Roses

Roses are the worlds most popular flower. The rose has exquisite blooms that can be as richly textured as velvet or as delicate as eggshell china, a wonderful range of colours from the brightest to the most gentle and unsurpassed fragrances.

Choosing Your Flower

You can pick from bare root and container grown plants. Bare root plants are cheaper and are supplied in autumn, normally in protective wrap which keeps the roots moist and should be left on until planting time. Try to choose healthy stems with a well developed root system.

Container grown plants are available all year and are the best for beginner gardeners.

Planting

The rose fairs best in an open sunny situation on any reasonable fertile well drained soil. It's important to plant them in a spot not recently used for rose growing. The soil becomes rose sick and new plants never really grow well.

You should pamper your roses at planting time. Water your container plant well or soak your bare root plant in a bucket for an hour, then dig over the site and mix in plenty of well rotted compost. Dig out a good size planting hole that will comfortably accommodate the root ball. Mix the soil you have dug out with more compost and some plant food and fill in around the roots firming down as you go. Water well.