If you could only have one container rose

andrewnewton

I know there are plenty of forumites who enjoy growing their roses in containers.

So as per the title if you could only grow one variety of rose in your containers, what would it be and why

I will be looking at growing a couple of roses in containers this year when the bare root s become available so it would also be very helpful for me to have a steer on suitable varieties based on the shared experiences here

B3

Arthur Bell. He's been in a large container for about twenty years. Top dressed and fed but nothing else.  Scented, not entirely black spot resistant but gets over it. Flowers from early spring until late autumn.

Tack

This is too difficult unless you give some guidance on size of pot, position of it, your location, colour preference, scent requirement, bloom shape preference, do you want 1 big flush, or 2 with a lull or constant but fewer blooms, your Blackspot tolerance, etc

I would not be without Absolutely Fabulous, Odyssey, Easy Does It and probably (as still new to me) England's Rose and Desdemona, probably not in that order apart from AbFab. I could expand this list or narrow it down if you give some of your requirements. I'll post now because I keep changing my mind.

andrewnewton

Tack said:

This is too difficult unless you give some guidance on size of pot, position of it, your location, colour preference, scent requirement, bloom shape preference, do you want 1 big flush, or 2 with a lull or constant but fewer blooms, your Blackspot tolerance, etc

You are quite correct but I wanted to leave the question quite wide to see what ideas it generates. However if it helps ideally I'd like scent, 2nd flowering with decent blackspot resistance. As it's going in a prime spot with plenty of sun I don't really want anything that defoliated itself too much ! Container size currently I've got a couple of 40cm X 40 cm glazed pots but adding a couple of larger containers is not an issue.
I'm located in East Anglia and pretty relaxed on colour 

Nollie

I was going to suggest Ab Fab too, but not much scent, it is the most floriferous rose, continuously covered in a ton of lovely blooms, healthy. May need a bigger pot as it can grow quite large, but as a floribunda it can take hard pruning to keep it in check. Mari Pavie is similarly smothered in lots of small blooms, with the occasional short break, suits pot life, lovely clean foliage, neat shape, subtle but wafty scent - I have two either side of my door and they are delightful. Another sweet little pot rose I have is Rose de Rescht, strong, classic old rose scent, more traditional flushes. For something big and showy with lots of petals, good scent and that bloom in flushes, there are lots of David Austin roses that might suit, of course. There are even some short, patio climbing roses that can be happy in a pot.

Fire

Ab Fab/Julia Child is definitely on the

#MyNextGarden list

Tack

You'll be fine with those pots for a year, maybe 2 if you choose a smaller rose. I tend to look at capacity because the thickness of the material and the shape make a huge difference.  I am trying longer term planting with 60lt pots but I have plenty smaller too with the expectation I will plant those out, up or away.

Of mine if I have to say 1 rose then Desdemona might fit your requirements best, it  seems universally popular.   Abfab hasn't the best scent but is so good as an all rounder, it doesn't get affected by rain. But being in the East this is not such an issue I suppose.

But there are so many roses I still want to try so will be very interested in others' recommendations. I hope you get lots of responses.

edhelka

If a very big pot is allowed, I would say Gertrude Jekyll.
If a normal size only, then Chippendale (Duchess of Cornwall).

andrewnewton

edhelka said:

If a very big pot is allowed, I would say Gertrude Jekyll.
If a normal size only, then Chippendale (Duchess of Cornwall).

@edhelka When you say big pot. What size are you thinking of please

edhelka

@andrewnewton My Gertrude is in this pot at the moment, something slightly wider and not tapering would be better but I don't have space for a wider pot.

Ffoxglove

I have a lot of pots in my small garden and I’ve tried many roses in them, although I don’t think I’ve found one I’m really fully happy with! my favourite at the moment is Roald Dahl. Flowers and reblooms and although it’s quite lax it’s sort of graceful and easy going.