Where there has been a serious attack of black spur disease, the stems of susceptible varieties will he marked. Where possible, removed affected stems during winter pruning before spores are allowed to spread in late spring. Dieback disease can be a problem with roses. It starts at the tip of the shoot and gradually moves down the stem and kills it. To control dieback, cut off diseased shoots at least 2 inches below the area of stem affected.

Where older branches are being removed, cut them out as close to ground level as possible. Avoid leaving a stump. This also applies to climbing and rambler roses. It” old stems that are past flowering are removed at ground level, this will encourage new basal shoots to form, which will clothe the base of the plant with foliage. This is a good way of hiding “hare legs” and encouraging flowers to form low down on the plant. Too mans stems will cause overcrowding and where crossing branches are rubbing, damage will occur unless they are thinned out.

1. Roses have alternate buds, rather than opposite pairs. This means that when you prune them, you need to make the cut above a suitable bud and sloping away from it. Always prune above a healthy bud pointing in the direction you would wish the shoot to grow. If there is no visible bud, prune 6-8 inches above ground level. When the dormant buds break, you can prune as you wish.

2. Bush roses are usually pruned in spring. However, if your garden is windy, shortening the stems by one third of their height in early winter will reduce the risk of winds rocking the plant and loosening its roots.

3. It is important that all suckers from the rootstock are removed when they are small (the thinner, pale green shoot on this pot-grown rose is actually a sucker that has grown from the rootstock; if not removed it will eventually take over the plant). The best way to deal with suckers is to pull them off by hand. (If they are cut with hand pruners, the stump that remains will regrow, producing even more suckers.) This is also necessary with standard roses, which have been grafted up the stem, and you should remove any suckers that appear on the stem below the graft.

Further Readings:

• How to Trim a Rose Bushes
• How to Give Shape to Roses

One of the oldest roses and the one with which I associate cottage gardens is the moss rose, Rosa centifolia ‘Muscosa’, named for the reddish-green moss on the flower buds. The blossoms are soft delicate pink, fully double and possess a spicy fragrance that announces ‘cottage garden’ to the world. Like all the old roses it prefers a soil that is on the heavy side, but is not fussy as to whether this is of acid or alkaline persua­sion. A sunny position is essential well away from the drip of overhanging trees which can cause the balling and browning of blos­soms. A vigorous grower, I can remember this particular rose invading the elderly hawthorn hedge in my grandmother’s cot­tage garden. In mid-summer it cheekily waved fresh wands of foliage above its sup­port, each garlanded in pink cabbagy blos­soms. Despite attempts to curb its activities, it became inextricably bound up with the hawthorn and there it remains to this day.

The gallica roses are the parents of the modern rose and had a big part to play in the development of the moss rose. Rosa gallica itself is known as the French rose, and more importantly its cultivar the old red damask, R. gallica ‘Officinalis’ as the apothecary’s rose. It was this latter that was thought during the Middle Ages to be able to pro­vide a cure for almost every known human ailment. Rosa gallica is a rather lax shrub, scarcely ever more than T5 m (5 ft) high with saucer-like pink blossoms which are followed by bold, rounded, brick-red hips. Its partner, ‘Officinalis’ is of similar habit, but with fragrant, semi-double, rosy-crim­son flowers. There is also an old cottage garden rose popularly referred to as ‘Rosa mundi’, but really R. gallica ‘Versicolor’, which occurred as a branch sport from the apothecary’s rose and has semi-double flowers that are striped with red and white.

Damask roses are derived from R. damas-cena, a short shrubby character with large clusters of red, pink or white richly fragrant flowers and vicious thorny stems. They are ancient roses of mixed parentage, believed to be old hybrids rather than true species, but so old that their origins are lost in the mists of time. There are innumerable named cultivars in modern catalogues, but for interest and cottage garden authenticity I would select the double soft pink ‘Trigin-tipetala’, an old kind that is used in the production of attar of roses.

Climbing and rambling roses find no place here, but the diversity that remains is still overwhelming. Those just mentioned would be a must in my cottage garden, but there are others that are worthy contenders and to which I must introduce you. Rela­tives of the moss rose, like its progenitor, the cabbage rose, R. centifolia; with both fragrant flowers and foliage it is an absolute delight. There is the dainty China rose, R. chinensis, the forerunner of the delightful fairy roses typified by R. chinensis ‘Minima’. We have sweet briars, R. rubiginosa, that can be utilized as a hedge and the ramanas rose, R. rugosa, which is equally at home in a difficult corner. This boisterous fellow has yielded many fine cultivars, amongst which the pale rose-pink ‘Frau Dagmar Hastrup’ reigns supreme. Not only are the blossoms lovely, but so too are the rich crimson hips. And there are dwarf burnet roses derived from R. pintpinellifolia, which make low thickets of thorny branches thronged during early summer with tiny sweetly scented blossoms.

Roses with cottage garden associations are nearly as many as the pebbles on the beach. If you are unsure about what you require, then visit one of the very many good collections that are growing in gardens open to the public and judge for yourself. Mid-summer is the time to check out the flowers, but many have useful and decora­tive fruits too and these should be looked at again during early autumn.

In cold climates roses need to be chosen with care to ensure that they survive the winter; varieties bred from Rosa rugosa and R. wichuraiana are among those most tolerant of the extreme cold found in Canada, the northeastern United States and parts of continental Europe. Although roses require plenty of summer heat to ripen, their flowers tend to bleach and burn under intense sun.

