No need to wait for autumn for roses
This is the ideal opportunity for would-be rose growers
Certain times in our gardening year are eagerly anticipated, and those that bring most joy unsurprisingly fall in the summer months. It’s not just the ripening of edible crops or performance of key ornamental plants, rather the combination of warmth, extended day length and feeling of wellbeing that accompanies them. That’s the real deal!
This is the ideal opportunity for would-be rose growers to get out and about, meet the flowers you’ve seen in catalogues and gauge if they live up to their billing in terms of fragrance, form and vigour.
Better still is the fact that you don’t have to wait until autumn to buy and plant the rose of your dreams in a bare-rooted state. The horticultural industry is geared up to such demands with pot-grown specimens on the current market. Reference the two containerised ‘Chandos Beauty’ cultivars purchased last week.
Roses are notorious for failing to form a root-ball, but that’s acceptable in autumn when they are leafless, in dormancy, and are safely planted bare-rooted. However, summer planting from a container when they are in full growth with flower buds, demands a little caution.
So, rather than remove the plant from the large pot, dig a hole big enough to accept both then backfill, ensuring the pot is hidden just below the surface.
Water thoroughly and apply mulch to retain moisture. Enjoy the summer display but regard the planting as a temporary measure.
In autumn lift the rose, carefully remove the pot and replant permanently.
Don’t let the centuries-old advice, ‘Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, old time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today, tomorrow will be dying’ put you off buying.
Given our assistance in deadheading, these plants can be coaxed to produce several encores.
When a bloom fades, remove it with secateurs at a point just above the first plump bud down that stem.
Roses such as the rugosa and moyesii are different in that their fading blooms are left and transform into the most stunning display of hips.