Our Top Ten Tips for Healthy Garden Roses
If you’re looking for the easiest list to take the best care for your roses, look no further than our top ten tips for healthy and happy garden roses below. These tips will help you before, during and after planting your rose into it’s final position. We also have more detailed guides on planting and rose aftercare which you can find listed here.
- Always ensure the roots remain moist at all times, particularly prior to planting.
- Do not attempt to re-plant your potted roses from the original pot until fully rooted (typically late spring/early summer)
- Always use a loam based potting compost for planting roses into larger containers, we strongly recommend ‘John Innes no3’ available from garden centres, never use multi purpose composts.
- Ensure the soil around newly planted roses in garden borders remains moist until the rose becomes well established, this can take 3-4 months typically.
- Plant standard roses into containers initially using a John Innes No.3 compost, keep outside & watered until fully rooted into the compost before planting into final position late spring/summer. Protect potted standards from severe winter weather (e.g day & night freezing temperatures) by moving them into a cool frost free area whilst the severe conditions persist (e.g garage, shed, cold greenhouse).
- Always stake & tie standard roses once in their final planting position
- Remove dead flowers immediately after flowering for repeat flower, pruning below by two or three leaves & where the stem is strong & thick to support later blooms.
- Check your roses regularly for stem die-back (brown or black stems) & prune back when seen to healthy green wood below and just above a healthy bud
- Always prune your roses every winter whilst the plant is fully dormant, with the exception of climbers & ramblers cut them back by at least half to two thirds down in height leaving strongest stems only & pruning just above a bud
- Feed your roses with a granular rose feed twice a year in March & mid-July for garden border roses, roses planted in containers should be given an extra third feed in early May.
