Expert: Long Island Gardener - 4/22/2011

Question
hi , i never grew roses before but i want to grow scented roses  in planters . i live on long island. can you recommend any and advice for planting. thank you

Answer
It is a difficult challenge for even the most seasoned Rosarian to grow Roses in planters, Bunni.

The pot must be big enough to accommodate Rose roots in the manner to which they are accustomed (very hard to do with Roses).  Then there's the usual Rose care -- these shrubs are notariously fussy about food, fickle about who they spend time with, the air, the light, the Soil, things no one else is bothered by will bother Roses.  Consider yourself warned.  If you are growing Roses, it would be better to get the hang of it before tackling the impossible.

Roses need LOTS of Nitrogen -- FAR MORE than most other plants, most definitely more than annuals.  Reason (here's an inside tip:) They don't create flowers from Phosphorus.

Rose construction actually depends entirely on light (energy from photosynthesis), an amount determined completely by THE NUMBER OF LEAVES they have.

Every Rose species is different.  But if you were to spike the typical Rosa sinensis diet with Phosphorus, which is what most flowers are built of and the nutrient that makes up the 'plant food' sold for flowering plants, there will be at BEST no effect, and at WORST a shortage of other nutrients.  Yes, a shortage.  Because the Phosphorus is a dominating chemical; it takes up all the space that other nutrients need when you put down too much.

The most important rule you can follow -- and this goes for anything you grow in a pot -- is that NOT to use chemical fertilizers OR pumped-up potting soil (say NO to Miracle-Gro) that comes with fertilizer mixed in...

because...

The chemical fertilizers accumulate.  These are the same damaging class of chemicals as the salt on your Potato Chips.  Think what would happen if, before you watered them, you mixed in 3 Tablespoons of salt in with the water, and you'll have a good idea of what fertilizer does to all things green.

So what do you do instead?  Stick with Bone Meal for Phosphorus, which releases very slowly (via microbes, provided you do not Salt them to death), and Fish Emulsion, Blood Meal or another gentle Nitrogen fertilizer for your Rose.

Sound exhausting?  Look at it this way: A self-fertilizing plant does not need to be fertilized, because it is on the self-service line at the supermarket.  Microbes are like little food factories.  Millions of them in the Soil sit there, digesting aged Manure and other amendments, enriching the Soil.  In the process, they feed all the plants around them. Nice, eh?  And they do it so gently, and constantly, revving up output when Soil is warm, slowing down as the Soil cools and the plant metabolism is reduced.  This is God's way, and it works so beautifully.

Now, ANYTHING growing in a pot is going to need extra care with nutrients.  Some people who use 'Rose food' actually go to the (extreme) measure of re-placing all the Soil in the pot when they re-pot.  This is terribly stressful for the plant.  But after a few years of Salting the plants, they reach that point where there are symptoms that cannot be ignored and the plant has to be saved.  Stick with the organic and you'll give yourself a fighting chance.

Now, you have another problem.  You want scented Roses.  Guess what?  Almost all of the most fragrant Roses are Tea Roses -- Rosa sinensis.  These bloom in late Spring.  First week of June in the Rose World on Long Island is 'Rose Week'.  After that, blooming is never quite the same.  All the Rose shows are held in June.

Those potted Roses you see in catalogues?  Not Tea Roses.  Those are Floribundas, grown for their beauty but lacking the punch of the ultra-fragrant Tea.  There are some with a pleasant fragrance, but if you're looking to surround yourself with Tea Rose fragrance all Summer long, you'll have to pick up something at Bloomingdales with a spray attachment.  Which, between you and me, has been done.  They pulled all kinds of tricks in their model rooms back in the day.

Alternately, you can look for a floriferous Floribunda with the strongest fragrance you can find.  Not a bad compromise.  Just want to make sure you have all the facts as you tackle this project.  Order Ladybugs and Lacewings in the mail (superior to the ones they sell at Hicks on Rte 25), which will feast on Aphids all Summer and keep all your Rosebuds bug-free.

Because none of this is easy.  Bunni, if you can grow Roses in a pot long term, you should go into botany for a living.

Good Friday?  Your timing was perfect.  Peace,

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER