Rose 'Alinka'

To prune, just remove any dead, dying, damaged and diseased stems and also deadhead regularly.

Traditionally, you would cut just above a leaf joint with a sloping cut away from the bud, however, this isn't necessary, and don’t worry about pruning too much - roses are very resilient and will grow back.

When pruning, make sure that your secateurs are clean and sharp to prevent squashing stems and introducing disease.

Add mycorrhizal fungi to the roots when planting to help the plant establish quicker.

• Plant your rose where it can get plenty of sun for at least half of the day, and where it will be sheltered from the wind.
• Roses tolerate wide range of soils but thrive in deep, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil, so add plenty of well-rotted manure into the hole if necessary.
• Dig a hole twice the width of the roots, forking over the bottom to loosen the soil, and add some good quality fertiliser such as Blood Fish & Bone (wash your hands afterwards!).
• Plant so that the graft union (the swollen area when the stems meet the roots) is around 3cm below soil level.
  Holding the tree or plant upright in position with one hand, slowly backfill the hole with soil, and gently shake the plant, so the soil falls back around the roots.
• Use your heel to compact the soil around the plant to ensure good contact around the roots.
  Water in well.
• Established roses can be watered around once a week through spring and summer - more if the weather is hot.
• For best results, feed roses in in late-March/April and again late July.