Old-fashioned roses

Nothing epitomises a summer's day more perfectly than a softly petalled, old-fashioned rose in full flight. The flowers smell divine and they look heavenly too, but the secret of growing old-fashioned roses successfully lies in choosing the correct varieties for your soil and your needs.

Some of these exquisite beauties only flower once, in early to midsummer, whilst others produce a series of blooms from summer until autumn. However when deciding which to grow, don't dismiss the once-only flowering roses too lightly. They tend to cope with poorer soil and colder conditions, they are often more vigourous and they often resist disease well too. But most of all they drip with high-quality blooms for one glorious spell and there's no tedious deadheading. You may even be rewarded with a crop of attractive hips in winter. The following are excellent once-only roses, but many of the ramblers ( which I haven't mentioned) deserve a place in your garden too.

Ten Great Once and Only Flowering Roses

Very Healthy and Good on Poorer Soil.

'Tuscany Superb' (1848 Paul)
An upright, strongly fragrant Gallica rose with velvety double dusky-red flowers. (4 x 3ft)
'Rosa gallica Versicolor' (syn 'Rosa Mundi').
An ancient Gallica rose with semi-double flowers striped and streaked in crimson and white, but only moderately fragrant.(3 x 3ft)
'Charles de Mills' (unknown)
A French Gallica rose with very-double, magenta-red flowers, each one with a green eye, but sadly little or no fragrance. (4 x 4ft)

More demanding Roses with Less Disease Resistance

'Fantin -Latour' ( parentage and date unknown)
A fully double Centifolia hybrid rose with deliciously fragrant, soft-pink flowers and grey-green foliage. (5 x 4ft)
'William Lobb' ( Laffay 1855)
A French Moss rose with large clusters of sultry blooms which open dark crimson-purple and then fade to a sombre lavender-slate, but only moderately fragrant. (8 x 5ft)
'Konigin von Danemark' syn. The Queen of Denmark (Vibert 1818)
A strongly fragrant French Alba rose with mid-pink flowers which fade to silver-pink, flattered by grey-green foliage. (5 x 4ft)
'Ispahan' (1832)
A stunning pink Damask rose found in a Persian garden at Ispahan. The shapely buds open to produce warm pure-pink, full-petalled flowers. The upright habit make it ideal for a wall or pillar. (4 x 3ft)
'Celsiana' (pre-1750)
The clusters of highly fragrant, soft-pink flowers held on this rounded, medium-sized Damask rose fade to blush-white. (5 x 4 ft)

Choosing Repeat Flowering Roses

Repeat-flowering roses produce a series of flowers from midsummer onwards and you will need to deadhead in order to encourage a succession of flowers. Some have some China Rose in their consistution, giving rise to shinier foliage and yellow and orange flowers. On the debit side many of the older, highly-bred perpetual roses need rich soil and warmer conditions and disease tends to be more of a problem too. The ideal combination in the garden is a mixture of repeat-flowering and once-only roses.

Repeat-flowering Roses

Very Healthy and Good on Poor Soil.

'Roseraie de l'Hay' ( Cochet 1901)
The richly fragrant semi-double, wine-purple flowers are produced from summer until autumn. Completely disease-free but wonÕt grow well on chalk or limestone. (6 x 5ft)
'Penelope' (Pemberton 1924)
One of the wonderful Hybrid Musk roses. These healthy, vigorous roses flower freely from July until late into the year - extending the rose season. 'Penelope' has dark buds that open to pale salmon-pink before fading to cream.(5 x 4ft)
'Buff Beauty' (Bentall, 1939)
Possibly the best Hybrid Musk. A large arching rose with masses of highly-fragrant apricot-to-yellow flowers that fade to cream, set against dark foliage.(4 x 4ft)
'Cornelia' (Pemberton 1925)
Large clusters of fragrant coral-pink flowers which fade to apricot and healthy bronze foliage.(5 x 5ft)
The Generous Gardener (Austin 2002)
A delicate blush-pink large-flowered English Rose with an old-rose fragrance and grey-green foliage. Best grown as a climber and reaches 10ft in height.
'Golden Celebration' (Austin 1992)
A richly golden-yellow English Rose with giant cupped flowers. The fragrance changes from Tea Rose, to citrus and then blackcurrant and this rose can be trained as a climber too. (4 x 4ft)

