Does my rose look ok?
This year i treated myself to a David Austin Tess of the D’urbervilles rose. Unfortunately because of a very narrow garden, it has to live in a container on a south facing back wall rather than in the ground, but it is a big, deep container.
It got black spot in summer which effected most of the foliage, although newer foliage doesnt seem to show any signs.
I was just wondering what people think of it’s appearance, it’s my first rose and have no idea what is normal over winter! This pic was taken about a month ago so has slightly less leaves now but looks very similar on the whole.
Many thanks
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it'll need cutting back a bit for winter,cut it back about half if possible.
are you planning to train it up the trellis? if that's the case then you need to remove to front growth entirely to encourage the back growth
I have a tess too. It is prone to black spot. I cut it back to sticks when it becomes unsightly and it grows back quickly. I don't want it to be particularly large so this is not a problem for me.
I also have a Tess in a pot, but a bigger pot. I think your Tess looks fine, bearing in mind it's her first year. David Austin roses often take a couple of years to settle down.
She has some nice strong shoots in the wrong direction. DON'T cut them off. Turn the pot around and tie them into the trellis. Better to cut off the spindly growth.
Don't forget that roses in pots need a lot more feeding and watering than roses in the ground.
Roses in winter never look good anyway, she will probably drop most of her leaves. Clear them up and bin or burn them, not the compost heap.
Last edited: 21 December 2017 13:49:05
Thanks to all for your messages! I certainly watered it well in summer and autumn, I didn’t feed it as the compost had a couple of months worth of food in - will it need food over winter?
Are there any recommendations you can make regarding the black spot? I understand that good air circulation is important, and this year they were a bit crowded by surrounding tomato plants, which I won’t be doing again. I always underestimate how much space they take up!
I also sprayed it periodically with a fungus fighter for roses. Anything else I can do?
Thanks again, greatly appreciated.
Tomato plants are known for fungal infections!
If your rose is fed, watered and sprayed for fungus she should be OK once she gets going.
Don't feed in winter, roses are dormant. Feed with a rose fertiliser towards the end of March to prepare her for spring growth.