Heritage Roses

Heritage Roses 

Selecting Rose Types

Roses can be purchased either as bare-root or container plants; for both types preparation should include digging a hole at least twice the width of the root system and incorporating a slow-release fertiliser such as bonemeal.  

Bare Root Roses

This is the traditional way of planting roses and is carried out during the winter months. They are grown in fields for 18 months and are available to buy in this way from November to the end of February. The plants are packed with their bare roots wrapped in damp materials to conserve moisture and should be planted out as soon as possible. Bare root roses have a larger root system to begin with and so they are easier to establish requiring less watering than a Spring or Summer planted potted rose. Of course planting out in the winter months can be off-putting and then there is the pruning of the twigs and of course no rose flower to show what it is going to look like when in bloom!

Potted Roses

This method of selling plants has become the most popular way of buying roses and although a little more expensive you are buying a flowering and growing plant which allows you to create an instant rose garden!  Potted roses are not grown in pots from scratch- they are bare root roses potted up! This means that in the winter a potted rose will have been freshly dug and potted and therefore will not be established in their pots until warmer weather allows substantial root growth to grow into the compost. Potted roses look better value for money as they have a pot around them and when in growth obviously look bigger than twigs! You can actually see the characteristics of the flowers, smell them and see their growth habit. They are able to grow happily in the pots provided for several months so there is no urgency to plant them.

Roses as Gifts

Potted roses give a huge amount of pleasure when sent or given as a gift for special occasions and there is no shortage of names for many, many occasions such as Birthday Boy, Birthday Girl, Happy Retirement or Special Anniversary. Or to convey sentiments such as Simply the Best, Warm Wishes or Champagne Moment!   

Climber and Ramblers

Climbers and ramblers have various uses. As a rough guide, ramblers are good to grow on large arches, pergolas, into hedges or trees and tend to be more tolerant of shade than climbers. They have supple growth which is easier to wind in and around structures or trees. Climbers have thicker, slightly slower growth and are often grown against a fence or wall, where the growth can be spread out and tied in. Flowering is continuous on most climbers and some modern ramblers. Old-fashioned ramblers produce a magnificent one-off display midsummer. Climbers and ramblers that repeat flower need at least 40% off the day in sun during the growing season.

Patio climbers are superb where a smaller growing climber is needed, especially as they don't take up so much width and flower from the base to the top without a lot of special training.

Bush Roses

Bush roses include Hybrid Teas, Floribundas and also modern shrub roses. Nowadays, the Hybrid Teas and Floribundas are quite similar in that they both produce good quality blooms in clusters on each stem, giving us the qualities of HTs in the size of the flower and FLs in the quantity. Modern shrub roses share a lot of characteristics oft he Floribundas and Hybrid Teas, particularly in their growth.

Ground Cover Roses

Ground cover roses are excellent for providing low maintenance colour, needing only an annual trim.  Not necessarily ground hugging, they are just wider than they are tall generally.  They look good planted en masse, as well as in pots and also in mixed borders where a more informal look is required.  Before planting, it is important to clear the ground of perennial weeds.