Rosa 'PORT SUNLIGHT' shrub rose (David Austin)

Port Sunlight rose bears medium sized flowers of rich apricot colouring. They are of flat rosette shape and slightly quartered at the centre; the outer petals falling back a little and becoming paler. They have a rich Tea fragrance. The foliage and young stems are bronzy-red at first, becoming a fairly dark green. The growth is vigorous and rather upright, about 5 ft. in height by 3.5 ft. across, making it ideal for the back of a mixed border where it will compete well with other plants. It is very resistant to disease. All in all, Port Sunlight is a good and reliable variety. It is named after the model village in the Wirral in the UK built by William Hesketh Lever, where they have a beautiful garden of English Roses.

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 regular 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: 08-01-2016