Roses are a perfect choice for the Bethersden clay in our local gardens Over the past 10 years I have tried many different roses and enjoyed different levels of success, from bare roots to container grown; bush roses, climbing roses and rambling roses. If you follow these five key guidelines, you may expect to have a better chance of success with flowering over the summer. Coincidentally our roses have been clear of any blight since we followed these five basic techniques.

Watering

In their first few years after planting in well dug beds in substantial planting holes back filled with well rotted manure, new roses should be watered regularly, especially in summer, until their roots are well established. Using rain water, fill your watering can once per week and pour water around the plant and avoid splashing leaves and flowers. Obviously if the summer is wetter than usual then this won't be necessary. It is best to avoid frequent light watering, which discourages deeper rooting.

Feeding

Roses are hungry plants and will flower and grow better if given additional feed and mulched with well-rotted manure. To encourage abundant blooms, feed twice a year, in

• March/April before flowering
• Mid-summer after the first flush of flowers (esp. for repeat-flowering types)

Sprinkle general-purpose or rose fertiliser on the well weeded soil around the plant, then mulch the soil with well-rotted manure or garden compost, leaving a small gap around the base of the stems.

Weeding 

Try to keep the soil around your rose clear. Roses produce some roots near the soil surface, so avoid damaging these by hand-weeding. We keep our beds well mulched with mature well rotted manure.

Deadheading

To encourage more blooms, snip off fading flowers once a week or so to avoid rose hips developing, which will handicap subsequent flower bud development.

If you do wish to encourage hips for the birds over winter, then stop deadheading in September to allow time for the hips to develop before the cold autumnal weather.

Pruning

Pruning is dependent on your selected rose and best researched prior to deep winter pruning. Ensure that your prunings are removed from the rose area to minimise cross infections of black spot and fungal infections.

Enjoy your roses, after all the clay around Bethersden is an ideal medium for roses.

Sarah Dacre

Bethersden Gardeners’ Society