How to Grow Roses

You can buy potted Rose plants from the nursery almost all year round, except for winter, when they’re sold as bare-rooted Roses. Bare-rooted Roses can also be bought online, direct from the growers and breeders – browse and order through their catalogues in late autumn or early winter. And if you have family or friends who grow Roses, read on to see how you can also grow Roses from cuttings or seeds.

Plant Roses in a spot that receives 6-8 hours of full sun.

Roses love rich, well-draining soils. Prior to planting, enrich the soil with plenty of organic matter, like Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser.

Roses prefer a mostly very slight acidic soil pH (around 6.5), check the soil pH using a kit or a pH probe. If the soil pH is lower than 6 apply garden lime. If the soil pH is higher than 7 apply Yates Soil Acidifier Liquid Sulfur (see The Importance of Soil pH).

Once new growth appears in early spring, feed weekly throughout the growing season with a complete fertiliser like Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food. It’s high in potassium to encourage flowering.

Water regularly and deeply throughout the warmer months. Ensure you mulch well with an organic mulch like sugarcane or lucerne to help keep the soil moist.

If you find the soil doesn't absorb or hold onto water very well, apply a soil wetter such as Yates Waterwise Soil Wetter Concentrate as the soil may be water repellent.

Remove spent flowers regularly to help encourage more blooms. In summer, lightly prune Roses to encourage a second flush of blooms in autumn. Trim off around one-third of the overall growth and feed well with Yates Thrive Roses & Flowers Liquid Plant Food.

Common pests of Roses are Aphids, Thrips, Mealybugs (sap-sucking pests) and Caterpillars (chewing pests), all these pests are easily controlled with Yates Baythroid Advanced Garden Pest Insect Killer.

To control Scale Insects spray with Yates Pest Oil during the growing season, and Yates Lime Sulfur during the dormant stage.

To reduce the risk of fungal infection, avoid overhead watering and treat at first sign of the disease.

Roses are highly susceptible to the fungal disease Rose Black Spot which causes black spots to form on the foliage, and, if not treated can spread and cause leaves to die. Spray early in the season with Yates Rose Gun Black Spot & Insect Killer or Yates Rose Shield Concentrate. These products contain a systemic fungicide that can help protect your Roses from diseases Rose Black Spot, Powdery Mildew and Rust. Also controls Aphids, Caterpillars, Thrips, Two-Spotted Mite, and Whitefly.

Prune Roses in the depths of winter, cutting them back to around knee height. After pruning, spray with Yates Lime Sulphur to help clean up common pests and diseases of Roses, and give them a fresh start to the new season.

Bare rooted Roses (Roses which are packed into plastic bags filled with sawdust) are available for planting in winter, whereas potted Roses can be planted at other times of the year.

You don’t need a large space to have your very own Rose garden. Many Roses are perfectly suited to growing in pots, where they can be beautifully displayed on a veranda, courtyard or balcony. One of the many benefits of growing Roses in pots is that they can be moved into the spotlight while they’re in full bloom. If you missed out on planting a bare rooted Rose during winter, many gorgeous Rose varieties are available in pots from garden centres during spring.

Roses can be propagated and grown from cuttings. You can take softwood cuttings in late spring or semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer (wood is relatively firm but still fairly flexible). It may be a few or many years before they flower, so if you’re patient and keen to try, here’s how:

Growing Roses from seeds is more difficult than from cuttings. Seeds form in Rose hips – small berry-like structures which may appear after flowering, if pollination is successful. The seeds may not be true to type (the same as the mother plant), especially if the plant is grafted or a hybrid. Still, if you wish to try, here’s how: 

• Plant bare rooted Roses in winter, and potted roses at other times of the year.
• When buying bare rooted Roses, check that the stems, which may be bright green or reddish brown in colour, are smooth and free from wrinkling.
• Prior to planting bare rooted Roses, soak the roots in a bucket of water to hydrate them and remove any soil. 
• Don’t buy Rose plants until you are ready to plant.
• Maintain a layer of organic mulch at the base of the plant to help conserve moisture (keep mulch a few centimetres away from the stem).
• Remove spent flowers from Roses regularly to keep the bush tidy and promote more flowers.
• To help minimise disease, water Roses in the morning and water around the base of the plant rather than over the foliage.
• Prune and remove any Black Spot affected leaves from the plant and on the ground. Spray the bush thoroughly with a fungicide, like Yates Rose Gun Black Spot & Insect Killer to help control the disease and stop the spread.
• For established plants, dress the soil every season (except winter) with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser.
• Remove Rose hips (fruits) from the plant as they drain energy from the plant and inhibit the growth of more flowers.

• Hybrid Tea Roses
• Floribunda Roses
• Miniflora Roses
• Shrub Roses
• Standard Roses
• Weeping standards
• Climbing, rambling and pillar Roses
• Carpet Roses
• Old Garden and heritage Roses