Rose

Needs at least 6 hours for good flowering and disease resistance; tolerates a wall aspect but not deep shade.

Deep weekly watering for the first two years; established plants generally cope with normal rainfall.

Prefers fertile, humus-rich loam that holds moisture without waterlogging. Improve dry soil at the base of walls with well-rotted manure or peat-free compost before planting. A neutral to slightly acidic pH suits most roses.

Prune in late winter while dormant: shorten flowered side-shoots to two or three buds and tie in new main stems horizontally to encourage more flowering side-growth. Remove dead, damaged or crossing wood at the same time.

Feed with a balanced rose fertiliser as growth resumes in spring, and again once the first flush is over to fuel the repeat. A mulch of well-rotted manure spread over damp soil does as much good as the granules, especially against a dry wall.

Take hardwood cuttings once the leaves have fallen: pencil-thick, well-ripened shoots trimmed to about 20cm, two-thirds buried in gritty soil in a sheltered corner. They are slow but nearly free — most will have rooted by the following autumn.

More shade-tolerant than climbers, but flowers best in sun.

Medium to establish, then largely self-sufficient once mature.

As climbing roses; generally more tolerant of poorer soil once established.

Prune immediately after flowering in summer — ramblers flower once, on the previous year's growth. Cut flowered stems back hard and tie in vigorous new shoots to build next year's framework.

One feed is enough: a balanced rose fertiliser and a generous mulch as growth starts. Ramblers flower once, on old wood, so there is nothing to push with a second feed — and an overfed rambler grows metres of stem at the expense of bloom.

Ramblers are the easiest roses to strike. Layer a long flexible shoot by pegging it into the soil where it touches, or take hardwood cuttings after leaf fall; both root readily without any heat or special compost.

Full sun.

Standard border watering.

Fertile, well-drained loam enriched with organic matter; roses are hungry plants and benefit from an annual mulch of well-rotted manure.

Prune hard in late winter, cutting to an outward-facing bud around knee height, to encourage strong new flowering stems. Remove weak, dead or crossing growth completely.

A balanced rose feed as the buds break, and a second application after the first flush has been deadheaded. Stop feeding once late summer arrives — soft growth pushed out in autumn is the growth that frost damages first.

Hardwood cuttings after leaf fall are the realistic home method: 20cm of ripened stem, cut above a bud at the top and below one at the base, in gritty soil outdoors. Bear in mind that a grafted bush on its own roots may end up less vigorous than the parent.

Full sun.

Check compost moisture in summer as small pots dry out fast.

Peat-free, loam-based potting compost; the same fertile conditions as other bush roses if grown in open ground.

Prune lightly in late winter, tidying to a neat rounded shape rather than the hard cutback used on larger bush roses — these are naturally compact.

In a pot there is no soil reserve to draw on: feed fortnightly with a liquid rose or tomato fertiliser right through the flowering season, or work a slow-release granular feed into the compost when growth starts. Miss it and flowering simply stops.

Semi-ripe cuttings in late summer: a 10cm shoot that bends but springs back, lower leaves removed, in gritty peat-free compost inside a covered pot on a shaded windowsill.