Depending on the time of year you purchase your roses, you will have a choice of types of roses:

Bare-root roses: These are only available from about November to March usually mail order. These are plants dug from open ground and packed to prevent the roots drying out before sale.

These have been lifted from the ground while dormant, with little or no soil around their roots. Various plants may be available bare root, including fruit trees, hedging plants and some perennials. They are generally cheaper than plants in containers, but are only available in winter/early spring, while dormant

Can refer to either home-made garden compost or seed/potting compost: • Garden compost is a soil improver made from decomposed plant waste, usually in a compost bin or heap. It is added to soil to improve its fertility, structure and water-holding capacity. Seed or potting composts are used for growing seedlings or plants in containers - a wide range of commercially produced peat-free composts are available, made from a mix of various ingredients, such as loam, composted bark, coir and sand, although you can mix your own.

compost

Containerised roses: These are at their best in garden centres from about November to March. They may be available to buy like this for longer into the spring and summer, but quality starts to suffer the longer they are kept on display. They are bare-root roses placed in pots of potting media to prevent them drying out. They should be planted as soon as received.

Container-grown roses: These are available all year round. These are roses that have been grown in containers for a whole

The period of time when an individual plant is in active growth. This will depend on the local climate and light levels, and can vary between different plants, although it is broadly from spring to autumn.

Bare-root roses: Plant in late autumn at leaf fall, and from late winter to early spring, before growth resumes. Avoid planting in the middle of winter when the ground is frozen.

Containerised and container-grown roses: Plant all year round, provided the ground is neither frozen, nor very dry.

Planting roses

Here are some steps to planting roses in the garden:

1. In the area where the rose or roses are to be planted, mix in at least one bucket of well-rotted organic matter per square metre, forking it into the top 20-30cm (8in-1ft) of soil. Farmyard manure is ideal for this.
2. Apply general fertiliser, at 100g per sq m (3oz per sq yd) over the surface of the planting area and fork it in to the same depth as the organic matter. Note: if you are using a mycorrhizal fungi (e.g. Rootgrow) then it is best not to apply a fertiliser at all as phosphorus (found in general fertilisers and superphosphate) can suppress the fungus.
3. For each rose dig a hole roughly twice the width of the plant's roots and the depth of a spade's blade.
4. Carefully tease out the roots of container plants because, if this is not done, the roots may be very slow to extend outwards, leaving the young plant more susceptible to drought in summer.
5. Place the rose in the centre of the hole and, using a small cane to identify the top of the planting hole, ensure the graft union (i.e. where the cultivar joins the rootstock and the point from which the branches originate) is at soil level (not below as this is reported to increase the risk of rose dieback).
6. Back-fill gently with the excavated soil and organic matter mixture.
7. Spacing depends on type and habit. Check catalogue or label details.

If you are replacing old roses with new roses, ensure that you dig out the soil to a depth and width of 45cm (18in) and exchange it with soil from a different part of the garden, as roses are at risk from replant disease, also known as soil sickness.

Pruning

Prune back in the first winter after planting. Do this in late winter or early spring. With all roses, first remove dead, damaged and weak growths, then:

• Hybrid tea (large-flowered): Prune the remaining strong stems hard back to 10-15cm (4-6in) from ground level
• Floribunda (cluster-flowered): Prune the remaining strong stems moderately hard back to about 15cm (6in) from ground level
• Ramblers and climbers: Prune remaining strong stems back to 30-40cm (1ft-15in) from ground level if not already pruned at the nursery (climbing sports of bush varieties may revert to bush type if pruned back hard)
• Shrub and species roses: Leave remaining strong stems unpruned

General care

• Feeding: Apply a dressing of a general or rose fertiliser at 100g per sq m (1½oz per sq yd), every spring.  If growth slows, repeat the fertiliser application in mid-summer
• Mulching: Follow feeding immediately with mulching, ideally with well-rotted stable manure, in a layer of up to 8cm (3in) deep. Alternatively, use well-rotted compost or chipped bark. Keep the mulch clear of the rose stems, leaving a 10cm (4in) gap between the mulch and stems
• Watering: Water well in dry spells for at least two summers after planting

In subsequent years this programme of feeding and mulching can be repeated annually. Apply the fertiliser over the existing mulch, from where it will quickly find its way down to the roots, and then top up the mulch to maintain it at the original level.

Roses may struggle to establish, especially if planted poorly, provided with little aftercare, or planted where roses have grown before.

They can also suffer from a range of common rose diseases, such as rose blackspot, rose dieback, rose powdery mildew and rose rust. Pests to watch out for include large rose sawfly, rose leaf-rolling sawfly and  rose aphids.