Rose 'It's a Wonderful Life'

Roses can be planted at any time of the year, as long as the soil is not frozen, waterlogged or drought-dry.

• 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 and plant so that the graft union (the swollen area when the stems meet the roots) is around 3cm below soil level.
• Water well every other day - daily if the weather is hot and dry. 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.