How Do I Plant and Prune a Rose?

PREPARING THE GROUND FOR YOUR NEW ROSE:

How do I plant roses?

Dig the planting hole to approx (18inches)/ 45 cms, and mix the soil you have removed with approximately 5 litres of well rotted farmyard manure, or compost, and a handful of bone meal.

The hole should be large enough to accommodate the roots comfortably after spreading out with the graft approx 50mm below soil level.  Sprinkle in Rootgrow, then the soil mix and firm around the roots to prevent air pockets.

You need to be aware that the rose is an extremely hungry plant and does suffer from ‘re-plant’ disease. So to plant in a place where there have previously been roses planted you will need to  remove the old soil completely and replace with fresh soil mixed with organic matter and a good handful of bone meal. Sprinkle in some Rootgrow and you will have given your rose the best start you can, allowing it to thrive.
Find out more about replant disease by clicking here

I bought my rose in a pot, when is the best time to plant it out?

When you buy a rose in a pot or container be aware that these roses are ‘containerised’ and not container grown so if you buy roses before they come into leaf then you can plant them straight out using the compost in the pot around the roots. However if you buy them in leaf then they need to be kept in the pot until june to make fibrous enough roots to hold the compost together oand to retain their root ball when planting. Roses in containers need to be watered daily to give maximum blooms.

When and how should I ‘Top Dress’ my roses?

We find top dressing twice a year with a good proprietary concentrated organic manure, once after pruning and once mid-season, keeps the plants in good healthy and flowering condition.  We use ‘Grow Organic’  a concentrated dried chicken manure.

How do I prune roses?

Most shrub and rambler roses do not need to be pruned to promote flowering although straggly and weak growth should be pruned away. Pruning tends to be to keep the plant in shape rather than to produce structure. Newly planted roses if not already pruned are better cut back to approx 1ft (30cms). In the case of stronger growing varieties as this will produce good basal growth rather than leggy plants. Most pruning is best carried out in February, but this does depend on the weather conditions

Can roses be kept in pots?

Most roses require deep pots to accommodate their root structure and only more compact varieties perform well when their roots are restricted. A good compost with high organic content is required and regular feeding and watering essential to keep the plants in good condition.  WE mix all our own compost at Larch Cottage and have developed an excellent long term mix specifically for containers – Try it for yourselves – it works for us!

The best Red Roses

Rose Chianti
English’. Free flowering. Large double flws, deep crimson aging to an old velvet maroon. A shapely shrub. Powerful fragrance. Ht 5ft. Well drained soil. Sun.

Rose Heathcliff:

‘Shrub rose: English rose’. Large, fully double, deep crimson flowers of deep rosette shape. A healthy variety, with shiny, deep green leaves and rather upright growth. Its fragrance is most pleasing and rather unusual – basically Tea Rose with a mixture of Old Rose and just a hint of cedar wood. Repeats well. Ht 3½ x 3ft.

Rose Falstaff:

English Rose: Climber. Large shallowly, cupped shaped flws- rich, dark crimson colouring at first, eventually turning to a wonderful shade of rich purple. They are of exquisite form and quality, packed with numerous petals which interfold at the centre. Powerful Old Rose fragrance. Strong, bushy growth makes a striking climber of 6 ft.

Rose L-D Braithwaite:

‘English rose’. One of the best red English roses. Excellent wide fully double deep crimson flws. Free flowering. Very fragrant. Bushy growth. Ht 4ft, spr 4ft.

Rose Tess of the Durbervilles:

‘Rambler: English Rose’ Hardy short-climbing rose with dark green foliage and fragrant, showy, bright crimson flowers which bloom from July to September. Grows to approx 1.8-2m (6ft) and grows best in full sun.

Rose William Shakespeare:

The best crimson English Rose to date. A truly superb variety with exquisite blooms of the richest velvety crimson, gradually changing to an equally rich purple. Deeply cupped at first, the flw soon opens out to a shallow quartered cup. Neat upright growth. Strong, warm Old Rose fragrance. Excellent disease resistance.  Ht 3.5 x 2.5 ft

Rose Darcy Bussel:

‘Shrub: English Rose’. Beautiful, repeat-flowering Rose. Short, bushy growth. Glossy, mid-green leaves with elegant, deep-crimson rosettes with a pleasing, fruity fragrance. Approx 1×0.6m (3x2ft). Best grown in moist, well drained soil and full sun.