Search - Articles

Are your roses martyrs to disease? Are their leaves covered with black spots or a white overcoat of powdery mildew? Well, I'll come clean and put my hand up on both counts. Much depends on the time of year and whether it's wet or dry - but, most

It rained on Sunday, so what better way to spend the day than planting roses? Well, I went and played Power Rangers in the bushes in Dulwich Park with 3-year-old, while my partner did the planting. She'd ordered them at Chelsea, and we'd almost

The rose is our most popular flower, and rightly so. A single rose bud captures perfection, slowly opening to celebrate nature at its very best.And as well as being a thing of beauty, roses are the perfect plant to grow as a celebration of life

It's rose pruning time again. I could debate the merits of autumn pruning over spring, but I've always believed spring really is the best time to tackle pruning.Rose pruning isn't a job to hurry. You need time to ponder, step back and deliberate

We have a rambler rose just outside the back door, 'Félicité et Perpétue'. No matter how hard I cut it back, it still fights vigorously with the wooden slats of the featheredge fence, tries to smother the garden table and viciously rakes at my

Aptly named blackspot is a fungus that causes dark spotting on rose leaves and stems. Eventually, leaves turn yellow and drop off before autumn. Spores overwinter on the fallen leaves and re-infect the plant in spring when new foliage appears

and leaf stalks of roses to more obvious orange speckling on the leaves. This can lead to leaf fall. In late summer, look out for black pustules on the leaves.Learn more about rust and hollyhock rustOrange speckling on rose leaves in early summer, sometimes

How could anyone choose the world's favourite rose? Well, they have! And the winner is one of my all-time favourites - Rosa 'Graham Thomas'.National rose societies belonging to the World Federation of Rose Societies have been voting - 41 of them

, preventing the flower from opening. An invisible soft, slimy layer of mycelium then fuses the petals together. The problem is most acute on roses with a multitude of thin petals.Apparently healthy rose buds develop and fatten but fail to open. They eventually

Watch Monty's video guide to planting shrub roses, and pick up tips on planting depth, preventing root rock and deterring aphids.spring or autumnMore advice on caring for rosesAdvice on pruning shrub rosesHow to plant a rose bushPlant a rambling