Plant of the Week - Roses

Most people agree that a garden wouldn’t be a garden without a rose bush or two!

And, when you think about it, they needn’t be bushes, for there are climbers, ramblers, ground-hugging roses and miniatures that can stay in pots all year round.

It is true that in the past roses have been considered ‘high-maintenance’ plants. They had a reputation for always getting diseases, or it seemed as though you needed to feed them every five minutes, or their pruning was so difficult that if you did the wrong thing at the wrong time you’d have no flowers for years. And then there are the thorns!

But, actually, these issues have all been addressed by rose breeders and experts – and common sense! There are many varieties now that have been bred for resistance against some of the common pests and diseases. There are some excellent fertilisers that are formulated just for roses, and all you need to do is apply these three or four times a year.

We grow roses for their summer flowers, so the temptation now is to sit back and just enjoy them. But they will perform even better for you if you keep up a regime of summer maintenance.

How to keep garden roses in tip-top condition

• Make sure you use a rose feed at least 3 times a year - we can recommend the best ones for you,
• Dead head all blooms as they go over,
• Water - when established they look after themselves for much of the year, but in really hot spells, they value a good drink!
• Make sure you keep an eye on pests and diseases which they can sometime be prone to.