Planting roses at this time of the year will need a lot of TLC to get them established through the summer heat. Probably best to wait for winter, says gardening writer JACKIE WARBURTON.
With roses in full bloom, now’s a good time to look at the shapes and sizes of any you like and make orders for winter planting.
In our climate, we usually plant roses when they are dormant in winter. Planting roses at this time of the year will need a lot of TLC to get them established through the summer heat.
The choices of roses are endless from climbers, thornless, pillar, David Austins and hybrid teas, just to name a few.
When choosing climbing roses look for fragrant, repeat-flowering varieties such as the popular Zephirine Drouhin, which is a large rose that grows up to four metres with the bonus of a strong damask fragrance.
In my garden, I have a Pierre De Ronsard, with pale pink blooms, that was taken from a cutting. It grows just as well as a grafted rose.
I also have a beautiful soft rose called a Red Pierre, which is a pillar or climbing rose and pruned differently to hybrid teas, bush or David Austin roses.
If space is limited, then a pillar rose can be grown on low fences, verandah posts or walls. It grows to about two metres tall.
If there’s space, I’d grow a David Austin Rose – English-bred with a shrub habit and repeat flowering. They can be used as a hedge or border, or mixed in with the perennial garden. The colours range from whites, pinks, reds and yellows.
My favourite is the popular Graham Thomas, with its rich yellow blooms. It comes as a large shrub or a climber. It was named after a legendary horticulturist in England.
This rose, and many others, can be seen in the Old Parliament Rose Gardens, which were planted between 1932 and 1938. The gardens are open to the public and worth a look at all the different types of roses that grow well in our climate. Fortunately, the roses have name plaques to guide any interest for winter planting.
A TERRIFIC little border plant that’s putting on a show at the moment is Society garlic, (Tulbaghia violacea). Its short-stemmed blooms will flower for many months over summer and still retain most of its growth throughout winter. It can be planted in the full sun and will flower best where it is hot and dry.
The flowers and leaves are edible and have a peppery taste.
Society garlic is also available in a variegated form that does better in the shade. While mauve is the more popular, it’s also available in white blooms. Propagating them is as easy as dividing the rhizomes in winter and replanting.
Jottings
- Keep watering hedges and trees at the dripline. Once there is dieback in large trees and plants it can often be too late to revive them in the summer heat. Don’t let the soil dry out.
- The last of the dahlias should be in the ground by Christmas.
- Water in the cool of the day.
- Continue to pick citrus to encourage new flowering.
Leave a Reply