3, and well rotted compost from the allotment, so I think that would be ok. I watered very regularly, but failed to feed as much as I should. Thanks
  • NollieNollie Girona, Catalunya, Northen Spain.Posts: 6,545
    That’s a good mix, and I think your pot size is fine for now, should last a couple of years in that. Maybe just, as you say, give it more time and a wee bit more food next year. Fragrance can take a while to develop too. Hope she does better for you next year. Good luck.
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