How to care for a potted rose bush

As a summary, these are the main care of potted rose bushes :

• Pot: a deep pot, preferably made of clay.
• Substrate: rich in peat and nutrients, loose and with good drainage.
• Watering: frequent, daily in summer and every three days in winter.
• Payment: monthly, specific or with guano.
• Pruning: cleaning dry leaves and stems. Rejuvenation pruning when needed.
• Transplant: every two or three years.

Rose bushes need a pot with good depth. Depending on the type of rose bush, the minimum necessary changes. A mini rose bush will suffice with a container of about 35 cm deep , while other larger bushes will appreciate a container of up to 50 cm . Climbing rose bushes deserve a special mention , as they need the deeper the better, so amphora pots are a great option.

Regarding the material, terracotta or ceramic pots are always a better option. They help to keep the temperature of the roots and the substrate more stable, in addition to favoring the evaporation of excess moisture by perspiration. It is essential that they have drainage holes . Regarding the location of the pot, we will always put it in an area as sunny as possible.

Rose bushes are plants that need a large amount of nutrients, so we must prepare a peat-based substrate that is rich in organic matter, as well as light, to offer good drainage.

First of all, improve the drainage of your pot by adding coarse gravel, round river stones, or pieces of tile or pot to the bottom of your container, forming a bed. This will also help to prevent the substrate from coming out through the drainage holes. Then add the peat-based substrate, which is a good idea to enrich with a third of compost or worm castings , to give it nutrients.

Here we explain what it is and how to make bokashi or bocashi compost and How to make worm castings for plants .

How to water a rose bush in a pot is not very different from how to water it outdoors, except for the frequency. Outdoor rose bushes have access to more moisture in the soil and can endure much longer without water.

In a pot, on the other hand, the rose bush will need to be watered approximately every day in summer and every three days in the cold months . It is very important to pay attention to the signals that the plant gives us in this regard, and learn to get the point to not water too little or too much.

Rose bushes are quite susceptible to fungal attack due to excess humidity, so you have to water without flooding and trying not to wet the leaves or flowers, limiting ourselves to wetting the soil. Use a watering can with a fine head.

Being located in a pot, the plant is more susceptible to a lack of nutrients, since irrigation tends to wash them away. For this reason, it will be necessary to fertilize the potted rose bush more frequently than if it were planted outdoors.

You can resort to specific fertilizer and apply it once a month according to instructions, or opt for the organic route and use worm humus or guano , the latter especially recommended for rose bushes. If your rose bush shows symptoms of iron chlorosis , that is, yellowing or loss of the green color of the leaves, add some iron supplement to the soil.

In this other post you can learn how to make homemade organic compost for plants .

When considering the care of a potted rose bush , pruning is vital to maintain the state of the plant well. To know how to prune a rose bush in a pot , the most important thing to bear in mind is that there is constant maintenance on the plant by removing the dried leaves, flowers and stems . Later, if the bush has grown too large, a rejuvenation pruning can be done at about 10 cm above the ground, which will help it to grow again with strength and vitality.

Here you can learn more about when and how to prune rose bushes .

Another care for the rose bush in a pot is transplantation. It will be necessary to renew the land of the rose bush every two or three years , even if we keep the same container. Renew two thirds of the substrate adding a new one enriched with nutrients, and prune the roots of the plant in the same proportion so that new ones grow again.

We recommend you consult these other guides on How to transplant a rose bush step by step and Transplant a plant: when and how to do it , as well as watch this practical video on the care of potted rose bushes.

If you want to read more articles similar to How to care for a potted rose bush , we recommend that you enter our category of Growing and caring for plants .