Question
QUESTION: can I plant a knockout rose in a planter on my patio?

ANSWER: A Knock Out is small enough to grow in a container. It will need about 18 inches of depth to accommodate the roots. The main reason roses don't do well in a planter is because the roots don't have enough room. Make sure you mix some fine ground bark mulch in the soil as soil in a planted gets hard after a while and the bark mulch will solve that problem for you. Use a slow release fertilizer called Osmocote 14-14-14, sprinkle it around the base of the rose and you won't have to fertilizer again for the rest of the summer.

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QUESTION: should I plant in potting soil; if not, what kind of dirt?  I live between Durham, North Carolina and Greensboro, North Carolina.    Also, how often should I water?  thanks

ANSWER: There are a lot of good what you called potting soil. It is especially made for planters so that the water drains well and it healthy for the rose roots. When you first plant your rose water it daily for two weeks. Just keep the soil damp but not soaking wet. Then water it every 5 days but really soak it and then leave it to dry out for another 5 days. If the weather gets really hot you will have to soak it every three days. Roses don't mind dry soil, they just don't like it for a long time. So soaking the rose and then letting it dry out is the best way to water a planter. The planter tends to dry the soil out quicker because the sun shines on the container and heats it up. If it was planted in the garden, the roots would be much cooler and stay damp longer.

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QUESTION: 1. knock out's blooms are going away and I do not see any new buds.  the plant is full and green.  why no buds?

2. something(large animal) broke a pink queen elizabeth I had planted in the lawn.  All of it is broken from the ground up.  I put the long pieces in a bucket of water.  Is there a way to root these roses?

Answer
Rose buds are the best part of a rose bush to all animals, so they must taste the best. They will always be eaten first. The damage is usually done by deer, squirrels or rabbits. making a cage out of fine mesh chicken wire is the best way to protect them.
For the Queen Elizabeth. Large pieces are harder to root than the small ones. Take about 8 inch long cuts from the ends of the broken large stems and do the following with them on this website.
http://www.rainyside.com/archives/cuttings.html
Now take the pieces that are left and stick them into a place in your garden that only gets morning sun. They may not take but water them well every day until you see any new growth. The pieces shouldn't be any longer than 12 inches with about half down under the soil. It is worth a try you never know what will happen.