Rose Growing Guide

New to Roses? Start here

​​Where to plant roses

Roses are not only beautiful they are extremely versatile and hardy plants that can be planted in a variety of positions and locations in the garden. When selecting a planting location, we recommend you consider the following points to ensure the rose thrives:

1. Ensure plenty of sunlight

• Roses thrive on direct sunlight. For best results, a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight is recommended.
• You can plant roses in afternoon shade, where they will benefit from cool shade at the hottest time of the day and thus avoid scorching and other damage caused by prolonged direct sun.

2. Avoid intense competition from other plants

• The closer you plant your rose to other plants, the more competition there is for moisture and sunlight.
• For best results, plant your rose 100cm away from other plants and 60-100cm from other roses (depending on the size of the rose at maturity).

3. Avoid very exposed, windy sites

• Strong winds can cause the base of the rose to loosen in the soil. This will result in your rose rocking in the wind which could lead to the roots tearing and in extreme cases will kill it.
• If you find this problem make sure you firm the soil around it and in some cases a stake may be necessary.

How to plant roses

PLANTING A POTTED ROSE

Tools you will need: 

• Spade
• Fork
• Straight stick – e.g. ruler, bamboo cane
• Large bucket of water
• Slow release fertiliser or well-rotted manure

---

1. ​​​Before removing your rose from its pot, soak it in the bucket of water until the air bubbles stop rising.
2. Using a fork, dig the soil over thoroughly and remove any weeds or stones. This will ensure that the new roots can venture freely in their new environment.
3. Dig a hole that is wide enough and deep enough to hold the rose’s roots when spread out. This should be approximately 40cm wide and 60cm deep.  Then dig a bit deeper.
4. Using a fork, break up the soil at the base of the hole. This will allow the roots to go deeper into the soil.
5. Wait for the water to drain away, if it does this slowly you may have to break up the base of the hole a bit more.
6. To get some food under the roots, add your slow release fertiliser in the bottom of the hole at the rate recommended in the instructions.  Alternatively, mix a small spade full of well-rotted farmyard manure with the soil in the bottom of the hole. This will add vital nutrients to the soil helping the rose to establish more effectively. 
7. Adding some soil on top of the slow release fertiliser will stop the fresh roots coming into contact with the fertiliser thus causing root burn.
8. Carefully remove the rose from its pot and position in the centre of the hole. Place a straight stick horizontally across the top of the hole to judge if the planting depth is correct. Ensure you plant the rose up to the crown where all the shoots/branches are coming out from.  The stick should be around the level of the crown.
9. Fill in and around the rose using the soil that was originally dug to make the hole.
10. Water the rose well after planting.
11. Lightly firm the soil around the rose with your foot to ensure that the rose is secure and that there are no air pockets in the soil.

Soil should be at the height of the Crown where the branches come out. (Picture shows Crown too high).

This is the correct depth – the crown is sitting at soil level, unless you are planting a Standard (Tree) Rose.

Enjoy your Roses

THEY ARE JUST PLANTS – BEAUTIFUL PLANTS – BUT STILL, JUST PLANTS.

Planting a bareroot rose

Tools you will need: 

• Spade
• Fork
• Straight stick –e.g. ruler, bamboo cane
• Large bucket of water
• Slow release fertiliser orwell-rotted manure

Pro tip: Never let the roots dry out before planting

• It is important to keep the roots moist before and after planting.  This is the biggest reason for failure of bareroot roses to grow.

• Plant your bareroot rose as soon as possible.  Soak it well for 24 hours in a bucket of cold water before planting into the ground.

1. Pre-prepare your rose bed -using a fork, dig the soil over thoroughly and remove any weeds or stones.
2. Dig a large hole (larger than the root length).  If you wish to put in some slow release fertiliser, now is the only opportunity you will have to get some food under the roots.  Do not use fresh plant material, lawn clippings or animal waste as this will burn the new rootlets and could kill the plant.  Well-rotted compost is okay
3. Next tip in some of your soil to cover the fertiliser and make a little mound in the bottom of the hole.
4. Spread the roots over the mound.
5. Half fill the hole to balance the roots, then tip in the bucket of water. Finish filling the hole and stand on the soil to press it down. It is not necessary to stamp on the soil.
   
