DID YOU KNOW?
Any pruning is usually better than none at all, rest assured, no two people will ever prune a rose in the same way.

DID YOU KNOW?
If you have removed other, established roses in the past twelve months from the chosen position, then to avoid "rose sickness" remove and replace soil at a rate of one barrow load per mature plant. Less soil needs to be removed if the bush is still young.

PREPARATION & PLANTING

PREPARATION
Improve the soil before planting...

PLANTING
Doing it properly pays dividends!

Bare Root (Winter dormant) plant

• keep roots damp/wet until ready to plant
• dig hole wider than roots
• create small mound in hole for roots to sit on
• plant so that the kink in the stem (graft point) is just above the soil (25mm or 1")
• backfill with soil, adding a slow release fertiliser
• water in well
• trim back half of the stem length (cutting if off sounds harsh but it stimulates strong new growth)
• next day, top up any subsided soil and water in again
• mulch generously at this time to conserver water

Container Plants (any time of year)

• dig hole larger than pot
• add slow release fertiliser to base of plant
• remove plant from pot...avoid disturbing roots, do not tease them
• place into hole and gently backfill with soil
• water in well

Standard Roses

Plant the same as bare root roses but note the following:

• use the change mark in bark colour or soil level in pot for planting depth
• stake firmly so that the top of the stake is just above bud graft
• tie with a non-abrasive, stretch material...stockings are a good choice as they will not choke the plant
• tie just below the bud graft and once around the middle

Weeping Roses

Plant the same as bare root-standards or pot but note the following:

• use a support ring in the umbrella position or T-bar
• attach canes as they grow out to the ring or T-bar...stockings are again a good choice
• prune to tidy shape, unless a rambler

KEEPING ROSES HAPPY

POSITION
Choose the position for your rose wisely and your rose will love you as much as you love your rose...

• The position should get at least half day sun - the more the better.
• Avoid being too close to trees or shrubs - roses are not naturally aggressive and will surrender water and nutrients to plants larger than themselves.
• Avoid excessively rocky/rubbishy soils - roses like a free run for their fine root systems and do not like having to cram around solid matter.
• Avoid wet soils that are badly drained - continuously saturated soils will rot the roots -wet in winter is OK as long as the soil can still dry out on sunny days and during warmer weather.

WATERING
Deep, regular and use a mulch!

• Always water sensibly to make the most of this precious resource.
• Avoid overhead watering if possible -otherwise, water early in the day so that foliage has time to dry out.
• Loams and clay soils - drippers 3- 5 hours a week ( based on 4L/hr ), depending on temperature, soil and rainfall. Young, freshly planted roses will need a little more nurturing .
• Very sandy soils -a more frequent and more even sprinkler water spray may be better (mulch well!)

FEEDING
Always water in new plants well.

• Feed in August for Spring growth and flowers
• An optional half strength Summer feed in December
• A feed in late February for Autumn flowers.

PRUNING
As simple or complex as you make it.

• Removing spent blooms when the bush is in flower provides a light, continuous prune.
• For the major yearly winter prune, take off half the height and thin out the remaining branches by half -anything less than a pencil thickness can be removed -July is ideal, June or August are also good choices.
• Shrubby, landscaping roses can be sheared -tidying third off the overall height.
• Spring only flowering varieties are pruned after they have flowered -prune usually between December and Early March.