Growing knock out roses in containers

Question

Can knock out roses be grown in containers?

Answer 1

Yes they can. Knock Out roses are very hardy rosebushes and are tolerant of many situations. I would recommend using large pots or planters for them though. Usually 20 to 24 inches in diameter and 18 to 20 inches or more in depth. The container must have drainage holes and if kept in any sort of water holding saucer underneath the pot, make sure the rose does not sit in a saucer of water more than 30 to 45 minutes. Allowing the water to just sit there makes the bottom of container soils too wet and will cause root rot and kill the rosebush. I highly recommend leaving about 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches of room between the top edge of the container and the top of the soils in the container. This area can be filled with a nice decorative non-reflective mulch that will help hold in some valuable moisture. A reflective mulch can cause leaf burn from the reflection of the suns rays. The container should be a medium color and dark real dark or black as the real dark or black containers will heat up the root zone too much and kill the tender feeder roots.