6. ​Ensure you plant the rose up to the crown where all the shoots/branches are coming out from. Some of the budded roses have a long shank between the roots and crown. The shank needs to be well buried to stop the rose bush rocking around in the hole which breaks the hair roots which feed the rose bush.
   

Note - Own root roses have no gap between the shoots and the roots.

NO TIME TO PLANT YOUR BAREROOT ROSE STRAIGHT AWAY?

If you receive your new bareroot rose bush and cannot plant it immediately you can ‘heel’ it into a temporary spot in your garden until you get around to it.   The vegetable garden is often used for this exercise.  Why bother?  It keeps the roots damp in the interim as keeping them in a bucket of water for any length of time would cause root drowning problems.  To ‘heel’ in a rose, dig a trench and lay the roots in with the bush on an angle.  Then cover the roots with soil.

Step 2: Dig a large hole (larger than the root length)

Step 4: Spread the roots over the mound

Step 6: Plant the rose up to the crown

Growing roses in a decorative pot

Roses look great planted in a decorative pot so just follow these five steps to success!

1. Make sure you choose a large enough container. The roots grow out to the same size as the growth on top so they will need room to spread.  For our Bambina® range we recommend a 60-70cm pot for large roses and 30-40cm for our Bambina® size.
2. When it is really hot and dry it will be necessary to water the pot often, maybe even daily.
3. Use a good quality potting mix containing either water retention crystals or wetting agent so your potting mix will not get hydrophobic (difficult to rewet once dried out - the water travels in channels down the inside of the container without actually wetting the potting mix).  Pro Tip: Do not use garden soil!
4. Don’t stand the pot in a saucer this can cause root rot, the pot is better held up off the ground on ‘feet’, this also stops the ants getting into the pot and making nests among the roots.  Every garden centre would sell something suitable.
5. Roses need at least 6 hours of sunshine to grow and flower well, but some afternoon shade in January and February when the sun is at its hottest will save the rose from getting stressed.  Even with plenty of water the container and the soil within can heat up and burn the roots on a hot terrace in full sun.

Final note: Just plant your rose in the pot the same as you would in the garden.

All you need to know about dead-heading roses

WHY DEAD HEAD?  

Two Reasons:

• To encourage repeat-flowering – this stops your rose producing seeds in the hips or heps (seed pods), which are formed after flowering, so that it has more energy for repeat-flowering.
• Shaping – it is an opportunity to shape your shrub.  

WHEN TO DEAD HEAD
This should be done as soon after each flowering as possible up to early April.  After April your plant will be getting ready for winter and the canes hardening off.  Do not force it to flower again by dead-heading or the new shoots will be frosted.
​
HOW TO DEAD HEAD
Each flowering stem should be cut back at least as far as a leaflet with five leaves or as thick as a pencil. The amount you cut back controls, to some extent, the shape and size of your plant.  If you Dead head to prune during the growing season this will stop your rose getting too tall.
If you are unsure, cut back to the point where the flowers stop being produced on the stem. 

DO NOT DEADHEAD IN A DROUGHT
If there is a lack of water in summer DO NOT DEAD-HEAD your roses. They can get by without water for a while but they must not be trying to actively grow and produce more flowers or seed pods, after all that is what nature is all about - reproduction of the species. Do not dead-head, just leave them to form their hips (seed pods) and go into semi-dormancy until the dry spell is over. Once you have had good rain, then cut back, give them some fertiliser, keep them watered if necessary (the rain dries up again) and they will shoot away again. Of course, if you have access to plenty of water then you have no problem, keep them deadheaded with a bit of rose fertiliser every couple of months until February and they will keep flowering all summer long.

