PICK OF THE RHS BEST: CLIMBING ROSES
Colour, fragrance and ‘cottage-garden’ charm
IT’S a classic garden scene: roses around the door. From Victorian paintings of idyllic cottage gardens to show gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and plots in our city suburbs, British gardeners have an irresistible urge to plant a rose next to the front door. Sometimes it works beautifully, but sometimes – well… not so much. Ultimately, it all comes down to choosing the right variety and growing (and pruning) it in the right way.
Roses are ideal in other situations, too, bringing colour and fragrance to fences and walls, arches and pillars. But to grow around the door, or pretty much anywhere in today’s smaller gardens, you will definitely need a climber, rather than a rambler.
Climbing roses have large flowers – single or double – opening over a long period; they carry these on side shoots that develop on the older growth. And, very importantly, they can easily be kept to the height you need.
Rambling roses are considerably more vigorous – 33ft (10m) is nothing for a rambler – so only plant them if you really do have the space. Flowers are smaller (usually single), in much larger heads; they’re generally produced over a few weeks in June, sometimes with hips later.
Thorns are also worth considering. In the wild, roses climb by hooking their thorns over the branches of trees and large shrubs, but some garden varieties have no thorns, or relatively few. These may need a little more tying in, but always appeal in areas where people pass by regularly. AGM winners ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’, Mortimer Sackler (‘Ausorts’) and ‘New Dawn’ are relatively thorn-free, so the kids won’t be scratched if they fall and that woolly scarf or cashmere shawl is safe from snagging.
Another factor, often overlooked, is
the colour of the wall or fence on which your rose is to be grown. Roses with white or cream flowers won’t stand out well against pale brick or stone. And remember that timber fences tend to become paler in colour after weathering for a year or two, so think ahead.
When it comes to planting, at this time of year bare-root roses are your best bet (order from a specialist supplier). Dug up from the nursery and sent to you without soil on the roots, they can look rather vulnerable when you unpack them, but I’ve found that soaking the roots overnight in Maxicrop or Seasol seaweed extract helps them establish quickly.
Just be sure they don’t dry out in their first summer. And once they’ve settled in, around the door or elsewhere, your climbing roses will prove a real treat.