PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Rose (English Shrub)
Rosa
A repeat-flowering, fragrant shrub rose with full, old-fashioned blooms from June to the autumn.
When to plant and care for it
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Rose (English Shrub): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well until established, then in dry spells
- Soil
- Rich, moisture-retentive soil
- Spacing
- 90 cm
- Height
- 1.2 m
- In pots
- Only in large containers
- Feeding
- Rose feed in March and late June
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 4–9
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 90 cm apart, and firm in.
- 0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
- 7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.
Every year
- FebruaryWinter Prune
Cut stems back by about a third to an outward-facing bud, and remove dead, weak and crossing stems.
- MarchFeed and Mulch
Scatter rose feed around the base and mulch with well-rotted manure, keeping it off the stems.
- MayCheck for Blackspot and Aphids
Pick off leaves with black spots and squash aphid clusters on the buds.
- JuneSecond Feed
A second dose of rose feed after the first flush encourages repeat flowering.
- JulyDeadhead
Snip spent flowers back to the first full leaf to keep new flowers coming until autumn.
- NovemberClear Fallen Leaves
Rake up and bin fallen leaves to reduce blackspot next year.
