1 flush of flowers and little else. What is wrong?

I have 2 David Austin- Princess Alexandra of Kent roses in large, 60cm wide pots. Supposedly a repeat flowering variety. They've been in those pots 3yrs. I replace/add compost and fertiliser at the top each year along with pruning at the right time, but they only seem to produce a profuse flush of flowers, then not much else. Last week I trimmed most of the flowers off to bring inside. Other than 1 bud, there are no signs of further flowers. What am I doing wrong?

 

Hi @My Clay Jungle

How tall are the pots? Are they as tall as they are wide?

How much sun do the plants get?

What fertiliser do you use? Do you only fertilise once? If you only fertilise once, before the first flush, maybe they run out of nutrients after that first flush?

Also, what compost did you use? A good mix for roses is loam-based compost with lots of organic matter added to it.

 

As above.

Maybe they do need more nutrients then .Do they benefit from liquid tomato feed or is there something else I should give them to encourage more flowers?
If relevant, we have been renovating and they will eventually go into the borders. The pots are a temporary home (although much longer than expected though). Thank you.

 

I always use a specific rose feed - like Vitax or DA's own. They are specially formulated for roses and usually give good results.

It may be that your particular rose, if I remember rightly, is quite an old introduction and perhaps doesn't have the benefit of modern breeding to produce more continual flowering.

I now see it was introduced in 2007 so not that old really.

 

Roses in pots need more feeding than roses in the ground, 3 or 4 times a year. They also like tomato food which you can give them about once a week when watering. Roses in pots also need more water than planted in the ground.

 

I quite like Vitax liquid organic rose feed, seems ideal for pots.

Princess A of K is the most lovely shade of deep pink, but I'm afraid mine never did very well, and finally turned up it's toes and died.

 

The shape of your tapered pot will limit the volume of compost and therefore the growing space for roots. That variety potentially grows to a height and spread of four feet so if you can find a space for it in the ground now it would fare better. Alternatively try a larger pot adding fresh compost.

I've been using Empathy biofertiliser on my roses, recommended by Style roses. So far there's been good flowering and no signs of disease, but it's still early .

Empathy Biofertiliser Rose Food | Sundries | Style Roses

 

Thank you everyone for their advice. They are my 1st roses and you've given me some great tips. This particular rose smells divine. They will be going into the ground as soon as the borders are finished and I'm sure they'll be happier.

 

I have the same problem with the same rose, but last year I put it in the ground instead of pot….still not done great, despite doing everything to help it.

 

@Snorky85- That is interesting that yours haven't done much better in the ground, thank you.

I've added some of the additional rose nutrients listed up thread, so hoping it makes a difference till I can plant them in the ground.