A busy time for roses
This is the prime time for pruning and planting, says Ruth
YOUR roses may look as barren as the majority of the garden, but these dormant weeks are your cue to prepare them for spring growth and summer flowering.
There are two main jobs to do now: pruning and planting. You may have trimmed your roses in autumn, but late winter is the time to cut them right back. Remove old, damaged and weak stems and get rid of diseased stems, cutting them back to healthy wood.
Cutting them back hard now also helps prevent excessive strain on the plants’ roots when winter storms blow through. Also, remove any faded late blooms or balled flowers that will spread fungal disease if left. Leave any hips, though, for extra winter colour.
We have a very old, inherited red floribunda that has been allowed to get out of shape, so this week I cut its thick and gnarly stems right back to encourage new, shapelier growth.
I also pruned our shrub roses and an exuberant rambler that was crowding out a winter jasmine.
Adding a generous layer of mulch over the roots after pruning gives the plant an insulating boost, but don’t add feed as this may encourage new growth that will be damaged or killed off by a cold snap or late winter snowfall.
Mulching also helps trap fungal spores lurking around the plant. As these are commonly transmitted by water splash, if they are buried under a thick layer of mulch they pose less of a risk.
Late winter is premium rose-planting time. Container-grown plants are available all year round, but bare-root and containerised plants (bare rooted but potted up
in soil for protection – see panel on right) are only available between November and March.
Although you can plant container roses all year, winter is the best time because there is a constant supply of rain water and the roots can settle and get established before the plant returns to growth in spring.
Although winters are predominantly wet, there may be dry spells during which you should make sure any newly planted roses are kept well watered.