Rosa 'AUSdecorum' 'DARCEY BUSSELL' shrub rose (David Austin)

Darcey Bussell is an English rose by David Austin. It produces some of the darkest flowers we ever saw on a rose. They are medium-sized, deep crimson red to burgundy purple, and sweetly fragrant. It is a reliable repeat bloomer with flowers from June until autumn. It forms an upright shrub about 1m tall. Suitable for containers.

Planting instructions: Prepare a hole of size 30x30 cm. Put your rose in the way that the grafting point is 3 cm deep in the soil. Water well and cover new shoots with soil or bark mulch about 15 cm high. Roses tolerate wide range of soils but thrive in deep, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil, in full sun.

Pruning: English roses don’t need hard pruning like tea hybrids. Just cut last year’s growth by one third to maximum one half in the spring (after frosts) to achieve desired shape, and strong and reliable framework. Cutting it back to 3-5 live buds is possible for re-juvenating. To support extra flowering during the season remove twigs past blossom: cut them off the first leaf with 5 bracts. Mulch well before winter, preferably with leaf-mould.

Last update: 25-09-2016