Rosa 'THE POET'S WIFE' shrub rose (David Austin)

The Poet’s Wife is a lush yellow rose that fits in well with the English Old Rose Hybrids, even though it has a little of the Leander group in its genetic make-up. This shows up in its rather shiny foliage. It is a superb rose with flowers of an unfading, strong yellow. Their formation is most pleasing, having a neat outer ring of petals enclosing an informal group of petals within. The growth is low and naturally rounded, making it an ideal rose for a position towards the front of the border. There is a rich fragrance with strong lemon tints at first, becoming sweeter and stronger with age.

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: 07-01-2016