One of the world leaders in rose cultivation, Britain’s own Peter Beales Roses, has an unrivalled breadth of experience and archive of wisdom about growing and tending the ‘Queen of Flowers’.
Whilst roses love rich, nutrient-dense soil, most homes are not blessed with gardens full of peat-enriched growing media or animals to help fertilise the earth. In fact, the opposite is more likely to be true, with many new houses built on top of rubble and crude, nutrient-poor soil. There is nothing like a few beautifully blooming rose bushes to make a new place look and feel like home, which is why the Peter Beales experts share their top picks if you have relatively poor soil in your garden.
The full, flat clear pink rosette flowers of the ‘Jacques Cartier’ Portland Shrub are recurrent and have a strong scent. Leathery dark green foliage. The lax growth habit allows the rose to be trained as a small climber that is also tolerant of poorer soils. Also suitable to be planted in a container, as a hedge and can be used for cut flowers. An excellent old variety. Bred by Moreau-Robert.
The much loved ‘Tuscany Superb’ boasts large, semi-double, scented blooms of the deepest crimson purple. The petals of this beautiful Gallica Shrub have a velvet like texture and surround a coronet of prominent golden yellow stamens. An erect, well foliated shrub is tolerant of poorer soils and can be planted in a container or as a hedge.
This beautiful floribunda would make an excellent gift, especially for the eponymous anniversary. This very hardy and healthy yellow, double rose flowers all summer long, with scented blooms on a sturdy bushy plant. Tolerant of poorer soils, it can be grown in a pot or as a hedge and is tolerant of poorer soils.
‘Rosa Mundi’ or 'Rosa gallica versicolour' is a very old (c12th century) and striking Gallica Shrub. The large, semi-double blooms have splashes of pink and white on a crimson background. This is a hardy plant, tolerant of poorer soils and shade, that will bare ornamental hips if left undeadheaded. ‘Rosa Mundi’, said to be named after Fair Rosamund, mistress of Henry II, can be planted in a container or as a hedge.
‘Fantin-Latour’ is a full petalled, highly fragrant blush pink Centifolia Shrub, whose quartered, flattish flowers are abundantly produced on a handsome bush. With training it can be grown as a small climber and is tolerant of poorer soils. Of unknown origin, Fantin-Latour dates back to 1900.
Dating from around 1880, ‘Rose de Rescht’ is a Portland Shrub with glorious, pompom-like, scented fuchsia-red blooms with purple tints and abundant foliage. Tolerant of poorer soils, this rose can be used in a container or as a hedge.
Don’t forget - whilst the roses we recommend for poor soil conditions are hardier than most, no rose plants are completely disease resistant, and they all need plentiful food and water in order to thrive.