1. Do you still dormant spray your potted roses that never get disease? I use only horticultural oil not lime sulphur, so is it necessary?

*** We no longer bother, but then, we don't prune much, either.

2. If there is a light layer of pine mulch bark left over from last year in potted roses and the soil is low, what do you think if I simply cover the old mulch with a layer of soil + compost then cover that with another layer of fresh bark?

*** If they were mine, I'd dump the old mulch, add more soil, and apply new mulch.

3. When planting roses near trees or other shrubs how do you keep the tree or shrub roots from taking over the new soil meant for the roses and stunt the roses?

*** I would avoid whenever possible planting roses in close proximity to trees. For one thing, they will be starved for light.
That said, we planted 'Silver Moon' at the foot of a huge old seedling avocado, so that it could grow up the tree. There's a selenicereus grandiflorus, also growing up the tree, and they all seem fairly happy.

4. How much does composted horse manure smell and for how long? Does it attract flies?

*** We have used FRESH horse manure for years. We bring it home, spread it under the plants and water it in well, and the smell disappears by the next day. Nor has it ever drawn flies. Tho, I must say, my sister has horses, and WOW there are flies!

5. Besides looking for rain tolerant roses is there any way to tell if a rose's blooms will survive lawn sprinklers, still open, not ball and turn mushy? Anyone have particular cultivars they recommend if roses will get sprayed lawn sprinklers?

*** Roses with many very thin petals are more likely to be troubled in that manner than roses with fewer petals, of thicker texture and more "starch." But in warm summer weather, the only rose WE have that tends to ball is 'Niles Cochet.' And it looks good even when it fails to completely open, so I don't care.

6. Last summer when I deadheaded the roses I just pinched and twisted the blooms off instead of cutting the cane down to an outward facing 5 leaflet side bud. The roses grew new foliage on canes too thin to be productive. Is this something only done with Tea roses or other antiques roses?

*** What sort of roses? How old are they?
That's the way I deadhead all of my Tea Roses, but I am not growing for rose shows, so I don't care if there is a dog-leg or stem-on-stem. We pretty much never bother with the business of "cut down the cane to a five-leafed-leaflet."

7. I've discovered that some of the pots (24" wide x 18" high) I'm using only have a capacity of 17 gallons. Is this enough for a rose that grows 4-5 feet tall?

*** Nope. Not even close.

Jeri

4. How much does composted horse manure smell and for how long? Does it attract flies?

"Well" composted manure has an odor similar to very rich dirt, and does not attract flies.

3. You can plant in agroliner bags. Agroliner bags are used to grow trees for sale and they keep roots away from the chemical on the bag and thus cause the roots not to be rootbound. If you flip the bag inside out and plant in them, then any roots on the outside of the bag will not grow next to the bag but the roots inside will be fine. I just ordered from the site below for some hosta and hydrangeas I have growing under a maple but I know they also can be found in 20 gallon and you can also get the cloth itself and line a hole as big as you want.

Here is a link that might be useful: Agroliner Root Control bags

Thanks for the replies Jeri, Harmony and Karolina

Jeri your reply about 17 gallon pots for roses 4-5 feet tall? *** Nope. Not even close..............how big would the pot have to be? I am using 30 gallons for other roses, is that enough?

Lee

1. Do you still dormant spray your potted roses that never get disease? I use only horticultural oil not lime sulphur, so is it necessary?
Dormant spray is to (hopefully) prevent or control disease. If these don't get sprayed and are generally healthy enough without the spray, why spray them? If it makes you feel better to spray them, go for it, otherwise, you should be able to skip it.

2. If there is a light layer of pine mulch bark left over from last year in potted roses and the soil is low, what do you think if I simply cover the old mulch with a layer of soil + compost then cover that with another layer of fresh bark?

I'd dump the old mulch in a flower bed to continue composting and becoming part of the soil. I like to add soil underneath the potted plants to raise the crown where it was originally, then add to the sides and any necessary on top, then replace the mulch. My goal is to have the plant positioned in the pot as it was originally.

3. When planting roses near trees or other shrubs how do you keep the tree or shrub roots from taking over the new soil meant for the roses and stunt the roses?

That depends upon what kind of tree you're referring to. For massive root systems such as White Birch (gawd-awful weeds to plant around!), there is little you CAN do as those roots can find their way through block walls. For those with less massive root sytems, I haven't found it to be that much of an issue as long as the rose in question is a rampant grower.

4. How much does composted horse manure smell and for how long? Does it attract flies?

Composted horse manure has little smell other than "earthy" to me. Fresh horse manure smells like a sweaty horse for about three days, then most of the scent dissipates. I have NEVER had horse manure of any kind attract flies, and I've used a couple of tons of the stuff over the past thirty years.

5. Besides looking for rain tolerant roses is there any way to tell if a rose's blooms will survive lawn sprinklers, still open, not ball and turn mushy? Anyone have particular cultivars they recommend if roses will get sprayed lawn sprinklers?

