Delicate and timeless, the enchanting rose burgeons into an unmissable spot of beauty in any garden. Whether your garden boasts a classic cottage ambiance or mirrors an urban patio artistry, roses fit perfectly into any style. Although these stunning flowers require a bit of attention to flourish, we’re here to help you master the art of rose care.
Choosing the Perfect Rose
Whether it be shrubs, climbers, rambling roses, or miniature varieties suitable for patio containers, roses come in a plethora of types. Furthermore, each type offers a wide array of colors, ranging from classic crimson to softer tones such as peach, cream, and white, as well as vibrant yellow and orange shades.
A traditional shrub variety such as the ‘Madame Hardy’ provides a striking contrast between its pristine white flowers and deep, matte green foliage, adding an air of elegance to your garden. Planted as hedging or screening, it can provide a spot of privacy or section off a quaint nook for a heightened cottage feel.
Classic climbing roses, like the ‘Madame Grégoire Staechelin’, are renowned for their fragrant flowers that add another layer of beauty to your garden with their vertical growth. They are ideal for embellishing walls, pergolas, arches, and obelisks. However, they are thirsty seeds, requiring mulch derived from well-rotted manure such as Levington’s Essentials Blended Manure and plenty of watering during summer for healthy growth.
Choosing the Right Spot
Roses generally thrive in areas that receive full sunlight or at least a solid 4 hours of sunlight daily. However, it’s advisable to plant them in sheltered positions that are protected from harsh winds. Keeping a clearance of around 60cm between roses and other plants can help avoid nutrient and water competition.
The best time to plant your roses depends on their type. Containerised or container-grown roses like [Queen Mother] ‘Korquemu’ can be planted anytime, but it’s ideal just after purchase. Special formulas such as Miracle-Gro Peat Free Premium Rose, Tree & Shrub Compost can feed the plant for up to 3 months. Its Fibre Smart Technology ensures the perfect balance of air and water, aiding in healthy and robust root growth.
Bareroot roses are best planted once they’ve been purchased, generally in late autumn or early spring. However, avoid planting them in extreme frozen, waterlogged, or drought conditions.
Feeding Your Plants
Roses have specific need to thrive–investing in their nutritional needs will pay off in an abundance of breathtaking blooms. Miraclegro Rose & Shrub Concentrated Liquid Plant Food, when duly diluted and applied at the plant base, encourages twice as many blooms in just seven days. The added iron in the formulation aids in healthier leaf development, ensuring a splendid show of foliage.
A mix of fast-action and slower releasing, continuous feeds can go a long way in promoting optimal growth, keeping your rose garden radiant year-round. Miraclegro Rose & Shrub Continuous Release Plant Food offers added magnesium, leading to healthier growth.
Maintaining Your Rose Garden
Ideal watering time is early in the morning to allow for adequate draining and drying. It also prevents the sun’s heat from causing evaporation or harming the flowers. Roses are primarily deep-rooted; thus, they need a good soaking while establishing. Once established, they require only occasional watering.
Keeping your roses blossoming requires regular deadheading of spent blooms before they can set seed. Pruning to maintain tidiness can be done in autumn, early winter, or spring, ideally when frost-free conditions prevail. RoseClear 3 in 1 Action is an easy-to-use solution for diseases affecting your blooms, simply spray it onto the leaves for plant protection.
Thus, no matter the style or setting of your garden, there is always a rose ready to climb, ramble, or cover it, adding a dash of elegance.
