GARDEN ADVICE
Choosing, Cultivating and Pruning Roses
Over the centuries roses have had decorative, religious and political significance. Roses are seen in Ancient Egyptian jewelry dating from the Third Century BC. They became the potent political emblems of the rival factions in the wars of the Roses in the Fifteenth Century with the white rose of York and red rose of Lancaster. In literature the rose has been featured in such diverse works as the thirteenth century French poem "Roman de la Rose" and the nineteenth century mystery "The Moonstone" in which Wilkie Collins' Sergeant Cuff retires to Dorking to grow roses.
There have been many historical figures associated with the rose but perhaps the best known is Napoleon's Josephine who was almost obsessed by these beautiful plants. At her chateau of Malmaison she collected around 250 varieties. Even during the Napoleonic wars her gardener was able to cross the line to collect roses.
Roses are generally divided into three categories. Firstly, there are the wild roses or species roses and the hybrids of these. There is nothing more lovely in a hedgerow than a wild rose in bloom in early summer or bent low with hips in the autumn.
The second category is the old garden roses. This group includes the romantic and highly scented Damasks, Tea roses, Moss roses and Gallicas. These roses are characterised by beautiful flowers but they rarely flower for very long.
Finally, there are the modern roses which include shrub roses, climbers, ground cover roses and patio roses. So much work has been done to improve the length of the flowering period, the disease resistance and more recently the re introduction of scent that the gardener is faced with a real abundance of wonderful varieties from which to chose.
Look for a healthy plant with at least three good stems and check the label for height and spread. Here are some of my personal favourites all of which I grow in my own garden. Rambling Rector flowers abundantly with copious small white blooms. It only flowers once a year but it is virtually evergreen and good for covering an unsightly fence. Another climbing favourite of mine is Mme Alfred Carrière which has a delightful scent. New Dawn and Compassion also make excellent climbers. Gertrude Jekyll has deep pink flowers which are highly scented. It is a large bush rose (4-5 ft) with all the beauty of an old fashioned rose but a good long flowering season. She is also pretty disease resistant. The Fairy is a lower growing shrub with a profusion of paler pink flowers that go on well into the autumn. I have found the Fairy is a really good disease resistant rose with a long flowering period. It is a good shaped shrub rose with arching stems. Margaret Merril has white flowers and a good scent. There are some lovely dainty Patio Roses such as the peach coloured Sweet Dream, Baby Gold and many more.
It is true that roses are prone to some problems such as greenfly and blackspot. Ladybirds do an excellent job at polishing off greenfly but sometimes nature needs a helping had. The best way to word off problems is to keep the plants healthy and, in the case of established roses, this means feeding, watering when necessary, and deadheading.
Roses enjoy a good feed to encourage flowering. There are a number of feeds on the market developed specifically for roses. Feed when the buds first form and again before the second flush.
If ladybird action is not enough, Rose Clear 3 or Multirose will control blackfly, greenfly, blackspot, mildew and rust. It comes as a ready to use spray or in liquid form which needs to be diluted in water.
Snipping off the deadheads on roses and many other plants encourages repeat flowering on modern roses and may encourage a second flush of flowers in July and August on older varieties, especially if they are fed.
The middle of March is a good time to prune roses. The danger of pruning too early is that the rose might be encouraged into growth too soon and suffer frost damage as a result. Leave it too late and the plant is in active growth. Pruning then can sap the plant of energy and cause it to weaken.
A word of caution! Avoid pruning the ramblers in spring at all costs or you will destroy the flowering potential for the coming year. They just need a quick tidy up after flowering to remove dead wood and prevent overcrowding.
Most garden roses these days come from the groups known as 'Hybrid Tea' which are large flowered with one flower to each stem or 'Floribundas' which flower in clusters. These groups will certainly benefit from an encounter with the secateurs.
The purpose of pruning is to get rid of any dead or unsightly old wood and encourage healthy new shoots to grow. Essential pruning equipment includes a decent pair of sharp secateurs (or a pruning knife for the particularly dexterous), a pair of gardening gloves to protect from thorns and, for dealing with tougher, thicker steams, a pair of loppers, long handled pruners or pruning saw. The aim is to make a sloping cut just above outward facing buds.
I am not a great one for the hedge trimmer school of pruning whereby the bush is cut down by about half regardless of the niceties of outward facing buds and the like. This is not because I doubt the efficacy of the method but because my roses are friends, handpicked and some of my most treasured plants. Pruning roses is an activity to be savoured and to my mind carried out with reverence and after due consideration to each cut. Perhaps if I had more roses in my garden and the task was therefore more onerous I might feel differently.
Roses can also be given a prune in autumn if required to minimise wind rock over the winter.
