Rosa 'WISLEY 2008' shrub rose (David Austin)

Wisley 2008 is a rose of exceptional delicacy and charm. The flowers are shallowly cupped and about 8 cm across; the petals arranged in a most perfect rosette formation – their colour being a very pure soft pink; the outer petals paling a little towards the edge. It bears some resemblance to an old Alba Rose such as ‘Queen of Denmark’. The growth is elegantly arching, producing its flowers along the stems and building up into a fine, vigorous shrub. This can reach up to 1.5m in height, although it can also be pruned back harder, when it can easily be maintained at around 1-1.2m, as required. There is a delightful, fresh, fruity fragrance with hints of raspberries and Tea. It is a good choice for both formal and informal areas of the garden and also, perhaps, for a hedge.

Named for the famous RHS Gardens at Wisley, where many English Roses are planted. This variety should not be confused with a rose named ‘Wisley’ which, although beautiful, did not live up to the standards for health.

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: before winter you can cut the branches to half and in the spring cut them back to the height of 3-5 live buds. Thus you can be sure that all branches will be fresh and fully leafed. If you want a tall shrub just cut off frozen ends and leave only strong branches. To support extra flowering during the season remove twigs past blossom: cut them off the first leaf with 5 bracts. Mulch well before winter.

Last update: 26-01-2012