The Rose Revolution


Written by Admin
Saturday, 16 February 2008

All roses that you find in the garden centre are, like fruit trees, made up of two parts – the flowering upper section and the rootstock. These are then grafted together at the base of the stem. The flowering variety dictates the growing habit and the colour of the flowers, while the rootstock is the engine of the plant, putting down thick roots to take up water and nutrients.

The Mattock family realized that conventional rootstocks were the barrier to growing roses successfully in pots, because the long, thick taproots simply have nowhere to go. In order to thrive in a pot, roses need a compact network of coarse, fibrous roots that will take up enough food and water to sustain vigorous top growth.

Preparing your rose for a container

1. Most roses you buy in autumn or winter come as bare root plants without any soil. But you can also try this method on roses sold in pots. Just tip them out and remove most of the soil so you can see the roots more clearly.

2. Remove the main taproot, taking it back as close to the plant as you can, then cut off the ends of the other roots. Make sure your secateur blades are clean and sharp – it’s important to make a clean cut as this will heal quicker, minimizing the risk of soil – borne diseases.

3. Pot your rose into a large container (at least 10 litres) using a suitable compost. Firm it down as you go, taking the compost slightly over the graft union. All weak growth should be removed, leaving only strong, healthy shoots to develop. Fewer stems will compensate for loss of roots below the surface.

4. Water well from above. The compost level should settle back to below the graft union. If not, remove a bit of compost. Continue watering regularly until you see signs of rapid growth in spring, and carry on throughout the growing season.

5. Within three to six months your rose will have put on strong, vigorous growth above the ground.

6. If you tip your roses out of its pots, you’ll see the transformation the root system has undergone in only a few months. Having reduced the rootball and provided your rose with a heavier, coarser compost, it now has a dense, fibrous root system.

After care

There should be enough nutrients in your compost to last for one reason. After this, give your rose slow – release fertilizer in late March and again in July. For long-lasting success you’ll need to repot your plant every couple of years. Knock it out of its old compost, prune the roots as shown opposite, and repot with fresh compost, moving it to a large pot if necessary.

10 shrub roses you can try

Here’s the choice of good shrub roses to grow in containers.

‘Bonica’ Pale-pink flowers with a light, sweet scent

‘Buff Beauty’ Lovely 1930s rose with apricot flowers

‘Gertrude Jekyll’ Classic English shrub rose with strongly scented dark-pink flowers

‘Graham Thomas’ Golden-yellow flowers with a strong, rich fragrance

‘Madame Knorr’ Archetypal voluptuous old-fashioned pink variety

‘Prince Charles’ Statuesque, dreamy old-fashioned rose with rich deep-purple petals

‘Roseraie de l’Hay’ A semi-evergreen ‘rugosa’ hybrid with crimson flowers

Rosa nitida Bright- pink flowers are followed by autumn foliage and vermilion hips

R. gallica ‘Versicolor’ A distinctive old variety with candy-striped petals

R. xanthina ‘Canary Bird’ Canary-yellow flowers have a light, fruity scent and are followed by black hips

10 climbers to try

Below are just some of the climbing and rambling roses that can be grown in containers:

R. banksiae ‘Lutea’ Semi-evergreen early flowerer in pretty straw yellow

‘Crimson Cascade’ This vigorous grower has beautiful deep-red flowers

‘Dreaming Spires’ Golden-yellow blooms with a strong sweet scent

‘Climbing Lady Hillingdon’ Almost continuous flowering with scented dark-amber blooms

‘Lawinia’ Loads of sweetly fragranced, bright-pink flowers that keep on going

‘Madame Gregoire Staechelin’ Summer flowering with huge orange hips in autumn

‘New Dawn’ A popular variety with elegant pale-pink flowers

‘Penny Lane’ Lovely repeat-flowering rambler in apricot buff

‘White Cloud’ Produces a profusion of pure-white flowers

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 20 February 2008 )