Less Easy and Less Disease Resistant Repeat-Flowering Roses

'Jacques Cartier' ( Moreau-Robert 1868)
A very fragrant, very double, deep-pink Portland rose with quartered blooms that fade to soft pink. Short and useful at the front of other roses. (3 x 2ft)
'De Rescht' - syn 'Rose de Rescht' ( Lindsay 1930)
This healthy, free-flowering Portland rose bears compact clusters of fuchsia-red pompom-like blooms which are very fragrant. Short and useful at the front of other roses. (3 x 2ft)
'Madame Isaac Pereire' ( Garcon 1881)
The largest of The Bourbons roses, a seductive French rose with lots of carmine-pink petals neatly arranged to form large open flowers. Best grown as a climber. (7 x 5ft)
'Ferdinand Pichard' ( Tanne 1921)
This Hybrid Perepetual striped, crimson and purple rose is at its best in late summer and autumn. (4 x 4ft)

Pests and Diseases

The two main problems are aphids and black spot.

Aphids
Aphids often appear on the new growth in early summer, but resist the urge to spray. Instead allow your predatory insects to clean up the colonies for you. Two-spot ladybirds, all ladybird larvae, lacewing larvae and hoverfly larvae will all feed on aphids. Blue tits and other birds also eat aphids and collect them for their nestlings.

Black Spot
Black spot is a fungal disease which spots the leaves and eventually causes defoliation. It is always less of a problem when roses are underplanted or interspaced with mixed herbaceous planting.

Treatment
You can spray with a fungicide, but the eco-friendly way is to break the cycle of spores travelling from the ground to the leaves above. Start by picking up every infected leaf ( but don't add them to the compost heap) and then lightly fork through the soil . Then apply a thick bark mulch to prevent spore splash.

Replacing an Infected Rose

Many roses are black spot resistant and these include some older tough varieties and almost all newly-bred varieties. If you have a badly affected rose the best solution may be to replace it with a healthier one. Dig out the old rose and the soil round its roots. Place your new rose in a cardboard box with holes in the bottom and surround it with fresh soil or soil-based compost. Plant the new rose, still in the box, into the ground. Mulch with bark. Changing the soil in this way will prevent rose sickness which is caused when roses are replanted into tired soil. Rose growers will always advise which roses avoid various problems.

Top Tip for Pest and Disease Control
Aromatic plants repel pests and also seem to have an antiseptic effect on fungal diseases. An underplanting of English lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia) works really well and looks superb. Cut the new lavender shoots back in late April or May so that the lavender flowers follow the first flush of roses.

Some Planting Suggestions

Dark roses look stunning with silver foliage - lavenders, artemisias and cistus for example.
Yellow, orange and apricot roses contrast well with blue flowers.
Dark foliage frames pale roses.
Striped roses separate and highlight similarly-toned roses.

Pruning
Light pruning with sharp secateurs is the order of the day.

Remove the three Ds - the dead, diseased and dying - in February. Cut out any crossing internal branches, using a slanting cut above an outward-facing bud.
Finally shorten the long, branching growth by a third - aiming for an arching open shape.

Feeding
Feed at the start of the growing season, in March or April, either by adding a rose fertiliser or by adding well-rotted compost to the area around the rose. Feed all repeat-flowering roses again in June.

Where to See Old Fashioned Roses

The National Trust's Mottisfont Abbey Garden near Romsey in Hampshire
Tel: 01794 340757
Web: www.nationaltrust.org

Sudeley Castle near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire
Tel: 01242 602308
Web: www.sudeleycastle.co.uk

RHS Rosemoor near Great Torrington in Devon
Tel: 01805 624067
Web: www.rhs.org.uk

Mannington Hall near Norwich in Norfolk
Tel: 01263 584175 (open on Sundays between May and September)

Kiftsgate Court (close to Hidcote Manor) near Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire
Tel: 01386 438777
Web: www.kiftsgate.co.uk

Pashley Manor near Tilehurst in East Sussex
Tel 01580 200888

Where to Buy
(telephone for a free catalogue and advice)

Peter Beales Roses
Tel: 01953 454707
Web: www.classicroses.co.uk

David Austin Roses
Tel 01902 376300
Web: www.davidaustinroses.com