One of the greatest pleasures in gardening is experiencing the fragrance of flowers. Scent adds an extra dimension to the gardening experience, and it is easy to bring this enjoyment to your deck or balcony by growing roses in containers.
Overwintering and Selection
Some roses, such as the Explorer series, can even overwinter in containers with special winter protection. Others, like hybrid teas and floribundas, may not survive the winter but offer great enjoyment for a minimal investment.
Finding Bargain Roses
A fun challenge in rose gardening is finding inexpensive roses that perform well. Many bare root hybrid tea roses are available at big box stores at sale prices. If you wait until mid-June, you can often get them for 50-60% off. When buying bare root roses, look for signs of life, such as buds or opened leaves.
Container and Planting
Choose a container large enough for the rose. For bare root roses, a pot 40-50 cm in diameter works well. Use potting soil mixed with well-rotted mushroom manure at a ratio of 2 parts potting soil to 1 part manure. Roses are heavy feeders and benefit from the manure. Soak bare root roses in a pail of water overnight before planting.
Place 5 cm of gravel or broken terracotta pots in the bottom of the container for drainage. Fill the pot two-thirds full with the potting mix. Spread the roots over a mound of soil and fill in, firming the soil. For hybrid tea roses, the soil level should be just above the bud union. If the rose is too deep, raise the soil level in the bottom of the pot.
Fertilizing and Sunlight
Fertilize regularly with a high-phosphorus fertilizer like 15-30-15 at half strength every two weeks, or use a slow-release granular fertilizer for containers. Roses need full sun for at least six hours a day and will not thrive in shaded locations.
Recommended Fragrant Roses
- Fragrant Cloud: One of the most fragrant roses. Hybrid tea with large coral red flowers (8-12.5 cm). Free flowering.
- Honey Perfume: Floribunda rose, former All-America winner. Apricot yellow blooms with a spicy fragrance.
- Ebb Tide: Hybrid tea with double flowers resembling old-fashioned roses. Purple color reminiscent of grape juice. Intense clove-like fragrance.
- JP Connell: Explorer rose. Creamy white bloom with yellow center, borne singly or in clusters. Almost thornless and very hardy.
- Charles Albanel: Explorer rose. Medium red, hardy, disease-resistant, low-growing and spreading.
For more gardening tips, email questions to filipskigerald@gmail.com, read past columns, or follow on X (Twitter) @justaskjerry01.
