All these in the pics, above, grow on my south facing porch in pots...
After a few years of having my gorgeous hybrid tea roses killed by the frigid winter temperatures of Ohio, [15 degrees below zero one year!!!], I started to grow hybrid tea roses in pots, which I place on my porch once the weather is consistently warm, night temps in the 50s or higher.
They stay there until Fall, when the nights get chilly, where I live, in growing zone 5. Then, I bring my roses inside for the winter. They stay in a cool and sunny back bedroom. I make sure that the soil in their pots stays moist, but not soaking. [Roses are elegant ladies. They don't like to have "their feet" wet.] This usually means watering them about every week and a half. They may look dead in the winter, but, believe me, their roots are probably alive. So, don't throw them out, or let their roots dry out!!! Roses go dormant in winter, like perennials DO!!! Just be patient. Hey, I too, can look a little scraggly in the winter!!!
I don't trim my roses, for bloom, --- until March. Then, I cut out all their dead wood, the dry lifeless branches that show no sprouts. I fertilize them in April, rose planting month, and re-pot them in larger pots, if I think they need it. I add a little fresh soil on the top of each pot, regardless. I fertilize my roses once per month, during their growing period, April to August, with liquid fertilizer, or I make up regular rose fertilizer till the powder is completely dissolved in water, so it won't be too strong on their roots, which are confined in their pots.
I usually have early blooms on my pot roses, in the first part of May. My Old World roses are much tougher. They bloom once, in June, spending the whole year outside in my garden with little to no winter protection. I don't trim my Old World roses for bloom. I only cut out their dead wood. Sometimes, my Old World roses suffer a bit from harsh Ohio winters, but they usually don't die completely. Most of them are over 15 years old and have very strong roots. A few years ago the temperature at night on Feburary 15th went down to 15 below zero!!!... Just AWFUL!!!... I thought, for sure, that artic-like night had killed all my outdoor roses. They suffered, BUT they LIVED!!!... JUST REMARKABLE!!! :D
I usually can't resist buying a couple of new hybrid teas for pots each year, or a new Old World rose for my garden. Sometimes, I wait all the way until Fall, then I go to the garden centers to get the summer's roses on sale. I got a gorgeous very fragrant John F. Kennedy red rose last year for 75% off!!! WOW, --- GREAT DEAL!!! Yes, yes, yes, you CAN plant a rose in November, as long as the weather is still warm, and expect it to bloom the next late Spring or Summer. :D
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