Best ‘old-fashioned’ varieties to try
Although newer varieties of rose tend to be healthier than old ones, there are some very old roses, often labelled as ‘oldfashioned’ roses, that also have exceptional health. If you have a large border they’ll put on a spectacular early summer show for little effort, and some will flower twice a year. ‘Charles de Mills’ only flowers once but has indestructible, reddish-purple flowers that form perfect flat rosettes that shine against the very dark green foliage. It also grows well in shade and can grow to 1.5m (5ft) tall. Another very healthy old-fashioned rose is ‘Roseraie de l’Hay’. Its summer-long, large, purple flowers won’t disappoint you when you sniff them, with a sweet, heady scent, and the growth is strong and clean, resembling a wild rose. It can grow 1.8m (6ft) tall and makes a very good hedge, as well as having beautiful red hips in autumn.