Rose: varieties, growing and uses

From pink shrub to white climber

Gertrude Jekyll produces strongly scented pink rosettes and an upright shrub. Olivia Rose Austin is softer pink and a quiet choice for a mixed border. Lady of Shalott adds warm salmon and gold tones. Claire Austin produces white flowers on a climbing framework. Describe scent as scent for these choices; apple, spice or myrrh in a breeder’s description does not mean the flower tastes that way.

A framework that carries flowers

Where possible, tie a climber’s main branches diagonally or more horizontally to wires. This can encourage flowering side shoots at more points along the wall. Use loose loops and check annually for constriction. Leave a gap from the wall for airflow and maintenance. Do not plant the base directly in a dry strip under a large roof overhang.

Pruning with the type on the label

Remove dead and damaged wood and prevent crossing branches from rubbing. Only then assess how much to shorten. Treating a shrub rose as a climber costs structure; cutting all a climber’s main branches short removes its framework. If unsure, first check whether the rose repeat-flowers and which group the nursery names.

A bouquet and a healthy plant

Cut with clean tools, remove leaves below the waterline and use a clean vase. Give a new rose time to root well first. Keep the base moist in summer without constantly wetting the leaves. Record the name, flowering time and pruning in your garden log; the next task belongs to that chosen group, not to a single general rose alert.

Scent, flavour and use

The RHS lists rose petals as edible. Use only correctly identified, unsprayed roses grown for food and remove the bitter, pale attachment point. A description of rose scent is not proven cultivar-specific flavour.

Care, cutting and harvesting

Provide a sunny to sufficiently bright position, fertile, well-drained soil and water in dry weather, particularly in the first year. Do not plant in frozen or waterlogged ground. Leave enough room for air circulation.

Repeat-flowering shrub roses are generally pruned in February–March. Climbing roses usually need winter pruning in December–February: retain main branches and prune side shoots to suit the framework. A once-flowering rambler has a different pruning time.

Cut flowers for a bouquet while retaining enough leaves. Pick edible petals only from suitable, unsprayed plants grown for food. If desired, leave some hips for decoration and birds; this is not a general claim that all hips are edible.