Your greatest probability of success with this is to select roses with "heavy petal substance". Those with very stiff, waxy petals. The "substance" is a waxy cuticle, skin, over the petals which is what makes the specific varieties which possess it excellent for exhibition and florist work. It's also one characteristic which prevents scent in blooms. The heavier, stiffer and waxier (more "substance") the petal, the longer it lasts in a vase, the less scent it has, the more abuse/handling/refrigeration it can withstand with less damage, and the lower the potential for water to spoil it. Not that water WON'T spoil it, just not as easily.

6. Last summer when I deadheaded the roses I just pinched and twisted the blooms off instead of cutting the cane down to an outward facing 5 leaflet side bud. The roses grew new foliage on canes too thin to be productive. Is this something only done with Tea roses or other antiques roses?

There seems to me to be something else at work here than just snapping off the spent flowers. I have traditionally snapped off the spent flowers in my garden at the point of abscission for many years with no real ill effects. Anything which is too thin to support the expected flowers gets taken care of at the usual pruning time. What kinds of roses have you experienced this issue with? Were they situated where they received sufficient sun?

7. I've discovered that some of the pots (24" wide x 18" high) I'm using only have a capacity of 17 gallons. Is this enough for a rose that grows 4-5 feet tall?

Perhaps...but only with excellent drainage and religious watering, and insulation from extreme sun/heat exposure directly to the pot walls. If those pots are protected from extreme sun directly on them, and/or if you're in a milder, more coastal environment rather than an inland valley heat type, your chances are better. If not, no, extreme heat/sun will probably yield problems due to cooked roots and quickly dried out root balls. With roses, usually, if you have five feet of top growth, you have about that much root under it. For that much root to be squeezed into that size soil mass, there is probably not a lot of water holding capacity left. I'd also expect the pot sides to be lined with a fairly thick mass of root tissue, right where extremes in temperatures can more quickly and easily affect them adversely. Something the size you suggest is probably going to perform a lot better in the ground, presuming decent drainage and other acceptable cultural practices. Kim

I don't think I can tell you what size pot is big enough for permanent planting with full-sized roses in a coastal Southern California situation.

I can only tell you that WE used pots that were larger than 24-inches for four roses -- three Teas and Ragged Robin -- which we had on our sunny patio. They were well-watered, etc etc, but after the first 2-1/2 or so years, they began to falter. AND we decided we wanted to do something with the area.

So, in mid-July a few years back, we trundled all of them down our hillside on a dolly, and put them in the ground. All went well, but for the fact that the root ball shattered on the final plant. We stuffed it into the hole, watered the pee out of it, and did so every day for a week, while the temperature climbed to 95 deg. (It never even wilted.)

All four plants took off like a shot, and pretty much doubled in size by year's-end. It was pretty clear that they would never have matured in the pots, which had seemed so big to us -- even tho they had plenty of water and excellent overall care.

Thus, I say that a 24-inch pot is not a good situation for a full-size rose.

Jeri

Thanks Kim and Jeri, I really appreciate you taking the time to give such thoughtful and detailed replies....

Kim, the roses are Mr. Lincoln and Double Delight, they are in the middle of the yard and get all day sun. After reading the article linked below I found by googling 'abscission point of roses" I think I was just deadheading them incorrectly. I will try different ways until I find the right method for our roses. Thanks so much for increasing my understanding.

I've often wondered why many LARGE roses are noted as 'can be used in containers' when they are listed as maturing at 5-6 feet tall. My theory is the rose will 'survive in a pot not necessarily thrive.' And, Kim your reply about rust from pot roses drying out and clay pots helped me to understand the results I was getting when we had Mr. Lincoln in a clay pot. NOTHING like the vigorous growth and disease resistance when the same rose was planted in the ground.

I've also used Smart pots which are made of cloth. The advantage is the roots self prune when they hit the sides of the container. They also allow the rose to create capillary action with the ground if they are placed on soil. I've used 15 gallon Smart pots to plant bare root roses then have placed them in the location where they are going to be planted. If they thrive they get to be put in the ground. If they don't I move them until I find a good spot that they like.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to kindly reply...

Lee

Here is a link that might be useful: Rethinking deadheading

--Pot sizes in gallons are nominal rather than actual. A "one-gallon" nursery pot actually holds about a half-gallon of soil. So a pot that you measured as 17 gallons might be called a 25- or 30-gallon pot in gardening discussions. (I'm just pointing out a possible source of confusion.) I have grown hybrid teas in 5-gallon mud buckets that are 14" wide, but of course these were not California-sized plants. You should be able to grow compact and prunable rose varieties in pots 24" wide, but most old tea roses like those Jeri grows wouldn't fit that description.

--Sprinklers causing balling: try running the sprinklers in the morning or whenever the plants will dry shortly after watering. The fungi that cause this problem need to stay wet for a while in cool or mild temperatures in order to germinate.

Thanks Michael

I did not know that.

Lee

Thanks Lee for that link. If I understand correctly the method is simply "off with the head" rather than looking for that outward facing sidebud. Deadheading similar to Dianthus. ?
Susan

Susan -- in fact, in most cases, the faded blooms really will just finger-snap off -- just as illustrated in the article.

You might call it "Deadheading In The Afternoon With Chilled Wine In Left Hand."

It's the way my grandmother taught me to deadhead roses, before ARS taught me that my Nanny was wrong, before I eventually learned that my Nanny was (as I always thought) right all along.

Jeri