Roses for Your Houston, Texas Container Garden

Container gardens are one of the easiest types of gardens you can create in Houston, Texas, giving you the ability to move plants in and out of the direct sun, inside for the occasional frost (or hurricane) and to position your blooms for different landscaping looks. There are many types of plants that will do well in your Houston, Texas container garden, including many types of roses. Roses may need a little bit more attention than some of your other container plants, but with a little care you will have some stunning roses blooming away in your garden. For tips on growing roses in garden containers, as well as some suggested types of roses that will do well in containers, see below.

Containers. Roses do best in light-colored containers, especially those made of clay, as darker containers can heat up rapidly in the Houston, Texas sun, which isn't good for your roses (or any garden plants.) Also be sure the container is large enough for your roses to grow a good, strong root system, and has enough holes to allow for good drainage. Prepare your containers with an inch of gravel or rocks, and use a soil mix of equal parts of potting soil, garden compost, and organic material. You can also add in some bonemeal or fishmeal, as roses need a lot of nutrients, especially in containers.

Planting. Fill your container two-thirds full of your soil mix, place your rose gently on top, and then fill in the rest of the container with soil. Plant your rose so that the soil comes right to the top, as everything will sink down over time. Water the container very thoroughly once the rose is planted.

Care. Roses will take up the nutrients from a container much faster than they would in the ground, so be sure to keep your Houston, Texas roses well fertilized. The same goes for watering, as the soil in the containers will dry out more quickly than the ground. Be sure to place your roses in spots where they will get at least six hours of sunlight, and leave at least two feet between containers to allow for plenty of air circulation and to cut down on fungus diseases. When the temperatures in your garden threaten to drop to freezing or below, move your roses inside.

Roses that will do well in your Houston, Texas container garden

Bon Silene Rose. This is an old Tea rose that does very well in warmer climates such as Houston, Texas. They have lovely, rose-colored double blooms with a light fragrance that will flower from spring through the fall in your Houston, Texas container garden. These are hard to kill roses that are disease resistant, and can stand cold temperatures down to 25 degrees (unlikely in Houston, Texas.)

Ducher Rose. A China rose that can trace its history back to the 1800s, it has beautiful white flowers that will bloom from March through November in your Houston, Texas container garden. This is a pretty rose to use in a mixed border, too. It has light green leaves that start out bronze - lovely!

Nacogdoches Rose. This beautiful yellow rose will thrive in your Houston, Texas container garden, and also makes a terrific cut flower. It is hard to kill, taking cold temperatures down to zero degrees (again, unlikely in Houston, Texas) and disease resistant, too. The yellow roses will bloom from April through the first frost in your container garden, and have a very lovely fragrance.

Hot Cocoa Rose. A gorgeous Floribunda rose that has double bronze flowers that are sure to add a touch of flair to your Houston, Texas container garden. These roses are disease resistant, and can take cold temperatures down to twenty degrees. They have glossy green leaves and their beautiful flowers have a fruity fragrance. These roses will bloom in the spring and again in the fall in your Houston, Texas container garden.

Source list:

Personal experience

http://chron.com/apps/chron_data/plants.mpl

http://www.rosemagazine.com/pages/containers.asp