CHOOSING A ROSE: There are many different types of roses to choose from and once you have decided on your site you need to find a rose which will perform as you want it to in the garden.

Bush roses form a bush! The classic hybrid tea rose has a large single bloom on each stem and is very good for cutting. A floribunda rose, although it has a similar bushy habit, has multiple smaller flowers on each stem. Miniature or Patio roses were bred to be very compact, only 30-60cm tall and ideal for small gardens or patios. At the other end of the scale are the climbing and rambling roses which can reach heights and spreads of up to 10m! In the mid 1980s a rose breeder named David Austin introduced a selection bred with the scent of old fashioned roses and the repeat flowering of the newer hybrids. These New English roses have become very popular as they also have disease resistance. CHOOSING A SITE & PLANTING: Roses will grow in any soil provided that you choose a site that gets sun for at least fifty per cent of the day. If you are replacing old or diseased roses remember that you need to remove as much of the old soil as possible and replace with soil that has not grown roses before (the old soil can be used elsewhere in the garden where there are no roses).

The full article starts on page 59 of our magazine.