Did you try pruning it?

Also, if it's been in a pot for 3-4 years then you probably need to take it out of the pot, root prune it, and repot it. Roses in pots tend to get "root bound" and you have to root prune and repot them.

Josh

This post was edited by JoshTx on Sun, Sep 8, 13 at 22:17

Thank you, Josh. I do prune in the Spring and it has put on nice growth, just no blooms. I have never done a root prune, although it is a very large pot. How would I go about that? Do you just mean loosening up the root ball if it is root bound and replanting in a larger pot or do you do something special to root prune? Thanks again.

Katie

Thank you, Josh. I do prune in the Spring and it has put on nice growth, just no blooms. I have never done a root prune, although it is a very large pot. How would I go about that? Do you just mean loosening up the root ball if it is root bound and replanting in a larger pot or do you do something special to root prune? Thanks again.

Katie

If this is a garden center rose, it was grafted. If the scion part (graft up) has died, the rootstock makes shoots which are incapable of blooming their first season. They may bloom (red) next June, but only once.

I used to have a large ficus tree in a large pot. Pot wasn't going to get any bigger, and it was the biggest pot I could move all by myself. Every other year or so, I'd let the pot soil dry out, and tip the tree out of the pot. Then, I'd take a machete and cut at least a third of the dirt and root ball off - a third off the bottom, and a third of the radius. More if it was really jam packed with roots and solid. Then, I filled the bottom third of the pot with new soil and some manure, pot the tree on top of the new stuff and make sure the 'altitude' was the same as before trimming. Then, I'd use the new soil mix and fill around the sides of the newly empty space. Voila! Same tree, same pot, same orientation - new soil. Tree would put out all kinds of happy new leaves.

Melinda

Thank you all. The growth is definitely from above the graft point, but thank you anyways. It appears I am going to go root-hacking! Thanks again.

Be sure the new soil has about the same texture as the old root ball. Boundaries between denser and lighter soil create problems with the movement of water. Old potting soil has become finer and tighter as the organic matter is digested by bacteria. If you can't get a good match, remove as much of the old soil as you can and start the plant over in a uniform mix. It will need to be shaded for a while if you have to break up the root ball.