The Kew Gardener's Guide to Growing Roses

The Art and Science to Grow with Confidence

Tony Hall

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780711261907
• eBook ISBN: 9780711261914
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Horticulture
• Index: Biological Sciences

This inspirational book from Kew Gardens' rose expert is the perfect guide to choosing and growing these majestic and versatile flowers.

Instantly recognisable, fragrant and evocative, roses are the quintessential garden flowers. From low-growing ground-cover roses to long-stemmed Hybrid Tea roses, multi-petalled English roses, wild roses, small shrubs for containers, climbers and ramblers, in a range of forms, colours and scents, there is a rose for every garden situation. 

Combining botanical illustrations and practical advice, The Kew Gardener’s Guide to Growing Roses is the definitive introduction to growing seventy-eight beautiful roses, with full growing instructions and details on feeding, propagation and training.

Twelve garden projects, from growing from seed to preserving rose petals, will bring the wonderful world of roses to life.

This book is from the Kew Experts series, in which the top gardeners and botanical scientists from Royal Botanic Kew Gardens offer up advice and information as well as suggesting handy projects on a range of gardening topics. Other titles include: Companion to Medicinal Plants, Guide to Growing Bulbs, Guide to Growing Fruit, Guide to Growing Orchids, Guide to Growing Herbs, Guide to Growing Succulents and Cacti, Guide to Growing Trees, Guide to Growing Vegetables and Guide to Growing House Plants.

PROJECT 1

Using roses in a mixed border or bed

Roses can look good in a dedicated rose garden, but they also fit very well in mixed plantings. You can design a beautiful garden border or bed with year-round interest by choosing plants that flower over a long period and that complement, contrast and harmonize with each other. Roses fit well into this type of planting scheme, with their variety of colours and repeat-flowering. The basics are plan, prepare and plant – and do not be afraid to experiment.

A good mixed border will include perennials, annuals and bulbs, as well as shrubs and roses. The larger plants and taller shrub roses should go at the back, graduating down to the smaller ones at the front.

Preparation is key. Once planted, your border or bed should be able to mature with minimal changes, but that’s not to say a design cannot be tweaked over time. Check the mature size of each plant you wish to grow so you can allow space for it to develop within the plan. When designing the planting scheme, think of its rhythm and flow. The best borders and beds are those that have some repeat plantings rather than lots of different plants that don’t tie together harmoniously.

Colours are a personal preference: you could, for example, opt for a range of pastel pinks and mauves, conjuring a cottage-garden feel; or choose more tropical hot colours. Aim to have a mixture that will give year-round interest.

Oranges and yellows go well with blues and greens. Pastel shades could include Rosa The Poet’s Wife or Lady of Shalott combined with purple and mauve perennials, sage (Salvia), catmint (Nepeta) or verbena.

The greens of euphorbias or low-growing lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) look good with roses, too. Spring-flowering shrubs like forsythia or viburnum provide early interest. Early bulbs like snowdrops (Galanthus) and daffodils (Narcissus) such as N. ‘February Gold’ or N. papyraceus can be followed by tulips (Tulipa) and ornamental onions (Allium) in late spring and summer. Pink roses like Olivia Rose Austin or Bonica will also go well with these colours, as well as with darker violet ones.

Opposite colours on the colour wheel are complementary, while those next to each other are deemed harmonious, and you can mix them up for a dynamic clash of colours.

1. A Rosa Harlow Carr and Salvia nemorosa ‘Amethyst’ bring a feeling of calm with their pastel petals.

1. B The different shades and shapes of foliage on the delphinium and artemisia beautifully set ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Contents
• Introduction to Growing Roses
• Plants
• Project 1: Using Roses in a Mixed Border or Bed
• Project 2: Using Rose Hips
• Project 3: Roses for a Shady Spot
• Project 4: Propagating Roses in Water
• Project 5: Roses for an Exposed Site
• Project 6: Caring for Miniature Roses
• Project 7: Training as a Standard Form
• Project 8: Training a Rose Against a Wall
• Project 9: Growing Roses from Seed
• Project 10: Preserving Rose Petals
• Project 11: Growing Roses in a Container
• Project 12: Planting a Rose Hedge
• Troubleshooting
• What to do when
• Index
• Acknowledgments
• Copyright