Roses in Containers Make a Movable Feast

Roses grown in containers, hanging baskets and barrels add a new dimension of interest to gardening.

The look of your garden can change with the placement of the roses. Wide walkways and entrances can be highlighted with tubs of blooming roses. Patios and decks can feature groupings of different rose varieties to give texture to the display, and miniature roses can perk up window boxes and hanging baskets to provide color in neglected areas.

Roses grown in containers should be the shorter-growing varieties of the modern hybrid roses because they are more compact, with great numbers of flowers summer through fall.

Good selections include New Year, Showbiz, Impatient, Intrigue, Sun Flare, Mon Cheri, Marina, Charisma, First Edition, Cathedral, Bahia, Electron, Redgold, Gene Boerner and Angel Face.

How do you determine the right variety of rose for your portable garden? There are five major classifications for roses.

* The most popular is the Hybrid Tea rose. The flower is large and shapely; generally only one bud is produced on a stem. They are good for cutting.

* Grandiflora roses produce flowers either singly or in long-stemmed clusters. They are valued for the masses of color produced from a single plant.

* Floribunda roses are noted for producing quantities of smaller flowers in clusters.

* Polyanthas roses produce small flowers (less than two inches wide) in large sprays.

* Miniature roses are small bushes, usually under a foot in height, with tiny flowers. They are perfect for window boxes and small tubs.

All roses need about six hours of sun a day. Keep them out of drying winds and provide some protection from midday sun.

Roses in containers need more water than those in the ground, so you might add some of the polymer materials available now to cut back on watering. A mulch on top of the planter will help keep the roots moist and cool.