There's no doubt that roses are one of the most popular flowers to grow in Britain. With the right care and maintenance, you can expect your rose bush to last for at least 20 years! Learn how to plant & maintain your rose bush in our useful guide.

Roses are incredibly popular. They constantly top favourite flower lists and it is easy to see why. With such a huge range of gorgeous colours and styles and with many having an excellent fragrance there is sure to be a rose bush to suit every garden.

• Rose bushes are highly versatile plants that can be grown in pots, borders, over arches, pergolas or used as ground cover and are sure to brighten up any area.
• If cared for correctly, rose bushes are very easy to grow and they will live for a long time.
• Their excellent ornamental value makes rose bushes a brilliant flower for cutting and bringing inside to enjoy the blooms.
• Rose bushes are often hardy and quite a lot of the varieties have good disease resistance.
• The fruit that rose bushes often produce is also beneficial. They produce rose hips which is the fruit left over after they drop their petals. They are packed with vitamin C and can be used to brew in tea and can also be used to make jam and other preserves.
• You can make wonderful presents and gift roses to your family and friends at special occasions.

The first thing to think about when buying a rose bush is what type you want. There is such a large variety to choose from and each of them have different requirements and growing habits so it is important to choose one that works best in your garden.

On the whole, flower form, colour and scent is a matter of personal taste. However, there are a few things to consider. For example, do you want to buy a repeat flowering rose bush? If so a climber might be a better choice than a rambler as they tend to flower repeatedly whereas a rambler tends to flower impressively but only does so once in June.

Finally, you need to consider how you want to grow your rose bush. For example, if you want a container grown rose, a patio or miniature rose bush would be the best choice over one with a bigger bushier habit

Roses are one of the most popular flowers to grow in Britain. They can live for up to 20 years with proper care and maintenance. However, there are a few pitfalls to avoid when trying to grow them.

• Roses do require watering when there has been a few days of dry weather, especially newly planted roses and those growing in sandy soil.
• They also require frequent hoeing and benefit from having a layer of mulch on the soil surface.

Discover more information about how to successfully grow your rose bush at Primrose. If you need a bit of help maintaining your rose bushes, we have a useful guide to pruning which will help you better understand your rose bush’s pruning requirements.

It is important to choose the correct position for your rose bush.

• Rose bushes need to be placed in a sunny spot if they are to thrive.
• They also need to be placed in a spot which is sheltered from cold winds and placed in soil which has good drainage.
• Rose bushes will not grow in waterlogged soil.
• If you have decided to grow a climbing rose bush variety you will also need to consider how much space it needs to have to grow to its eventual height.

Discover more information about how to plant and maintain a climbing rose at Primrose.

• The oldest living rose is thought to be about 1000 years old. Grown on the wall of the cathedral in Hildesheim in Germany. In 1945 the cathedral was bombed by allied forces but the bush survived.
• Roses do produce some fruit and this is called a rose hip. It is packed with vitamin C and can be made into jam or even brewed in tea.
• Different roses have different meanings attached to them. They are widely recognised as symbols of love, sympathy or sorrow.

The history of roses

Roses have an incredibly long history. In fact, fossil evidence suggests that they are over 35 million years old. Wild ones were used to produce scented oils, rosewater and other fragrances for a long time before they were cultivated. There is evidence to suggest that they were in use in Iraq from as early as 2000 BC.

Roses in Arabic legend

They feature in many different legends in many different societies. For example, according to Arabic legend roses used to be white until a nightingale met one and fell in love with it. Before this point nightingales were not known for their beautiful song, but upon seeing the flower he was inspired to sing for the first time. He loved it so much that he pressed himself to it and the thorns pierced his heart turning the flower red forever.

Roses in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology the rose was said to have been created by Aphrodite the Goddess of love using her tears and the blood of her lover Adonis.

Roses in Roman society

Roses were incredibly popular in Roman society. They actually ended up being synonymous with the worst excesses of the Roman Empire. Emperors used to fill swimming baths and fountains with rosewater and would sit on a carpet of petals for their feasts and orgies. They would drop petals in wine to try to stave off drunkenness and high society women would also use the petals in a poultice to try to reduce wrinkles. Victorious armies would be showered in petals by civilians on their return. Romans were so obsessed with them that peasants were forced to grow them for their leaders rather than food.

Rose bushes may struggle to establish if they are planted poorly, given little in the way of aftercare or planted where a rose has been planted before. Even if properly planted, rose bushes are susceptible to a few pests and diseases, but these issues can be fixed with proper care and attention.

Rose Replant Disease

Rose bushes may suffer from a sickness known as replant disease. Replant disease occurs when a plant is replaced with the same type in the same position. For most plants this doesn’t cause an issue but for some, including roses, the new plant will fail to thrive or grow well.

This doesn’t just occur in areas where the previous plant was well established. The roots of the previous plant only need to have been in the soil for a few months for this to occur. In severe cases replant disease can cause the new plant to die and the fine roots might turn rotten or grow poorly.

However, this issue can be fixed fairly easily by lifting the plant, shaking off all the soil and replanting it in a different site. The plant often recovers if these steps are taken.

Rose Black Spot

One other problem that these plants face is rose black spot. This is the most serious rose disease. It is caused by the fungus Diplocarpon rosae which infects the leaves and greatly reduces plant vigour.

Large purple or black patches appear on the leaves in spring and they turn yellow and drop. Small black lesions might also appear on young stems. Plants that are badly affected might lose all their leaves.

To fix this issue make sure to collect and destroy any of the fallen leaves in autumn and prune out the lesions in spring. This will help to delay the onset of the disease.

Use fungicides such as tebuconazole (Bayer Fungus Fighter Concentrate), tebuconazole with trifloxystrobin (Bayer Fungus Fighter Plus), and triticonazole (Scotts Fungus Clear Ultra and Scotts Fungus Clear Ultra Gun) to help keep in control of the issue.