Baytree Garden Centre’s Mark Cox on roses – and DIY disasters!

In this week’s Out in the Garden column, Baytree Garden Centre’s Mark Cox talks about roses and DIY disasters...

I have totally destroyed many a wall while trying to drill holes. I’ve watched every YouTube video out there on the subject but, alas, some higher power has decided that I will be incredibly good at gardening but totally inept at using a power tool. Ying and Yang.

I must stress at this point that someone was hurt in the production of this article and that treatment from an Accident and Emergency Department was required following my attempt to fit a new hanging bracket.

Everything was going so well, I had a new drill bit, rawl plugs, screws and a new tool belt so that I could look like professional.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t noticed that Teddy dog was behind me. I pressed the masonry drill bit against the brick wall and squeezed the trigger on the hammer drill like a sniper in a spy film. However, it made such an almighty noise that Teddy dog jumped out of his skin and as he tried to run past me he knocked me off balance sending me hurtling to the ground.

The nurse at A&E who first examined the drill bit protruding from my right buttock told me that I’d been very lucky. Surely lucky would have meant that the drill bit missed me entirely.

Told to rest up and take it easy for a week or two to allow my latest body piercing to heal, I find I’ve been musing on which plants that once planted need very little care just like me.

Once such plant came to mind instantly and, for me, I truly believe every garden should have at least one. I am talking about roses.

Most roses are happy to grow in a site which receives at least six hours of sunshine each day. Some varieties will tolerate even less.

When planting a rose it is always good practice to plant them in an area where there is a good movement of air.

A good flow of air through the plant reduces the chance of the rose developing a fungal disease; the moving air helps to keep the plant dry. Roses, in the main, like rich, loamy, free draining soils in which to be set roots into.

Whenever I plant a rose I always incorporate a little Mycorrhizal compound. This special fungal compound works with the rose and helps improve nutrient and moisture uptake through the root system. Because of this, the plant will establish quicker than if no compound is applied.

You’ll need to dig a hole about 12 inches wide (30cm) by 18 inches deep (45cm). The reason for the deep hole is that you want the graft union - the point in which your rose variety has been grafted to the rootstock (this will be obvious when you look at the rose) - to be inch or two just above the level of the soil. Into the bottom of the hole add some well-rotted farm yard manure and tease the roots from the rootball before planting. Once in position, backfill the soil and water the rose in well.

At this time of the year a little light pruning with a sharp pair of secateurs may be needed just to trim back any long growth.

Roses can be susceptible to attack from aphids and other diseases. Aphids will not kill the rose but they can distort the foliage and petals. That said it is treatable – and not even at A&E.