The Times - UK (2022-01-01)

the times Saturday January 1 2022

17

ANNAICK GUITTENY, DAVID DIXON, ERNIE JANES/GAP PHOTOS; ALAMY

Shop-bought or homemade?

Stephen Anderton’s expert

guide to garden compost

Page

19

R. filipes ‘Kiftsgate’

The chances of pruning the hips off this

rose are low because it’s a very vigorous

rambler, requiring a tall tree to scramble

up. Huge sprays of scented white flowers

and masses of small orange-red hips put

on a fabulous show. Grow it if you have

a large tree or house wall available and

just let it go. Height 10m x spread 6m.

R. ‘Fru Dagmar Hastrup’

(rugosa rose)

A strong-growing hedging rose

with deep pink buds that open

to soft pink flowers with

white centres and yellow

stamen. In late summer the

rounded tomato-red hips

appear, often alongside a

second flush of flowers,

and persist into winter.

Height 1m x spread 1.5m.

R. ‘Grouse’

(ground-cover rose)

This can be a useful low-growing

spreading rose in certain situations.

Pale pink flowers with a clove-like

fragrance and then plenty of small,

bright-red hips that appear to float above

the ground. Height 60cm x spread 1m.

R. ‘Madame Grégoire

Staechelin’

A glorious climbing rose. Its pink

semi-double flowers carry a sweet pea

scent and are followed by hips that start

yellow and turn a pinkish-red in late

autumn when temperatures plummet.

Height 6m x spread 4m.

R. spinosissima

(Scotch rose)

Yes, an extremely prickly number
covered in tiny spines, which may
affect where you choose to plant it.
It has white open flowers with
buttery centres in early summer
followed by distinctive large
shiny deep purple rounded hips.
Height 1m x spread 1.2m.

R. glauca (aka

Rosa rubrifolia)

A lovely species of rose with
purple-grey leaves, simple open
pink flowers in early summer
followed by masses of red hips,
which look perfect against the fading
foliage in autumn and then persist into
the winter. Height 2m x spread 1.5m.

R. canina

(wild dog rose)

A common hedgerow shrub rose with
white to pale pink flowers in
summer and masses of red and
orange-red hips, which the birds
adore. It’s said to make the best
rosehip tea. Extremely tough plant
and makes a great hedge for
wildlife. Height 3m x spread 1.5m.

R. setipoda

A vigorous arching wild rose with
simple wide open soft pink blooms
that fade to white. The foliage has a
greyish underside and the red hips are
elongated and elegant. A great all-round
garden plant if you have the space to let
it do its thing. Height and spread 2.8m.

t.

ing

int

m.

a large tree

just let it go.

R. ‘Fru

(rug

A str

wit

to

w

st

r

a

s

an

H

R.

((gro

This can

spreading

Palepink flo

fragrance an

bright-red h

hd

h

e

und

let

m.

to

R. canina

R. glauca

R. spinosissima

R. moyesii

As fewer and fewer

people use garden

fungicides it becomes

ever more important to

practise a little garden

hygiene around plants

that are susceptible to

problems. That favourite

old rose, perhaps, which

always gets rust or black

spot. So now is the time

to collect up all those

fallen leaves. Bin or burn

those from infected

plants, and don’t put

them in your compost.

It’s also the perfect

moment to get out weeds

that have established

themselves under roses,

because the new,

vulnerable rose shoots

will be moving down

there all too soon.

Honeysuckles may smell

wonderful, but they are

hugely inelegant plants.

They also break bud

very early in spring, so

now is a good time to

shear back all that great

tangle of growth. Plants

that have got really out

of hand can be cut down

to 50-100cm, to regrow

completely.

Ivy apart, self-clinging

climbers (climbing

hydrangea, Virginia

creeper, Boston ivy and

so forth) can be slow at

first to get a hold on

walls or in trees, and

stems that have come

loose may waggle in the

wind, so snip them back

to a well-anchored point,

ready for a strong start

next spring. A loop of soft

string round the tree may

also help to anchor it, but

never use wire, in case

you forget to remove it

and it kills the tree.

Chop into lengths the

fallen stems of gingers

(hedychium) to make a

protective pancake over

the remaining clumps.

A wire rake is best for

getting the last of those

half-rotten bits of leaf off

gravel drives, the bits the

worms will keep coming

up for, bringing soil as

they do and making a

seedbed for weeds. But

if you want to avoid

digging into the gravel,

keep the handle low and

nearer the ground. It’s

harder on the back, but

kinder on the drive. SA

Weeder’s

digest

Rosa glauca (foreground, left) in a winter border