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FLOWER POWER
The beautiful summer plant you need to buy & put into the ground now – it flowers 3 times a year, has a gorgeous scent
Plus how you should plant it to make sure it grows strong roots
DO not overlook the plant's simple, stick-like appearance.
Bare root roses are not dead when they turn up, they are simply dormant.
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Fabulous spoke exclusively to Jack Stooks, about choosing and planting bare root roses.
Autumn and winter are the ideal seasons for planting bare root roses.
During this time, the soil remains cool and moist, providing the perfect conditions for the roses to settle and establish strong roots before their growing season in spring.
By summer, they will transform your garden with blooms as magnificent as any potted rose but with less fuss and cost.
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Jack said: “I always recommend David Austin roses. They are very well-bred roses. They’ve constantly been breeding and bettering them into amazing flowers.
"They have a gorgeous scent and they’re not susceptible to diseases.
"They’re very easy to grow and they can withstand a lack of water sometimes.
"Bare roots are good as they can be planted into the ground immediately, and they are also cheaper than pot-grown roses."
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If you don't have a rose in your garden or outside space, there's a particular variety Jack recommends: "The Olivia rose.
"It’s done well for me fantastically year after year. It will flower at least three times a year, so you’re getting a lot of use from those.
"Whenever it regrows, you get a nice red colour, so you get the added bonus of that colour coming through again and again.
"If you’ve got time, you should start planting your roses when you can. Get a nice border ready before it gets too cold and the ground gets too hard.”
How to plant a bare root rose
1. Prepare your area
“Prepare the area you’re using to plant your roses in," Jack said speaking on behalf of .
"Dig that soil well and make sure the soil is nice and fine. Use a fork and a spade to make sure it’s fine tilth and dig out all the rocks, as well as any weeds.
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";If you’ve got good manure, this is good to add to the soil at this stage.”
2. Plant your roses deep
He continued: "When you buy a bare root rose, you will likely see a thick ball or a tiny stem. That is what we call the rootstock.
"Above this is where the new growth comes from.
"You normally have 3-5 stems, and you want to make sure those stems are planted an inch deep into the soil.
"Once they’re in the soil, you can use your heel to make sure the rootstock is planted deeply.”
3. Add manure and fertiliser
“Once they are planted, you can add more manure over the top," the gardener recommended.
"You should also add some blood, fish and bone fertilizer as well as some charcoal compost mix. This will help the rose grow well.
" As it’s winter, you won’t need to do much watering. They tend to just hibernate over winter.
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"In the Spring they will start producing shoots before the leaves come out.
";And before you know it, you’ll have beautiful roses in your garden.”
October gardening jobs
The Sun's Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine, has shared the jobs you need to tackle in October.
"It’s a good time to trim deciduous hedges - like box, yew, hawthorn, hornbean and beech - plus hedge trimmers are a great upper body workout!
Make leafmould - gather up all the fallen leaves and fill either bin bags or plastic carrier bags. Seal the top, stick a few small holes in the bag - and then store for a year or more. Free compost!
It's unlikely you’ll get any more red tomatoes so have one final harvest and chuck the plants on the compost. See if you can get the green ones to ripen by putting in a drawer (some say with a banana). Also keep the seeds from a couple - and plant again next year if they went well.
Finish getting in your spring bulbs. Ideally you’d have done daffs and alliums, but tulips are better in the ground when the soil temperature gets a bit colder.
It’s good to leave some plant litter in the ground - it adds to the nutrients as it rots down, and provides shelter and food for insects. But remove the manky brown bits collapsing all over the lawn/winter structure.
Mulch - it not only suppresses weeds, but keeps the soil warm, improves water retention and adds a little winter duvet to your outside space.
October’s a good month for carrots, peas, asparagus, broad beans, and rhubarb."
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