Amateur Gardening – 29 June 2019

Old roses enjoy full sun, while many

are happy in shade cast from the side –

although not in overhead shade.

You can plant container-grown plants

at any time of year, but mid-to-late spring

is probably ideal.

Bare-root roses should be planted

in late autumn or early winter.

Prepare an area wider than just the

planting hole, by incorporating plenty

of weed-free organic matter plus a

little general fertiliser.

Mulch in autumn with compost.

Prune established plants by removing

one or two of the oldest branches, low

down, each winter.

Deadhead regularly.

Enrich soil with organic matter

and a little fertiliser

Planting and care for old roses

Choosing roses for scent

‘Penelope’ blends fruity notes

with classic musk

ALTHOUGH gardeners tend to associate

old roses with fine fragrance, not all of

them are scented. Those with the

strongest and most pervasive perfumes

are probably, in general, the musks and

rugosa roses, but both poets and

horticulturists have struggled to find

language to describe their aromas,

usually resorting to comparisons

with the scents of other plants.

As well as the classic, much-loved

old rose fragrance, there are fruity, tea,

MANY old roses feature one heady burst of summer

bloom, with no flowers later. This can leave an

unremarkable green bush in the middle of the border.

The answer is to use the rose as a support for climbers.

The annual canary creeper is a good choice, or

consider the less vigorous viticella forms of clematis,

including pale lilac-blue ‘Betty Corning’ and ‘Walenburg’,

which is a deep purplish-red.

‘Madame Alfred Carrière’ has a scent

described as sweet and fruity

What are

old roses?

IN a nutshell, an old rose is any in

the style of those introduced before

the first hybrid tea in 1867. So

relatively recent varieties can be

called old roses if they’re in the style

of those of long ago. Generally, this

means that they bear no relation to

the China rose, which was used by

breeders to create roses that are

repeat flowering but have a less

elegant flower form.

Old roses have been divided into

13 groups, but don’t worry if you can’t

tell your Alba from your Rugosa.

Ultimately, what matters most is the

qualities of the individual varieties,

and whether or not they appeal.

myrrh and musky scents, plus blends of

these elements. The fragrances of many

other flowers, such as lilac and lily of the

valley, are also found among roses.

It’s a very subjective thing, but along

with my ‘six of the best’ picks, for

fragrance I’d also suggest the Gallica

rose ‘Madame Hardy’, ‘Roseraie de

l’Hay’ (Rugosa), the Damask ‘Ispahan’,

the Noisette ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’,

‘Königin von Dänemark’ (Alba) and

Hybrid Musk rose ‘Penelope’.

Container-grown roses can

be planted at any time

Dating back to before 1600,

Rosa mundi is a classic old rose

A supporting role

24 AMATEUR GARDENING 29 JUNE 2019

Wikimedia/Stan Shebs

including pale lilac-blue ‘Betty Corning’ and ‘Walenburg’,

Hybrid Musk rose ‘Penelope’.

Let Clematis ‘Betty

Corning’ scramble

through a rose bush

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