'Willpower & sheer idiocy combine in harmony'
Bare-root roses
-
PLANT in late autumn at leaf fall and from late winter to early spring, before growth resumes. Avoid planting in the middle of winter when the ground is frozen or waterlogged.
-
Available from November to March, usually mail order.
-
Plants are dug from open ground and packed to prevent the roots drying out.
-
They usually have a wider root spread than containerised plants.
-
Plant immediately.
Bare-root rose, picture; David Austin Roses.
Containerised & container-grown roses
-
PLANT all year round.
-
Containerised roses: in garden centres from November to March. They are bare-root roses planted up in pots to prevent them drying out.
-
Plant immediately.
-
Container-grown roses: available all year round. Grown in containers for a growing season or more.
-
Plant at any time.
-
Comparatively costly.
IT seems everyone loves roses, but many people are wary of planting them supplied bare root (quite literally what it says). This is a shame, as they're usually better value and quality, and you have a bigger choice of varieties. Here's the differences between them and container specimens and how to plant:
Pruning
PRUNE back after planting. Remove dead, damaged and weak growth.
Hybrid tea: Cut stems hard back to 10-15cm.
Floribunda: Prune back to about 15cm from ground level.
Ramblers/climbers: Cut stems back to 30-40cm from ground level.
Shrub/species roses: Leave remaining strong stems unpruned.
General care
Feeding: Apply rose fertiliser at 100g per sq m, every spring, repeat in midsummer.
Mulching: Use well-rotted stable manure, in a layer of up to 8cm deep, or compost or chipped bark, immediately after feeding. Leave a 10cm gap between mulch and stems.
Watering: Water well in dry spells for at least two summers.
Rose pruning & care
I'm a paragraph
DAVID Austin Roses launched three new English roses at The Chelsea Flower Show 2015.
DESDEMONA (Auskindling - Musk Hybrid): produces chalice-shaped blooms from early summer until the first frosts. Peachy pink buds open to reveal pure white blooms, with a hint of pink at the earliest stage of flowering.
The blooms are not harmed by rain and have an intense myrrh fragrance. A strong, healthy shrub with broad, open growth. 4 x 3ft.
KELMSCOTT (Ausoutcry Leander Hybrid): large blooms from June until the first frosts.
Pink buds open to many petalled, incurved cups with a strong, warm myrrh fragrance.
Open blooms are glowing pink at the centre, becoming paler towards the edges. As they age, golden stamens are revealed.
A vigorous rose, it will quickly form a larger than average shrub for the middle or back of the border.
Kelmscott Manor was the retreat of William Morris, father of the Arts and Crafts movement. 5 x 3ft.
SIR WALTER SCOTT (Ausfalcon Old Rose/Scottish Rose): the result of a cross with a Scottish Rose and it has exceptional disease resistance.
Each bloom’s many pointed petals are arranged around a central button eye, creating a perfect Old Rose-style rosette.
It repeat flowers and has a lovely strong Old Rose fragrance.
A tough and hardy variety; it will thrive in difficult conditions and is ideal towards the front of the border. 3 x 2½ft.
The roses are available to order at: www.davidaustinroses.com; order line: 01902 376300 or e-mail retail@davidaustinroses.com.
David Austin roses
From top, Desdemona; Kelmscott; Sir Walter Scott. Pictures; David Austin Roses.
It's been a good-ish year for the roses...
A great start, then persistent rains take their toll
IT'S been another 'you win some, you lose some' year with my roses.
I often feel like getting rid of my unknown rambler - it does its stuff, then that's it. It gets blackspot and takes up too much room. However, all was forgiven this year, with a brilliant show.
James Galway began well, with tremdous growth and flowers paler than last year (others have said the same of theirs), but the wet has led to some balling, as it has on Claire Austin, although she did recover to put on a better show than last year.
Rosa glauca performed solidly, with the biggest crop of hips yet.
Two surprise stars have been the little orange climbing floribunda (supposed to be Harlequin), so nearly discarded last winter and an unknown climbing sport I bought years ago at a Northumbrian stately home's garden - it has blossomed its heart out, with a great perfume.
Clockwise from bottom left; Rosa glauca hips; cream rambler; James Galway; orange floribunda; unknown pink climbing sport.
Roses: bare root, container plants, best for shade
Planting roses
MIX in a bucket of rotted organic matter per square metre into the planting area.
For a single rose, dig a hole twice the width of the roots and the depth of a spade's blade.
Apply general fertiliser (blood, fish and bone or Growmore), at 100g per sq m over the surface, forking it in.
Tease out the roots of container plants. Place the rose in the centre of the hole and make sure the graft union is at soil level (to avoid rose dieback).
Back-fill and water thoroughly.
If you are replacing roses with new ones, replace the soil to a depth and width of 45cm, as roses are at risk from replant disease, also known as soil sickness.
ROSE breeder David Austin must have been very proud of this one, as he named it after his daughter.
Claire Austin has cupped, pale lemon buds, which gradually open to form large, creamy-white flowers.
They have a strong fragrance based on myrrh with dashes of meadowsweet, vanilla and heliotrope.
A climber, it will reach a maximum height of 8ft. (As a bush rose, 1.5x1m), available from www.davidaustinroses.co.uk.
Famous name rose
Rosa glauca's a hit
ROSA glauca, the redleaf rose, is a must-have. It's a species rose (you can find it in the wild, not here, but it grows as far north as Scandinavia).
Its flowers are simple and lovely, pink/white singles, with bluish-green to purple leaves, followed by showy dark-red hips. The flowers are loved by pollinators, the fruit by birds.
Plants have some thorns, so make a great natural boundary, as the arching branches grow from 5-8ft.
WE all have shadier areas of the garden and you probably wouldn't think of growing roses there, but David Austin Roses has picked out five of the best that don't mind not getting sun all the time.
1. Gertrude Jekyll (shrub rose): Twice voted the nation's favourite rose, it has rich pink rosettes with the quintessential Old Rose fragrance. It's very healthy and reliable, repeat flowering and has the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
2. Claire Austin (English climbing rose): Bears large, cupped, creamy white blooms with a strong fragrance of myrrh, meadowsweet and vanilla. Vigorous and particularly healthy with elegant arching growth. Repeat flowering. I grow this rose, so can heartily recommend it.
3. Lady of Shalott (English shrub rose): One of the hardiest and most reliable growers. Striking apricot-yellow, chalice-shaped blooms. Healthy with vigorous, bushy growth. Ideal for inexperienced gardeners. Good for disease resistance, repeat flowering, RHS Award of Garden Merit.
4. Princess Alexandra of Kent (English shrub rose): Award-winning fragrance, large, deeply cupped blooms of warm, glowing pink. There is delicious fresh tea fragrance with aspects of lemon and blackcurrants. Very healthy, repeat flowering, ideal for containers.
5. The Generous Gardener (English climbing rose): Large, cup-shaped flowers of delicate appearance and palest pink colouring. Strong and delicious fragrance. Extremely healthy, good for disease resistance, repeat flowering. RHS Award of Garden Merit.
All of these roses were bred by David Austin and cost from £16.50, for buying options, visit www.davidaustinroses.co.uk.
Gertrude Jekyll; All pictures courtesy of David Austin Roses
5 top roses for shade
Above, Claire Austin; Lady of Shalott; Princess Alexandra of Kent; The Generous Gardener.
