Rosa Arthur Bell | Floribunda Bush Rose

• Watering: Bare root roses should have their roots soaked in water for up to 2 hours before planting, while with containerised roses, it is important to drench their root ball before planting.
• Pruning: Another difference is that for bare root roses, it is useful to prune their woody roots back a few inches. However, for containerised roses, you should free any spiralized roots growing around their rootball's circumference.
• Planting: With bare root roses, you should dig a hole to enable the graft point to be above the soil, but with containerised roses, the pot should sit no lower than an inch below the ground.

• With both, you should dig a hole that is twice the radius of their rootball. Stake your roses no more than 2 - 3 inches from the stem, and make sure that they are pointing away from the prevailing wind.
• Fill the planting hole with a mix of compost and garden soil, finishing with fertiliser and mycorrhizal fungi. Take care to not compress the soil.
• Provide your rose with a generous watering.
• Add mulch on top (this can be bark and wood chippings, compost, manure, leaf-mould, and stones), and ensure that these do not touch the stem of your rose.
• Apply fertiliser and replace decomposed mulch come spring.

Advice on hot and droopy plants

If your plants are looking a little wilted right now, don't worry! Plants like to be filled with water to keep their structure, and when it's hot that water evaporates.

Just give them an off-schedule watering and they'll be right as rain in no time! Be careful not to flood them - plants don't like extremes.