A Blooming Year: It’s All Coming Up Roses
2025 is shaping up to be a spectacular one for roses in the UK. With a warm spring gracing us early on, conditions are ideal for cultivating these timeless beauties. Bernaville Nurseries have a huge range of British grown roses for every type of gardener, whether you’re a city dweller with a modern style of living or have a country cottage style aesthetic, this year offers a unique opportunity to witness your garden flourish with vibrant colours and delightful scents. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the best roses to consider for this promising gardening season, categorised by their standout features.
Best Roses for Scent
When it comes to fragrance, some roses are unparalleled. If you’re looking to fill your garden with sensational aromas, consider the following varieties:
- ‘The Mayflower‘: Renowned for its classic David Austin rose scent, this pink beauty is a new favorite among gardeners. It’s strong fragrance can transform any garden into a heady summer paradise.
- ‘Zéphirine Drouhin‘: This climbing rose offers a rich, fruity aroma with stunning pink blooms which flower continuously. Great for large areas or archways as it can grown up to 15ft and also benefits from being a thornless variety.
Best Roses for Colour
For those who seek a vibrant display of colour, these roses are sure to impress:
- ‘Maxim‘: Known for its stunning blend of pink and silver hues, ‘Maxim’ is a hybrid tea rose with large blooms and reliable choice for a colourful garden show.
- ‘Lady of Shalott’: With its warm apricot and golden tones, this David Austin rose provides a stunning visual display and is known for its repeat blooming.
- ‘Mount Batten’: Sunshine in a rose with bright yellow cupped flowers. This Floribunda will look amazing in a border and is equally as attractive to our important pollinators too.
- ‘William Lobb’: A strong ‘old rose’ scent, this has a deeper purple, magenta and is good for colour contrast in your garden.
Best Roses for Pots
If space is limited or you prefer container gardening, the following roses are ideal for pots:
- ‘Rosa ‘The Fairy’: A charming, shrub rose with small pink blooms, ‘The Fairy’ is perfect for pots and offers continuous flowering throughout the season.
- ‘Rosa ‘Wetra‘: This compact variety bears clusters of red blooms and is well-suited for growing in containers, providing visual appeal without overwhelming small spaces.
Roses with the Longest Lasting Blooms
For those who wish to enjoy extended periods of floral beauty, these roses are known for their long-lasting blooms:
- ‘Dannahue‘: A new David Austin shrub rose that produces clusters of apricot flowers, ‘Dannahue’ is celebrated for its resilience and lengthy blooming period.
- ‘Gorgeous‘: Known for its disease resistance and continuous flowering, this rose keeps its vibrant blooms intact longer than many other varieties.
Tips for a Successful Rose Garden in 2025
- Soil Preparation: Ensure your soil is well-drained and rich in organic matter. Roses thrive in slightly acidic to neutral pH levels. Dig a hole double the size of your rose plant pot and add some mycorrhizal funghi to promote root establishment when planting your rose for a best possible start. This better root system results in greater vigour, higher resistance to drought and more abundant flowering.
- Watering: Regular, deep watering is essential, particularly during dry spells. Aim to water the base of the plant to avoid wetting the foliage, which can promote disease.
- Deadheading: Regular deadheading of the blooms will ensure your plant continues to produce more buds throughout the season and will usually keep going until the end of the Autumn season.
- Pruning: Prune your roses in late winter or early spring to encourage healthy growth and abundant blooms.
- Fertilising: Use a balanced rose fertiliser to provide essential nutrients throughout the growing season. An ideal fertiliser such as Vitax Q4 may be used alongside a slow release nitrogen based one.
- Pest Control: Roses are susceptible to a couple of diseases such as black spot, rust or powdery mildew. Remove these areas as soon as you see them with clean, sharp secateurs and dispose them into the garden waste bin, as these are not advised to be composted. Aphids are also attracted to roses and can invade young growth and cover the buds in a sticky sap. Use a hose to fire them off the branches or gently squash between your finger and thumb as soon as you find any. It is also beneficial to plant your roses alongside companion plants such as fennel which natural aphid enemies of ladybirds and hoverflies, love.
Whether you’re captivated by the scent, colour, or just the joy of gardening, there’s a rose for every preference and space. With the warm spring weather setting the stage, 2025 promises to be a magnificent year for growing roses in the UK. By choosing the right variety and following a few simple care tips, you can enjoy a garden that’s not only visually stunning but also fragrant and long-lasting.