I have decided to grow climbing roses this year, in containers. One is 'Don Juan' and the other is "Eden'. What can I expect from them this first season?

Probably not too much. My Don Juan made it to the top of the trellis after 3 years, but it still only has one main cane. It only had a few blooms the first year. This is the 2nd year for Eden for me. I don't remember any blooms last year, but there are some beautiful blooms this year and it is thriving. Most climbers take patience before they have notable displays of blooms.

The old saying is: first year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap.
Also own root roses will tend to take longer than grafted ones, but patience pays in the end. I think climbing roses are worth the wait.

I just checked my 'Don Juan' and it has not yet even broken dormancy .......what a bummer! I have a feeling this climber is going to take the entire season to grow, but I'm not expecting any blooms.

AlanJ said: I have decided to grow climbing roses this year, in containers. One is 'Don Juan' and the other is "Eden'. What can I expect from them this first season?

My experience with climbers is they want to set down and establish their roots in the first year so they don't shoot up very high. I know some gardeners who didn't get any blooms in the first year.

Don Juan is a gorgeous rose and can be more than 12 ft tall. I wonder if that might be happier in the ground (to set out a large root system) than in a pot? Just IMHO.

I live in Zone 5b so I can't pot any roses.....the poor roots would struggle to survive our harsh winters (I don't have much room to store in garage), so I don't have experience with potted rose TBH.

Clair Austin climbing rose : 4 years old