Today, there are an enormous number of cultivars available to the gardener which often makes it difficult to know which to choose. However, broadly speaking there are three main groups – shrub, bush and climbing – each adapted to a different use.

Shrub roses include both the old-fashioned varieties bred mostly in the nineteenth century (such as ‘Madame Hardy’ and ‘Cecile Brunner’) and the modern shrub roses (for example, ‘Marguerite Hilling’, ‘Friihlingsgold’ and ‘Fritz Nobis’), including the new English roses (’Graham Thomas’, ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ and ‘Mary Rose’), bred by David Austin and first marketed in the early 1980s. Shrub roses make large plants to 6ft (1.8m) high or a little more, which require little or no pruning and need space to look their best. Some give a single massive display early in the summer and nothing else for the rest of the season; others flower again later on, if less profusely; yet another group make a good display of hips in the autumn. All look good in a shrubbery or large mixed border, where the cultivars that flower only once can be part of a continuous display or a large-flowered hybrid clematis can be trained through them to extend the season of interest. In addition, some shrub roses are suitable for making hedges.

Most bush roses were created in the twentieth century. They are often planted en masse in rose gardens and require annual pruning in the late winter or early spring. They include the wonderful Hybrid Teas which are characterized by elegant but robust flowers and flower freely and continuously throughout the summer; (for example, ‘Peace’, ‘Mister Lincoln’ and ‘Just Joey’); the Floribundas, which have multiflowered stems producing an abundance of colour for the whole summer (and are sometimes referred to as bedding roses); and the Grandifloras (such as ‘Queen Elizabeth’), American hybrids with characteristics between Hybrid Teas and Floribundas. Grandifloras, as their name suggests, are taller (up to 10ft/3m) and have larger flowers than the Teas (3-5ft/l-1.5m) or Floribundas (2-4ft/60cm-1.2m).

Climbing roses combine the best qualities of other climbing plants with those of roses. In the wild they extend long vigorous stems towards the light through the branches of other plants, using their thorns to attach themselves. The most vigorous climbing roses are the ramblers (for example, ‘Felicite et Perpetue’, ‘American Pillar’ and ‘Alberic Barbier’) which send out long new shoots each summer. In the following year these shoots are covered with clusters of flowers along their entire length and should then be pruned away. Ramblers are best for clothing a large pergola, long wall or tall, sturdy tree. Less vigorous climbers (such as ‘Climbing Etoile de Hollande’, ‘Maigold’ and ‘Handel’) grow thick stems which flower over several years and sometimes reach a considerable height. They can be used for covering pergolas, trellis structures and smaller buildings. There are also some shrub roses (including ‘Madame Isaac Pereire’ and ‘Zephirine Drouhin’) that can be trained against walls, where they will grow twice as high as normal, or up a freestanding pillar or the uprights of a pergola.

There are a number of slightly tender cultivars (’La Follette’, ‘Desprez a Fleur Jaune’ and ‘Hume’s Blush’ among them) that in cool climates benefit from the protection of a sunny wall. In contrast, other cultivars flower abundantly against walls that receive little direct sunshine (’Albertine’, ‘Climbing Iceberg’ and ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’ are excellent examples).

Roses are very versatile, rewarding plants. Their popularity never fails, reflected in the ever growing number of varieties available to the gardener. Choosing the correct plant for a particular site and design can be a daunting prospect. There is a lot to be said for opting for tried and tested varieties that have proved their worth in neighbours’ gardens. However, at the risk of disappointment, you could gamble on a new plant that might be the making of your garden, adding a beautiful note or a delightful fragrance to a bed.

There are countless ways to use roses, not least being the formal rose garden which has enjoyed something of a revivial in recent years, used as much in modern designs as traditional Victorian-style settings. Ranks of healthy, well maintained roses are a delight to behold, whatever the scale of the planting. Contrast with this the freedom of a cottage garden, and the versatility of the rose becomes clear.

• Before you buy roses check with your local florist or gardening center to identify which type of rose is best suited for the climate you live in.
• Roses need to be exposed to sunlight for approximately 4 to 6 hours every day. Identify an area that is well light in the morning and gets enough sunlight throughout the afternoon. If you live in a hot climate avoid planting the roses in direct sunlight.

• Do not plant your roses near a tree. Not only will the tree block sunlight, often times the roots can become intertwined and stunt the growth of the roses.
• If you are replacing an old rose bush be sure to completely remove the existing soil and replace it with fresh soil. This will ensure a proper PH soil balance.
• When you are ready to plant the roses dig a hole that is approximately 6-7 inches deep. If you live in a colder climate you will need to plant your roses deeper, approximately 8-9 inches deep.
• Before planting the roses soak the roots in water for 5 minutes and cut the root ends that are broken.
• Cover the soil with an organic matter such as manure to enrich the soil and nourish the roots of the roses.
• Plant the roses and cover the base with up to 8 inches of soil. This is to ensure that the roots do not dry out. After a week once the roots have taken grasp you can remove the excess soil.

• The first 3-4 weeks your roses will require constant watering, once every day or two days. After this period you will only need to water your roses once every two weeks.
• After 3 months you should begin fertilization with 4-5 inches of mulch. This will help regulate the moisture and temperature as well as help prevent weeds from forming.

Further Readings:

• How to Plant Roses in Your Garden
• How to Trim a Butterfly Bush