6 great reasons to grow roses in pots

Chief Gardening Sub-editor, Diane Peacock explores the merits of growing roses in containers

One of the things I love about my job is when I have the opportunity to attend a gardening or plant related event. Just the idea of the smell of fresh soil and newly watered plants tempered by a fresh breeze will have me heading for the door.

And, it’s a plus when the event involves roses. Like the naming of the Miss Earth South Africa rose held at Ludwig’s Rose Farm outside Pretoria – where it’s like rose heaven – a panorama of end-to-end roses.

What got me started on my potted rose collection was a rose I received as a gift – a pretty diminutive potted hybrid rose with magenta blooms. Eventually it had to be planted in a larger pot and it’s been a rewarding trendsetter on my veranda ever since.

Six reasons I grow roses in pots:

If like me, you’re limited by space, particularly sunny space, then planting them in containers is a great solution and you can move them whenever you want to.
Once you have the initial outlay of the container, potting mix, the compost and manure, you only really need about one large bag each of compost and potting mix to top up the pots every season.
3. From here on tasks like mulching, deadheading and fertilising are done on a small scale.
4. Roses are no different from healthy-minded people who need their eight glasses of water a day and they don’t mind that it’s not bottled.
5. The pruning is not a huge undertaking either, if you only have three or four plants.
6. When it comes to pest control, you can mix up one dose at a time in a 500ml spray bottle.

The bonus; I love picking garden roses placing them in a small vase or glass in my bedroom and kitchen where they last for ages. A bunch of store-bought roses or other flowers can bulk out your arrangement. And if you find you like growing roses and decide to move them to the garden, you’ll have had lots of practice and know exactly what to do.

Caxton magazines staff