Roses provide bursts of colour and fragrance in your garden throughout the season. Climbing roses are perfect for trellises, walls, arbours and more, while Floribunda roses brighten your borders. You can even use hedging roses to create stunning privacy screens. Whether you buy bare-root roses or pot-grown varieties, head to our roses advice hub for planting and pruning tips.
There’s a rose for every garden from dainty patio roses that are perfect for pots to rampant ramblers that will quickly cover a fence. Some, such rugosa roses, are ideal as hedges while others will produce beautiful hips to give winter interest.
Get the best out of your roses by regular pruning and feeding with rose fertiliser.
If you are planting into a border, prepare the ground with well-rotted manure or good quality multi-purpose compost. For container growing, use a loam-based John Innes No 3 mixed with multi-purpose compost or well-rotted manure.
How quickly a climbing rose grows depends on the variety and the conditions it is grown in. Typically a climbing rose will reach maturity in a couple of years or so. A vigorous variety like ‘Rosa banksiae var. Banksiae.’ can reach 7m (22ft). Short climbers such as ‘Golden Showers’ will grow to around 3m (10ft).
There are different types of rose scent, including old rose, myrrh and musk. Their scent is strongest when the flower is in full bloom. Among the best are ‘Scented Double White’, ‘Scentifall Yellow’ and ‘Scented Double Gold’.
Choose your rose colour carefully, especially when buying as a gift. Each rose colour conveys a different meaning, here are some of the most popular:
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