How to grow roses that thrive

Choose disease resistant varieties

Check out the disease resistance (or not!) of a rose you like on major growers’ websites. Also, the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (AGM) or the rose growers’ Gold Standard indicate good varieties. Many, such as ‘Champagne Moments’, can thrive without chemicals. Toughest of all are the roses furthest removed from the breeder’s art – wild or ‘species’ roses, such as Rosa glauca.

Don't plant where a rose has grown before

Or, if there’s no option, prevent rose replant disease by applying Rootgrow. Dig in masses of well-rotted compost or manure, plant with the base of the stems about 3in below ground level, water copiously, and keep watering in the first season.

Choose the right rose for the right place

● A well-behaved climber such as ‘The Pilgrim’ or free-flowering ‘A Shropshire Lad’ won’t overwhelm your house or arch.
● No roses really like shade, but if that’s all you have, go for shade tolerant climbers like ‘New Dawn’.
● If you live in one of the wetter parts of Britain, choose a rose that copes well with rain, such as ‘Gentle Hermione’.

Read 'Pick the right rose'

Mix and match to keep them healthy

Use roses in mixed plantings rather than dedicated rose borders, as this lessens the chance of diseases like black spot. Interplanting with flowering perennials makes a prettier garden, brings in good insects that feed on aphids and helps cover the soil to block any fungal spores. Ideal companions are hardy geraniums, campanulas, catmint, Viola cornuta, gaura and penstemons. Lavender is a no-no, though, as it prefers thin, dry soil and will sulk!

Feed, water and mulch generously

Treat your rose to a sprinkling of slow-release rose fertiliser in March, with a thick mulch of well-rotted manure to help conserve moisture at the roots. Feed again after the first flush of flower and give it a good, long drink from time to time.

Routine care for ravishing roses

Pruning
Don’t be afraid of pruning – trials show a hedge trimmer is just as effective as meticulous work with secateurs. Sometime between December and March, remove any dead, diseased or damaged wood, then trim shrubs by up to half into a balanced, rounded shape. In older plants, especially climbers, snip out a few older stems to make way for vigorous new ones.

Training
Cut out any weedy bits to get a clean framework. Then fan out the branches so they make a pleasing pattern and don’t cross. The closer each branch is to the horizontal, the more flowers it will bear.

Spraying
A preventative spray at the start of the season should be sufficient.

Dead heading
Essential if you want to keep roses in flower – but do it in the evening, glass of wine in hand, and it will be a pleasure rather than a chore.

Where to buy

✽ For English and antique roses: David Austin Roses (01902 376300)
✽ For classic old and old-style roses: Peter Beales (0845 481 0277)
✽ For a wide selection including floribundas, hybrid teas, patio and ground-cover roses: Apuldram Roses (01243 785769)