Pest & Disease Control Tips
​

SPRAYING ROSES TO CONTROL PESTS
Greenfly (aphids) and caterpillars are the most common pests - we use biological control, birds and ladybirds.  We find nature balances pests.  Greenfly and caterpillars can be removed by hand in the earliest stages. If you wish to spray, consult a local specialist Garden Centre as to what to use.

Pests worthy of Mention- No rose can be bred to resist bugs unfortunately.  Scale Insects are a nuisance and can cover the stems – they look like little white ‘limpets’ that suck the sap out of your rose plant weakening it.  Spray these with Neem, Eco-Oil, or Conqueror Oil in Winter at Winter strength to smother them.  You could add an insecticide as well to make sure.  They can be sprayed in summer too but read the label and spray at summer strength or you could ‘burn’ the leaves.

Mites or Spider Mites can be obvious in Summer, they make the leaves appear dry and ‘dusty’.  If they are really bad they will form webs, like spiders.  They are miniscule, barely visible to the naked eye.  Mites can be very pesky if the rose is growing with protection by a house or wall.  These will need treatment with Neem, Eco-Oil, or Conqueror Oil at summer strength which smothers them.  There are Miticides that work (at least once) but Mites are good at building up resistance to chemicals so change your chemicals, don’t keep using the same one or you will find it no longer effective.  They do not build up a resistance to oil because it acts by smothering them.

SPRAYING ROSES TO CONTROL DISEASE
We specialise in roses that have been bred to be resistant to disease especially Black Spot, Rust and Powdery Mildew, or at least tolerant to diseases when they may get some spots but they will keep growing and flowering without treatment during the flowering season.
We do recommend a Winter ‘clean up’ spray with Copper and Oil (Neem, Eco-Oil or Conqueror) to kill any fungous spores, insects, or mites that are in the garden ready to attack next summer.
The main fungal challenge for roses in some areas is Downy Mildew which is around in Spring and sometimes Autumn with cooler nights and warm days and lots of humidity.  Some varieties are not so resistant to Downy Mildew in which case you may be required to spray.  Downy Mildew is very similar to Black Spot in appearance.  Symptoms are dark purple blotches on the leaves - differentiated from Black Spot which is Black and circular with a yellow halo.  Or, leaf fall without any spots, just a sudden dropping of all leaves.

WHEN TO SPRAY
We recommend you spray at the first sign of disease especially Downy Mildew.  Use a Copper or Sulphur Spray for Downy Mildew.  You may have to spray again in 10-14 days.

Remember once the leaves have disease damage, spraying will not make them go green again.  You are spraying to kill the spores and prevent further damage.
If you must spray - Please cover yourself up and use a spray mask when spraying.  Keep yourself safe.

What you need to know about feeding roses

All roses appreciate being fed, particularly repeat-flowering roses.  If you wish to get the most out of your roses we always recommend feeding.

WHEN TO FEED

For the best results, we recommend three annual feeds:

• Mid-September once the new purple leaves have started to shoot.
• Late November/Mid-December after the first bloom cycle has finished, promoting stronger repeat flowering.
• Mid-February, to keep them going for a third flush before winter.

For the best results, we recommend using any specially formulated rose food.

HOW TO FEED

Simply sprinkle rose food around the base of each rose following the instructions on the packet.  
Pro tip: Rose roots spread out in the same way as the branches of the rose so place the fertiliser around the ‘drip line’ and not too near the base of the plant.

Pruning Pro Tips
​

WHY PRUNE ROSES?

There is so much written about rose pruning that people are worried about doing it.  Three different people will show you three different ways to prune.  There is no right or wrong way to prune.  The important thing to understand is the purpose of pruning; it is done to reinvigorate your bush to produce good strong growth with lots of flowers. Prune to remove small unproductive shoots, dead or dying branches, crossing branches. 

WHEN TO PRUNE

It is important to know when the rose plant flowers otherwise you may lose your display of blooms.

Once flowering roses are pruned in summer, after they have flowered.  These are usually rambler and some heritage types.  Trim to shape, flowers will be produced next summer on the new wood made during this summer.

