Which roses did you order, Neal?
Lyn, this summer I ordered roses on a great deal from Brecks. They arrived bare root with really nice roots. Since it was hot and windy, I did pot them in good potting soil in 10 gallon cans. I let most grow until fall, then planted. (Part of that decision had to do with my knee surgery and not being able to dig.) My reasoning was, I could leave them in the shade house out of the wind where I would water them daily if needed. Getting the watering right is a bit tricky, but bigger pots are easier than small ones, and I was going to be home to check on them daily. Grouping them together in the shade house made is easier, too. Luckily, we only had a few days over 100 this summer. I lost a few due to big rains in the heat and the pot not draining completely.
Normally I plant bare roots in my garden soil with compost added on top, then mulch. The soil here is at least 6 FEET deep before it becomes clay. It's a wonderful loam, really about perfect. The advantage of planting roses in the ground is the roots stay cooler in the summer, and moisture drains better. In a pot, even in the shade, those roots cook! If we get a good rain or someone overwaters, then literally, roses in pots can boil!
Nurseries around here don't like to carry roses past July because they suffer so badly in the pots, and that's 5 gallon pots, not small ones. Nurseries can't keep up with watering pots, and most summers, I can't either.
Are you thinking they'll do better in pots because they can be kept in the shade? Do they need to be root bound, like some house plants?
Now that I have the drip lines laid in the flower beds, it actually is easier to take care of the roses if they are in the ground. I can dig a 10-gallon sized hole in about 2 minutes, that's how nice my soil is. The shovel just sinks in. My first house had hard clay, and i realize how good this is. Did you ever watch "Victory Garden"? I used to laugh at that show, say they had dug all those beds ahead of time and added potting soil. Nope. That kind of black crumbly humusy soil does exist.
To find out whether it is better to pot for a year or grow in the ground, I would have to dig up a rose that was in the ground. I would also have to find someone to come water potted plants while I'm gone in the summer (if I do this next year.) I can see potting them and sheltering them until they leaf out in spring, and then planting in the ground, but I don't think I would do better by leaving them in the pot all summer, for reasons other than root development.
Another thing, I know I have whined about our weather conditions here, but actually I think you have a much more difficult situation in California. I'm a lazy gardener, and things still grow. I hardly ever irrigate, I never spray, rarely feed, have no moles, voles, or nematodes, and the deer have plenty of other things to munch on. Some years I don't even mulch. I've never found a rock in the soil, and blackspot is a minor issue. There are insects on my roses, but they don't seem to cause them any harm that I can see.
