Helpful information
Timing: All year round (planting, depending on type), late winter (pruning)
Where to do it: Outdoors
Garden space: Large garden, small garden, balcony
Timing: All year round (planting, depending on type), late winter (pruning)
Where to do it: Outdoors
Garden space: Large garden, small garden, balcony
Roses might be one of the best-known of all garden plants. We come across them as children in stories like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ or ‘Sleeping Beauty.’ They are part of many cultural moments, like the tradition of red roses on Valentine’s Day.
Roses have been used throughout time to represent elegance and refinement. Roses are commonly used in perfume making. Rose-fragranced perfume can be quite expensive though; it’s estimated you need around 5,000kg of rose petals to make a litre of essential oil!
In a Thrive Gardening Club survey, 35% of respondents said the rose was their favourite summer flower. It was narrowly beaten by the sweet pea!
It might be because of this history and refined nature that roses can seem like high-maintenance plants. This can make some people feel nervous about growing them. But, as with so many plants, you do not need to be a highly skilled gardener to grow and enjoy roses. We hope our advice below helps make rose growing seem more simple!
Most varieties of rose have thorns on the stems. If you have any visual impairment, or mobility challenges, this could make them painful plants to grow! There are a small number of thornless or nearly thornless varieties. You could look for these as an alternative.
There are different types of rose available. These grow in very different ways, from small bush-shapes to ones that climb up walls and trellises.
Knowing the main types can help you choose the one that is right for your garden space.
Climbing rose
These can grow up a wall, or be trained to grow over a trellis or pergola. Different varieties can get to different heights. Some can grow up more than 5 metres!
Climbing roses usually flower more than once during the growing season.
Rambling rose
Like climbing roses, rambling roses add height to a garden. They can sprawl over garden structures, including sheds, or even make their way up a tree.
Unlike climbing roses, rambling roses tend to flower just once a year. They usually have masses of clusters of smaller flowers, while climbers have bigger single flowers. They tend to grow more quickly than climbing roses.
Shrub rose
Shrub roses are ideal for beds and borders. They can create a bushy shrub shape. Depending on the variety, this could be anything from around 50cm high and wide to 1.5 metres high and wide.
Many shrub roses will flower more than once during the growing season.
Standard rose
A standard rose does not mean it’s ordinary or average! This type looks more like a small rose ‘tree’. They have tall stems, with a mass of flowers and foliage on top.
They make a beautiful addition to beds and borders. They are also excellent grown in pots and containers. You could use a pair to frame a doorway.
There are two main ways you can buy and plant roses:
It is possible to grow roses from seed, but it can be quite time-consuming and challenging.
Bare-root roses
As the name suggests, you buy these with the roots ‘bare’ – meaning, no soil around them. Buying bare-root is generally cheaper.
Bare-root roses are only available in the UK between around November to March. You are also more likely to need to buy them online for home delivery.
Container grown roses
You buy these already in a container. At home, you can then plant the rose out into beds and borders, or into another container.
Container roses are available to buy pretty much all year round. You will find them in garden centres as well as online.
You could spend a lot of time reading about rose pruning. Below, we share our guidance. But, here is something to give you confidence. A study at the Royal National looked into rose pruning techniques. One rose was pruned using precise horticultural guidelines. Another was pruned using a hedge trimmer. Both plants produced a similar number of flowers.
When and how to prune
Prune in late winter, just as your rose starts regrowing.
When deciding what to prune, look for any dead, damaged or diseased stems. Other than that, it’s a question of pruning back to the size you would like.
Use sharp secateurs when pruning. Cut at an angle just above a node (a bump on the stem that leaf or bud growth comes from).
Put pruned material in the compost or garden waste. Don’t put diseased stems in the compost, if there were any.
When and how to deadhead
You can deadhead your roses once the flowers have died back. Deadheading is as simple as lightly snipping the flower head off.
Many varieties of rose will flower a second time in a growing year. This means a second set of deadheading later in the year!
Giving your rose some extra nutrients should help it grow healthily. Here are some tips:
Do you have a much-loved rose in your garden? We'd love to see it! Share your photos with us by emailing info@thrive.org.uk
Bringing beautiful scent into the garden can provide just as much pleasure as sight and sound. This article shares key things to think about when creating a scented garden.
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