Quick Guide to Roses
There is no flower that typifies the English garden better than the rose. As England’s national flower, the rose is among the most popular of gardening favourites and is a must in any garden.
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Is a rose for me?
To those of us who would not consider ourselves as having green fingers, growing roses may seem daunting, as they are known for having specific pruning and nutritional needs - however, this is certainly not the case. Not all roses require the same level of attention and some will almost look after themselves, once established.
When we think of roses, we usually imagine the typical Tudor Rose: a sizeable shrub, with large, sweet smelling flowers. However, with now well over 30,000 varieties of rose worldwide, there literally is a rose to suit every garden.
Looking after your rose
Rose Pruning
If you want to get the best out of your rose, you will need to remember to give it a a bit of TLC, to extend its flowering time and maximise the amount of flowers it produces.
Annual pruning
Each year roses will produce new stems, while at the same time, older stems begin to produce less shoots and take on a woody appearance. The aim of annual pruning is to remove woody or dead stems, to shape the rose to your liking and to remove any stems that are rubbing or too close together (to reduce the spread of disease spreading).
When you are pruning your rose, make sure that you make a cut of 45 degrees with your secateurs, which will allow water to run off the cut, as opposed to resting (which can cause disease and rotting). Another thing to be mindful of whilst pruning, is the shape that you are aiming to achieve, therefore when cutting 1cm or so above a bud, always try to choose a bud which is facing outwards. This is to ensure that your shrub keeps on growing in a ‘goblet’ shape, which is open-centred.
Deadheading
Removing spent flower heads will extend your rose’s flowering period, as the plant will then go on to produce further flowers. To get the best from your rose, make a cut further down, to where the stem is thicker and leaflets have five leaves.
Types of Rose
There are several different categories of rose, all with very different needs and growing styles, which means that you are guaranteed to find a rose for any corner of your garden: From miniature roses, ground cover, large-flowered, shrubby, climbing, standard roses (shaped as a small tree) and weeping standard roses.
We have listed the main types and some of our favourite varieties below:
Climbing Roses
If you are looking for a plant to frame a porch, climb an archway or cover a bare wall or fence, Climbing roses are well adapted for this purpose. They have tall, stiff and thorny arching stems, that can be tied in and trained. They have a long flowering period, through Summer and Autumn and they will repeat flower, so long as you deadhead the flowers throughout the period. To keep them flowering well and looking good, climbing roses will need some pruning between late autumn and mid-winter. Be sure not to prune the horizontal stems unless they are causing an obstruction or are dead, as the following year’s flowers will grow from these stems.
Rambling Roses
Rambling roses are similar to climbing roses in their growth habit, but are better suited to larger gardens or larger walls. So, if you are wanting to cover a large house wall or to inject some personality into a hedge, a rambling rose will happily scramble its way through a bush or climb the side of a house. Your plant will need some pruning between late Autumn and mid-Winter and in the same way that Climbing Roses flower on previous year’s horizontal stems, be mindful not to remove the horizontal stems when pruning your rambling roses, unless they are causing an obstruction or are dead.
Hybrid Tea Roses
Hybrid Tea roses are best known for their large and stunning perfumed flowers and take on an upright, bushy habit. They are repeat-flowering, which means that you are guaranteed blooms throughout the season, so long as you remember to deadhead the spent flowers. Also, to keep plants in good shape, you will need to cut back all of the flowered stems before the Winter and then in late winter/ early spring, prune the shrub right down to about 15cm, leaving 4-6 buds above the ground. Although this sounds a little extreme, rest assured that your rose will take on new growth again in Spring.
Standard Roses
Standard roses have a tall, single stem and round flowering ‘head’, with the appearance of a small, ‘lollipopped’ shape tree. They are perfect for formal style gardens and look good in containers. They require a little bit of attention after the growing season, where flowered stems should be cut back and also in late winter, to maintain their shape and remove any stems that are dead.
Floribunda Roses
Floribunda roses have small clusters of flowers on stems and of all the main types of rose, they boast the longest flowering period, from Spring to Autumn. They are a good addition to beds or borders and are relatively easy to care for. To keep your shrub looking its best, prune it at the beginning of March, just as new growth begins. You will need to cut back the strongest shoots to around 30cm above the ground. Other stems need not to be pruned back so much. This will encourage stronger growth from the base of the plant.
Shrub Roses
Shrub roses are similar to floribunda, in that they produce larger quantities of flowers, with smaller blooms compared to Hyrid Tea roses. They are bushier and woodier than other types of rose, as well as taller. They are ideal as hedges and screens, as well as in beds and borders. Of all the categories of rose, there is much diversity among shrub roses, in terms of colour, size, growth habit and fragrance. To keep your plant healthy, you will need to give it a light prune, at least once a year, depending on its flowering habit: For plants with a single flush of flowers, prune in late Summer, after flowering, in order to maintain their shape and to remove any stems which are damaged or dying. Plants which will repeat flower when deadheaded, require a pruning in late Winter, in order to keep a good shape to your plant’s framework, by cutting back around a quarter of the plant’s strong new growth.
Feeding Roses
Admittedly, roses do require a little more love than a lot of other shrubs, but the flowers they give you in return will be well worth the effort. On planting, you will need to incorporate some food, such as well-rotted manure, soil improver or garden compost, which you can dig into your soil. During the growing season, it is a good idea to give roses a ‘high potash’ feed every two weeks, such as tomato food. This will help the plant to produce more flowers. Also, to give your rose a good head-start, feed it with a high nitrogen fertiliser at the end of Winter (usually shortly after its annual prune).
