Plant of the Month - June - Roses

Plant of the Month - June - Roses

Published: 1st June 2019

As the nation’s favourite flower, the rose is a timeless classic and if they’re planted and cared for properly, your roses can last a lifetime. There are over 150 species of roses, including patio, shrub, standard, rambling and climbing varieties.

Roses have found their way into our hearts, featuring in gardens, famous artworks and literature throughout history. It’s no surprise then to know that roses are one of the oldest flowers with fossils of the bloom dating back to 35 million years ago.

The rose has changed over the years, as breeders such as David Austin and Whartons dedicate decades to creating new varieties, focusing on creating new flower forms and colours as well as building on disease-resistance and scent. 

Understanding the different varieties:

Standard Roses – Standards are tree forms, typically grown by budding two or more shrubs on a long stem, creating a lollipop silhouette. Standard roses look wonderful in  containers on patios spaces as well as a focal point in border displays.

Shrub Roses – The majority of rose species fall into the shrub rose category, and can vary in size, from ground cover to larger specimens that grow up to about 5-6ft in height.  They have an open and spreading form, often with thorny stems, ideal for filling space towards the back of borders.

Climbers – Climbing roses tend to be less vigorous compared to rambling varieties, but have the benefit of  repeat flowering, depending on the variety. The flowers are generally large, held singularly on  the stems, making showstopping displays throughout the season. The stems of a climbing rose are usually stiff  making them ideal for  training  up trellis up walls and obelisks  or over arches.

Ramblers – Rambler roses are vigorous in habit and will generally only have one flush of flowers  a year. The flowers tend to be smaller than those on a climbing rose, held in sprays along the plant for a subtle and romantic addition to garden spaces. Ramblers require a lot more space than a climber, so along fences and pergolas as well as for covering sheds and buildings. Ramblers can be twinned with a larger tree to add floral displays to the trunk and through the canopies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planting Your Roses

Roses are typically sold as bare root plants in the autumn- early spring and as a pot grown plant over the spring- summer seasons. Bare root plants may be potted up for ease when transporting. They require planting whilst the plant is still dormant and the soil is warm enough to work, avoiding any waterlogged areas. Pot grown roses will require planting as soon as possible.

Roses require a sunny position that enjoys at least 4 hours of sunlight a day, where soil is free-draining. They can suffer during drought, so ensure the soil location isn’t frequently excessively 

For each rose dig a hole roughly twice the width of the plant’s roots and the depth of a spade’s blade. Mix in some well-rotted organic matter and some general fertiliser into the area where your rose is being planted, forking it into the top 20-30cm of soil. Farmyard manure is ideal for this.

Top tip – Mycorrhizal fungi works to create a symbiotic relationship with plants such as roses, by drawing nutrients to the roots of the plant. It’s well worth adding in a teaspoon of the fungi which can be found in powder form in our garden care departments, when planting roses and topping up every year for healthy, vigorous plants.

Carefully tease out the roots of the container plants and place the rose in the centre of the hole. Using a small cane, ensure the graft union (where the cultivar joins the rootstock and the point from which the branches originate) is at soil level but not below as this may increase the risk of rose dieback. Then back-fill with the unearthed soil and organic matter mixture.

When planting standard roses it’s worth adding a stake into the ground to support the plant early on and additional care should be taken to planting the rose just at ground level, avoiding burying the stem of the plant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caring For Your Roses

Watering your roses

Roses are deep rooted plants so they can survive on the moisture present naturally in the soil. However, it is essential to water your roses regularly until the plant is well established and where soil is particularly dry. We recommend wetting the top 25cm of soil every 10 days or so in prolonged dry spells to give the best results. Continually water roses grown in containers so that the soil does not dry out.

Fertiliser for roses

Apply a 3cm layer of organic mulch in the spring and again in mid-July to help retain moisture and feed the plant.

A general purpose liquid or granular feed can be added to the plant before the plant flowers, around March – April and then again with a tomato feed after the first flush of flowers in late June – July time. 

Pruning your roses

Regular pruning of roses will help to ensure that the plants stays healthy, maintain it’s form and to encourage flowering. 

Deadhead roses as they fade will help to promote a longer flowering season but it’s always best to leave some flowers to form rose hips as a food source for wildlife in the autumn and winter seasons as well as being an attractive focal point when the garden starts to look bare.

Prune a rosebush by cutting back a third to a half of the previous year’s growth until you find healthy, white centres inside the cane of the branches during the late autumn – winter season whilst the plant is dormant.

 

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