It’s no surprise that gardeners often name the rose as their favourite flower. Roses bloom profusely all summer and into autumn; many are deliciously fragrant and plants are tough as old boots, tolerating the worst that the British weather can throw at our gardens.
Roses are often associated with English stately homes and traditional cottage-style borders, but choose the right variety and it’ll put on a stunning display in a container – perfect if you only have a small garden, patio or balcony.
For best results, choose patio or miniature roses, which thrive in pots with a depth of 25-38cm (10-15in). If you’re keen to grow a climbing or ground cover rose in a pot, a large container is a must, with a depth of 35-45cm (14-18in).
Where traditional floribunda or English roses are to be grown in pots, choose extra-large containers with a diameter and depth of around 50cm (20in). Roses have long roots – that’s how these deep-rooted plants anchor themselves in border soil and tap nutrients from the depths – and lengthy roots won’t thank you for being crushed into a shallow pot.
For maximum impact, consider positioning several pots together by a sunny doorway, containing roses with contrasting colours of scented blooms. Water daily in hot weather, dead-head regularly and feed every spring with a granular rose fertiliser. Top-dress every two years by scraping away the top couple of inches of compost and replacing it.
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