What your Rose Bushes Favour?

Roses also favour slightly heavy soils — those with a fairly high proportion of clay — because such soils provide good anchorage, plant foods and moisture. They do not do as well on sandy soils, unless the planting holes are very well prepared and the plants are continually well fed and mulched.

Few gardeners are blessed with the perfect soil, but some are luckier than others and can content themselves with making some minor soil modifications.

The best place for roses is an open, airy situation which is either in full sun or receives at least six hours of sunlight a day — morning sun is preferable to afternoon sun. In very hot areas, however, the flowers will benefit if they only get sun in the morning. Plant them well away from large trees, shrubs and hedges as roses don’t like root competition, and don’t plant them in an enclosed area — surrounded by high walls, for example — as this will reduce air circulation.

Site and soil

Will roses grow in any kind of soil and situation, or do they have certain preferences?

Roses will grow in most soils but they grow best in rich, firm soils which contain plenty of organic matter. They favour a slightly acid to neutral soil (pH 6,5-7) and are not happy on the more strongly acid, soft, peaty soils in which azaleas

Bare roots or containers

What is the best way of buying roses — with bare roots or in containers?

So far as plant quality is concerned, there’s not much in it. A healthy rose properly planted should get off to a good start whether it’s a container-grown or a bare-rooted specimen. The time of year, though, should have significant bearing on your choice.

Winter — June-July — is the only time for planting bare-rooted roses. Bare-rooted plants should be setout as soon as possible after buying; they can be shallowly planted for a short period — this is called heeling in — but it is much better to plant them straightaway.

Because of the limited growing season, more and more nurseries are offering container- grown roses, which can be planted at any time of the year. Provided the plant is moved from container to ground with its rootbal I intact, it should continue to grow without a check.

It is quite easy to check if a rose is actively growing in its pot or merely contained in it. Simply grip a piece of stem and move it about. If the whole plant responds by moving loosely in the soil, it has not been growing properly in the container. If the whole container moves, the rose is firmly rooted and you can be sure that it is a true container-grown specimen.

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