We are delighted to welcome back rose expert, Kerry French (Austen) to talk to us about roses and complementary planting schemes.

Rose trials are run on a not-for-profit basis and free of charge for all breeders, to provide a particularly important service for amateur breeders, who don’t necessarily have time and facilities to develop their plants. These trials also give them the opportunity to showcase their work alongside professional breeders.

Breeders submit a minimum of 5 plants with the seedling roses arriving bareroot in November/December.  All are planted in the ground at the same time and to the same depth. 

The trials are a model of independence and fairness and each fledgling rose is given exactly the same treatment, planted using microrhyzzal fungi (Rootgrow) and given a slow release fertiliser.

In the first year of trials roses are judged in September, in the second and third years they are judged three times: in June, July and August.  The winners are announced in September.

The roses are not given any other inputs and nor are they treated for pests and diseases: although they are in the hands of an expert rosarian, they are cared for in much the same way as roses in the average garden. This gives a good idea of their ‘garden worthiness’.