Rose bushes in Jersey

The wonderful thing about roses is their breadth of colour, their fragrance, long flowering period and sheer exuberance that slots perfectly into almost any garden. Where there is a rose there is always some joy and love, an Ode to the Rose bushes in Jersey.

Aside from times of extreme weather, roses can be planted at any time during the year. The extreme weather conditions that we advise against planting in are when the ground is frozen, water-logged or during a drought. Roses are extremely versatile and hardy plants that can be planted in a variety of positions and locations in the garden. To ensure the plant thrives you need to consider the following.

1. Plant in plenty of sunlight – they thrive on direct sunlight. For best results, a minimum of four hours of direct sunlight is recommended. However a few do take a more northerly position with some ease.
2. Don’t plant too close to other plants. The closer you plant your rose to other plants, the more competition there is for moisture and sunlight. For best results, plant your rose 1 metre away from other plants and 60cm from other roses. Avoid planting a rose under an overhanging  branch.
3. Avoid very exposed, windy sites. Strong winds can cause the base of the rose to loosen in the soil. This will result in your rose rocking in the wind which will lead to it growing at an angle, which in extreme cases will kill it.

Once planted make sure your roses receive regular water especially in the first 2-3 weeks after planting. Feeding should be at last twice a year, up to three times a year. You can feed using a pellet or dry food and some mulch (composted material) at the base of the plant.  Applying more mulch in the form of chipped bark later in the year keeps the weeds from encroaching.

We recommend you spray at the first sign of disease. It is best to act quickly to prevent disease spreading. Please ask a sales assistant at the garden centre to help you with this.

DEAD HEADING ROSES

There are two good reasons to dead head: To encourage repeat flowering – this stops your rose producing seeds in the hips, which are formed after flowering, so that it has more energy for repeat flowering. Shaping – it is an opportunity to shape your shrub.

When to dead head, this should be done as soon after each flowering as possible up to late September. After September it is unlikely that you will get much more growth or flowers, as your plant will be getting ready for winter. Each flowering stem can be cut back as far as three sets of leaves. The amount you cut back controls, to some extent, the shape and size of your plant.

If you are unsure, cut back to the point where the flowers stop being produced on the stem.

Some of our favourite roses are the gorgeous David Austin English series – such as The Ancient Mariner, Darcy Bussell, Jude The Obscure,  Gertrude Jekyll, Claire Austin and the recent but fabulous  The Mill on The Floss and James L Austin.

The growers Peter Beales Roses have produced  the most beautiful climbing rose called Clarence House -white with a buttery centre which equals the Austin table rose called Wollerton Old Hall.
Old Style Climbers and ramblers add a Monet style wash to walls – look for Blush Noisette, Albertine, Gloriana, and the simplicity of Keith Maughn and American Pillar – brazen in their very retro nature.

Hybrid Teas, Floribundas and other shrub roses we love include – Iceberg, Let There be Love, Queen Elizabeth, the striking Rose Guajard and the Precious series that flower for so long.

The Flower Carpet series will cover ground but also make amazing small climbers.  The many Patio roses of which the simply named ‘White Patio’ is a charming classic and many can happily be grown in pots for a few years,  so long as they have a sunny but sheltered site and are fed and watered.  However do not be tempted to grow climbing roses in pots because their size and hunger will often be too much for a pot to cope with.

Rose bushes in Jersey.