2 December 2009
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Rose

Roses are one of the great summer sights, and they aren't limited to old-fashioned formal beds - train them over arches and up pergolas. Even if your garden is the size of a bathtub, there's bound to be a rose to suit.

Recommended varieties

The best way to choose a rose is to get a colour-illustrated catalogue from a specialist nursery to see the full range of heights and colours. Then visit a rose garden and look for good combinations with other plants.

Roses with the best scents include:

'Maiden's Blush': old rose with blush-pink flowers appearing once in early summer on a medium-sized shrub (1.5m). Has been given the Royal Horticultual Society's Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
'Gertrude Jekyll': repeat-flowering English rose with rich, dark pink flowers, paler at the edges. Grows to a height of 1.2m. Awarded the AGM.
'Crimson Glory': modest climber with beautifully shaped, rich red flowers in early summer, with later sporadic flowers. Height 4.5m

Long-flowering roses:

'Aloha': short climber with a long summer-autumn show of richly scented pink flowers. Grows to a height of 2.4m. Awarded the AGM.
'Diamond Jubilee': vigorous hybrid tea with a profuse show of yellow flowers, paler at the edges. Height 1.2m.
'Zephirine Drouhin': has been known to keep going until Christmas. Thornless, with cherry pink, strongly scented flowers. Can be grown as a bush or modest climber, although blackspot can be a problem. Height 3m.

Best climbers and ramblers:

'Etoile de Holland': climbing hybrid tea with beautiful rich red flowers and a delicious scent in mid- and late summer. Height 5.5m.
'Francis E. Lester': ever-reliable rambler with masses of scented, pinkish-white summer flowers. Height 4.5m.
'Golden Showers': prolific climber, also good on a north wall, with summer to autumn flowers. Height 3m. Awarded the AGM.
'Goldfinch': yellow rambler with a strong summer scent and vigorous growth. Height 3m.

Roses for hedging:

R. filipes 'Kiftsgate': the ultimate rambler, with a height of 10.6m and a spread up to 15m, producing a great tangle of growth and creamy white, late-summer flowers. Awarded the AGM.
R. sericea pteracantha: species rose grown for its large translucent triangular thorns. Height 2.4m.

Growing tips

Site and soil preferences

The first ingredient is a sunny site (although some roses will tolerate shade) with well-worked, rich soil including lots of organic matter and decent drainage. Avoid the extremes of acidity and alkalinity.

Planting and pruning

Container-grown roses can be planted at any time of year, but bare-root roses are only available when dormant.

Watch Monty Don's guide to planting bare-root roses:

Roses are best moved and planted during their dormancy. After planting, remove any dead or spindly growth, and cut back hard to within about 15cm of the ground in late winter/early spring to promote new growth from the bottom.

This also applies to climbers and, to a lesser extent, ramblers. The former's new growth should be trained out in a fan shape if possible (tied to rows of sturdy wall wires), promoting new growth and flowers from a low level. When growing up trees and pillars, spiral the new growth up and around.

Subsequent late winter/early spring pruning

Climbers and ramblers can be left alone, especially if they're growing up trees, although they can be cut back after flowering if they're getting out of control.

With bush roses, the harder you prune the more new growth and the greater the number of flowers, although they will be smaller. A light prune means less new growth, but fewer larger blooms.

With shrub and species roses, make sure the centre doesn't become congested with old, unproductive wood. Thin out as necessary.

Problem solver

Roses can be affected by a number of problems:

Blackspot - either spray with a proprietary chemical in spring before the symptoms appear (black spots, yellowing leaves and leaf fall) or, better still, grow only those roses with good disease-resistance and make sure they're well cared for with feeding, mulching and watering, making them strong and healthy.
Powdery mildew - often a sign of dryness around the roots, so keep plants mulched and well watered. Can be treated with proprietary chemical sprays.
Wind rock - plant roses with the bud union 8cm below the soil to promote extra roots, giving greater stability and minimising suckers.