Category: Roses

Not every rose fits a small garden. Patio roses and compact shrub roses give flowers without taking over.

I look at the full size on the label, not the size of the pot.

In my garden the wind does more damage than the cold. I shorten long canes by a third so they do not rock in the wind.

A mound of compost over the base protects the graft. I take it away again in spring.

Bare-root roses are cheaper and settle in quickly when planted in autumn. I soak the roots in a bucket for an hour first.

The hole is wide enough for the roots to spread out, and the graft union sits at soil level. I firm the soil with my boot and water it in.

Cutting off spent flowers keeps repeat-flowering roses busy. I cut back to the first full leaf below the old flower.

By late summer I stop deadheading the last flowers so the plant can form hips and slow down before winter.

Black spot shows up every wet June in my garden. I pick off the spotted leaves, clear fallen ones from the ground and water at the base, not over the leaves.

Some varieties barely get it. When I replace a rose now, I pick one sold as disease resistant.

Roses are hungry plants. I feed mine when the new leaves open, with a balanced rose feed and a mulch of compost around the base.

I water the feed in well and keep the mulch a hand away from the stems. A second, lighter feed goes on after the first flush of flowers.

My climbing roses gave me leaves and almost no flowers last summer. I looked at the usual suspects: too much shade, too much nitrogen, and pruning at the wrong time.

It turned out I had cut off the old wood where the flowers form. This year I only tidied the side shoots and tied the long canes sideways along the fence.