Repeat flowering roses are pruned in winter Mid-July to mid-August.  These flower all summer long until frosts.

TOOLS
Ensure your pruning tools - secateurs, loppers and pruning saws are sharp, it is very exhausting trying to cut with blunt tools.

PRUNING WEATHER
Prune on a day that will get your washing dry.  Pruning on damp, foggy days encourages fungous and blight to infect your precious rose bushes.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I TAKE OFF?
Cut out about two-thirds of last season’s growth.  The more branches you leave the more flowers you will have but they will be smaller.  Fewer branches means larger flowers but less of them (which is what the rose exhibitors are wanting) but for garden display you may prefer a lighter prune.

STEM SIZE RULE OF THUMB
If you are cutting back a garden rose, not a miniature, we recommend you cut out any growth smaller than a pencil and cut back your shoots to where the stem is at least as thick as a pencil.
Miniature roses are treated the same way but to a smaller scale.

WHERE TO CUT
Cut to a growth bud as you do when deheading.  This is where a leaf was once growing from the stem, you can see the little growth bud which will shoot away in spring and flower.  Cut just above the growth bud, if you leave too much of a stub this could cause dieback of the cane.

BASAL GROWTH
The purple/red growths coming from the base are new and very precious, do not cut these back too hard.  Cut out the middle leaving a couple of side shoots on the top which should be shortened back to a couple of growth eyes. 
There may be some basal growths that have turned green, they can be cut a bit harder.  
Any old, dying, yellow growths from the base can be cut right out at the base to make room for new basal shoots.

Note – Any growth from the base that is quite different from that of your rose could be a rogue rootstock shoot.  This must be traced back down under soil level to where it is shooting from and cut right out hard or it will keep reshooting and eventually take over from the hybrid rose grafted onto it.  These growths are usually fast growing, thornless, have pale green leaves with many leaflets (rather than the usual five), will have little white flowers once in spring.  Do not confuse these with a basal growth described above.

LANDSCAPE SHRUBS
Landscape roses can be pruned with electric hedge trimmers, a nice quick job.

What you need to know about watering roses

The right amount of watering will promote a healthy plant that will flower over a long period and make available the fertiliser you have given it.

WHEN TO WATER

Watch out for particularly prolonged dry spells of two weeks or more, particularly if the weather is hot.

• Newly planted roses – water every two or three days.
• Established roses – water once a week.

Summer Watering (December – March)

• Established roses – water once a week. As your rose starts blooming, take note if your flowers are wilting. This will happen in extreme heat but is a reliable sign that your roses need more water.
• Newly planted roses – water every other day.

WHAT YOU NEED

If you have to hand water, a hose with a rose attachment is excellent.  If you haven’t got a special fitting, make sure the pressure is not too high on your hose. We recommend a softer spray rather than a fierce deluge from a jet spray or pressure hose.

If you do not have to hand water, the use of a ‘leaky hose’ which drips water at a slow rate over a long period straight to the roots is excellent, especially when used at night.
​
HOW TO WATER
Hand watering

• It is best to water close to base of the rose. If the water is starting to flow away from the base, stop for a moment to allow the water to soak in, then continue.  As with feeding - Remember the Dripline and water within the area where the roots will be growing.
• Water deeply so the water is thoroughly wet around the roots.  A little on the surface is of no use and will soon evaporate.  It encourages roots looking for water to grow at the surface where they will burn.
• Don’t water over the flowers or foliage. Watering foliage can encourage disease problems, particularly if it remains on the leaves overnight.

ROSES OR SITUATIONS THAT REQUIRE EXTRA WATERING ATTENTION:

• Newly planted roses.
• Roses planted against walls due to the dry nature of the soil in that location.
• Roses planted in sandy soil 
• Roses planted in a pot or container
• Roses interplanted with annuals or perennials that may compete for the water and not let the water through to the roots of the roses.

Enjoy your Roses.

 They are just plants – beautiful plants – but still, just plants.​