YOUR FUTURE IS ROSY
Plant bare-root roses now for a glorious show next summer
WINTER is here, so let’s dream of summer roses. If you already grow them, it’s time to start pruning. If you don’t, this is the moment to buy them.
You can plant any time between now and March. The trend is to buy containerised roses from garden centres, often in spring. But if you order bare-root roses from a nursery now and plant them on arrival, they’ll mature more quickly and could make better specimens.
Good rose nurseries give advice and suggest varieties for specific situations. At least two, Peter Beales ( classicroses. co.uk) and David Austin ( david
austinroses.co.uk) have selecting tools on their sites.
On Beales’ homepage I clicked the Shop Roses button to bring up bare and appeared. option yellow, rooted, I boxes. 16 chose climber, pictured creamy After fragrant varieties ticking yellow Leverkusen.
For non-internet users, rose nurseries produce mail order catalogues. It’s easy to be wowed by their gorgeous pictures and buy more than you need. So before finalising your order, decide exactly where you’ll plant each purchase.
The moment your roses arrive, unpack them. If the planting site isn’t prepared, heel them into moist soil — don’t allow precious roots to dry out.
HAPPY AND HEALTHY
ROSES prefer medium to heavy soils in full light. If yours is sandy or drought-prone, use compost to improve moisture retention. Disease can be troublesome and fungicides are only partially effective. So choose varieties with known resistance.
Roses are naturally freeflowering. But they perform best when correctly pruned and, with climbers, carefully trained. You can find advice on rose pruning at rhs.org.uk or, better still, invest in a pruning manual. Traditionally, roses were planted in beds or special rose gardens. But disease is far more likely in such crowded conditions and difficult to control. With less intensive grouping and well- chosen varieties, you can enjoy superb roses. Singly, the right rose can make an eye- catching focal point giving summer-long colour and fragrance. David Austin shrub varieties are particularly good. Crimson Darcey Bussell or plummy pink Princess Anne make charming centre-pieces among lower-growing herbaceous plants.
THE PERFECT PETALS
ROSES are amazingly diverse. The smallest will grow in a windowsill pot. The largest rambler, Rosa filipes Kiftsgate, can smother a double garage in a few years. So choose cautiously.
In a tiny garden with walls or fences, climbers may be the best option. Varieties such as pink Aloha or red Highgrove are perfect for walls or pillars.
Patio roses are best for container gardens. Colours include orange Wildfire, pink Queen Mother and White Patio. The fiery-petalled dwarf climber Warm Welcome makes a charming mini-pillar rose.
For larger gardens, the choice is mind-blowing. Super shrub roses for minimal care include creamy Nevada, pink Marguerite Hilling and Honorine de Brabant — an antique bicolour available from Beales. For winter glory, ferny-leaved
Rosa moyesii is hung with big scarlet hops. Be warned, though — it can grow three metres high.
NOW that the grass- cutting season is over, it’s time to give your mower a health check.
Petrol-powered models might be helped by a full service with an oil change, spark plug replacement and a general clean-up.
If you prefer to do that yourself, have the users’ manual to hand.
To reduce corrosion, remove clogged grass from around the blades and beneath the mower. It might be safest to remove the spark plug lead before touching the blades, but check your manual if you have one.
To avoid carburettor damage and ensure an easy start next season, don’t leave stale petrol in the tank. I’ve been advised to run my machine dry before a long resting period.
Electric mowers are easier to maintain but will still benefit from a clean-up.
If you decide to send your mower away for a specialist service, it’s better to do that now and avoid the inevitable rush in February before the first spring cut.
If a mower is getting old, or is not cutting particularly cleanly and evenly, it may be possible to have the blades professionally sharpened.
But this is also a pretty good time to buy a new mower. There could be some tempting end- ofseason bargains to be had if you look around.