I think the one fact that y'all aren't seeing is winterkill. Cindi & I are colder zones than CA, plus higher altitude. I think I may be sitting the highest as far as altitude than anyone here, with the exception of Tabby, who's also in the Denver Metro. I sit at about 6100 ft. My climbing roses never get taller than 5-6' because of winterkill. Even Charles de Mills, who's protected by the house, and Theresa Bugnet, who's also protected by the house, never get taller than 6' because of winterkill. Theresa didn't get too bad of winterkill this year.. had to chop off about 3-4'. CdM was down the ground. Again. And he's 100% protected because he's actually under my porch! And I obviously am not going to plop 6' of mulch onto the roses and am too lazy to do the "Minnesota Tip" (
http://www.bachmans.com/Garden...).
Let's face it. I'm lazy. I'm a very lazy person and don't want to spend the time & effort in containers. Just not worth it to me. If they grow in the ground, that's awesome. If it doesn't, then it doesn't.
