Easy guide to growing roses
A short History of the Rose.
Roses vary in colour, from the snowiest crisp white to the hottest red rose, all the many varieties of roses that are grown in our gardens are the product of more than 70 million years of change. Fossils dating back to that time have been found containing rose imprints. There are so many different varieties of roses that come in many sizes and shapes, from the huge climbers reaching to the top of houses, to the tiny miniature rose which stands at only 10cm high.
What is the best type of rose for your garden?
Garden centers have a huge selection of many types of roses, it is very important to choose an appropriate breed as some roses may blossom, while others may perish. Fortunately for us most of the garden centers use the same names to describe the different types and may even have a little guide on the packaging, so it is always worth a look! Below we have complied a small description of all the common types of rose.
Old garden roses.
These are called ‘hybrid roses’ which means they have been bred by crossing different species of wild roses. These make a good sized shrub and come can produce flowers in more than 2 flushes throughout the summer, however, most of the shrubs will only produce flowers for the first 3 to 4 weeks at the beginning of the summer. Remember normally they are well over 100 years old! These have beautiful large flowers, and are highly scented, but unfortunately are easily damaged in wind and rain. One of the most well known old garden hybrid is the China rose (Rosa chinensis). This produces a succession of flowers throughout summer with its familiar large flowers. Some hybrids can only produce a single flush such as Rosa alba. As a rule, these roses are neither tough nor easy to grow but are worth it if you love roses as the end result is well worth it!
Wild Roses
These are found growing in the wild, hence the name, and are the parent roses of all the other roses found in the wild. Small single flowers with 5 petals are common. The colours range from pink, rose, yellow or white rose. These are very hardy and grow as largish bushes or climbers. They are very resistant to disease, pests and weather damage. The wild rose flowers only appear briefly in early summer, often followed by beautiful attractive red hips in autumn. The most common varieties include Rosa arvensis - small yellow flowers, Rosa rugosa - largish rose flowers and beautiful red hips in autumn, and Rosa canina - scented pink flowers. These are the easiest rose to grow and acquire little attention.
Miniature rose
The miniature rose is ideal for plant pots, borders or window boxes as it only stands anything up to about 45cm (18inches). The flowers are smaller versions of cluster flower or the large rose flowers. The flowers are produced all through the summer, so the miniature rose is a popular choice.
Climbing rose
Some people are put off having a climbing rose as they think the up keep is difficult, however looking after a climbing rose is a lot like a shrub. This includes normal feeding, dead heading after the first flowering will encourage a second but remember the height may make dead heading more difficult so be careful! As it is a climber good support is crucial because they are very weighty when in full bloom and could fall over so an important tip is to check the support is enough each year and maybe putting some extra in before the flowers bloom. Very nice for the cozy cottage look!
Rambler rose
The rambler rose is quite similar to the climbing rose and many people get the two mixed up. The main differences are that climbing roses flower repeatedly throughout the summer whereas rambling roses only flower once a year. Rambling roses are also not vertical climbers, the are best suited for growing through trees or as ground cover. Rambling roses are popular as they grow fast and are good at covering those difficult areas! After they have finished flowering the most beautiful hips are produced.
Shrub rose
Shrub roses share many characteristics of the Old garden rose, but they have only started breeding them over the passed 100 years where as the old garden is millions. In some respects they are more popular than the old garden variety as they are more disease resistant and tend to flower for longer. The shrub rose category tends to include a wide range of roses that don’t fit into any others, they are characterized by their long steams and the continuous flowering. The flowers of the shrub roses are usually in clusters of single or double blooms and stands at about 1 – 3 meters and spread.
Hybrid Tea
The bred hybrid teas are the most popular rose and with its huge number of varieties in all colours, shapes and perfumes. The flowers are large and they create small to medium size bushes. They are an ideal choice for the armature or for someone with a small garden.
Ground cover
The main characteristic of the ground cover roses which comes in a variety of forms are the long branches that tend to spread over the ground instead of vertically. Most ground cover roses have continuous bloom and most have little or no scent. These are popular for covering larger spaces and not blocking views of the garden as some roses tend to over take if not pruned.
Floribunda
The floribundas are similar in height and spread to Hybrid Teas, the main difference is the flowers. The floribundas tend to have many smaller flowers which appear in clusters rather than a single flower to a stem. What makes the floribunda attractive is that he individual flowers open at different times during June to September which enables them to give a show of colour all the flower season.
