English Roses

 

Today roses are to be found in almost every garden in the country. What is the fascination of this flower how is it that the rose has always been the best loved of all flowers? It seems to have the ability to evoke by its beauty many of the emotions, principles, desires and joys fundamental to the spirit of man and to do this as no other flower can.

 In the flower of a rose there are so many variations of petals and buds. Its coloring too varies to dark to white to multicolored and will differ according to where it is grown, from garden to garden, from one soil to another.

  Gertrude Jekyell Rose

Then there is fragrance, which has been describes as the very soul of a rose. There is the rich heady fragrances of the Old Roses as in the Centifolias and Damasks but there is also the myrrh-like fragrance of the English Roses.

It is a flower for all people, from the great garden to the smallest suburban plot. What other flower can combine so many qualities? It is small wonder that the rose is known as the “Queen of Flowers”

 

Abraham Darby Rose

 

Old Roses and English Roses are but a part of the great family of the rose, but an increasingly important part for the majority of discerning gardeners. The English rose is the subject of this blog today.

 

  Heritage Rose

 

 

 

 

 

What are English Roses?

 

English Roses are a new breed of roses by Rose Breeder David Austin. Some call the roses “Austin Roses”.  They are the result of crossing the Old Roses with Modern Hybrid Teas and Floribundas. They combine the unique character and beauty of the Old Roses together with something of their natural and more graceful shrubby growth, with the excellent repeat-flowering qualities of the Modern Roses. They also combine with this all the varying colors that we find in; Modern Roses. English Roses are in fact new “Old Roses”.

A Shropshire Lass Rose

 

 

In addition, the English Roses have a particularly strong fragrance which they inherit from the old varieties.  They are the most fragrant of all roses, not excluding the Old Roses themselves.

Graham Thomas Rose

 

 

 

 Care of English Roses: English Roses are repeat flowering roses and if we wish to be sure of flowers later in the season it is necessary to give them fertile soil and to feed them well, if possible giving them some form of natural manure. It is also essential that there should be moisture if flowering is to continue throughout the summer. Without this growth will cease and with it the flowers. Mulching is helpful and during dry spells, watering.

Evelyn Rose

 

 

Pruning is also more important with repeat flowering shrub roses and so it is with English roses. It will vary depending on the gardener’s own requirements, but in general it is best to prune back the growth to two-thirds or one-half of its length, and remove weak, dead or ageing branches.

 Claire Rose
 

 

Prune in late autumn or up until January. The growth of roses starts very early and if we prune late we remove shoots that are already growing well. This does not matter except for the fact that we are delaying flowering because the growth will have to start all over again and this can sometimes mean that the second or third crop of flowers arrives so late in the season that it is caught by late frosts.

Golden Celebration Rose

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