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Watering needs of roses....

karsten.gardenwisekarsten.gardenwise Posts: 19
in Plants
Watching Gardeners' World this evening - "Roses like to be kept well-watered" - I've been a professional gardeners for over 20 years - this statement is totally and completely FALSE!

Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I have been growing roses in England then in France, but not a professional, for 45 years. It depends on which rose and where you live, whether it rains a lot or not, the soil it's in and whether it's in the ground or in a pot. I have some roses that hardly need any attention, apart from a springtime feed and others that are very hungry and thirsty. Some get ill when not watered, The Pilgrim has small flowers when not watered just before the buds appear and big flowers when kept damp. Paul's Scarlet Climber and Mme Alfred Carrière are very easy going.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    For the first few years regular watering helps a lot, no?
  • karsten.gardenwisekarsten.gardenwise Posts: 19
    Now that I've calmed down  ;),
    I'm not overall criticising the programme, it's just things like this often pop into it. Of course, different plants in different environments need different treatment. But roses in the ground in UK, in general, once established, do most decidedly NOT need regular watering. They are also amongst the last plants to be affected by drought. Through the occasional drought and heatwave we have had, I haven't seen even one get affected. They have very deep roots, and it would take a very long, very pronounced drought to worry them. Even as far as we are now into our drought here in SE UK, even a rose I planted only 18 months ago in not affected, and I have not given it any watering at all.
  • ChrisWMChrisWM Posts: 214
    This is really interesting. I’m new to all this, and planted my roses in May. A few weeks ago, I received an email from David Austin Roses advising in the very hot weather, to give roses a bucket a day. That’s what I’ve been doing unless the temperature dropped occasionally to the mid 20s. What’s said above is based on long experience though. Confused! 
    If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. Cicero
  • karsten.gardenwisekarsten.gardenwise Posts: 19
    Hi Chris,
    Please take note, I have stated this about ESTABLISHED roses. If you planted in May this year, you most definitely need to keep it watered during dry spells. It has not developed its root system yet. You may also need to water it occasionally during next summer. But after that its watering needs, as a rule, will be drastically reduced and become even less as a few more years pass.
  • PurplerainPurplerain Posts: 1,053
    I have two Paul's Scarlet climbing roses. One is on the convenient watering trail with the hose so it gets done. The other one elsewhere is always forgotten. They both flower exactly the same. Make of that what you will, but it seems they don't mind either way.
    SW Scotland
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    edited July 2018
    I agree with karsten.gardenwise, that established roses, those that have been in the ground for 3 years plus, do not need watering even in this extreme kind of summer we're having... however, those who have roses only 1 or 2 years in the ground, will need to water to keep them producing blooms and to produce cleaner foliage, as they are more prone to blackspot during drought conditions..    Austin roses in particular are what is termed 'water hogs', and newish plantings of these will quickly look sorry for themselves if they are not watered....  hence the Austin emails...

    The trouble with GW is that they don't specialise in roses, they never have a rosarian on the show, they seem often reluctant to discuss roses at all, and then only in brief or glossed over at shows etc...  Monty Don does more airtime on his bananas and cannas than roses, yet he has some 200 in his garden, do we ever hear about them? not much..

    So you get this generalised advice, suitable for those gardeners who perhaps have just a few roses in their gardens, and therefore watering them frequently may not be too much of an issue.   For those of us who have dozens and dozens of roses, even hundreds, I'm afraid watering daily is not something we're going to be getting involved in... and for the most part, we don't need to...
    East Anglia, England
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    If David Austin are sending out emails to customers telling them to water, then it's quite possible that they also contacted GW and suggested that MD advises folk to water their roses ... 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ChrisWMChrisWM Posts: 214
    Thanks, @karsten.gardenwise
    If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. Cicero
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