28/08/12 Rose Breeding Assistant, Rhian Kearney, 22, checks this year's rose plants.


28/08/12 Rose Breeding Assistant, Rhian Kearney, 22, checks this year's rose plants. This summer’s miserable weather may be a thorny subject for gardeners and farmers but the wet conditions are heaven ‘scent’ for English roses, which are set to be the best ever this year. One of Britain’s largest and most well known rose growers predicts that the spectacular colours seen in their fields will also be mirrored, although perhaps not on the same scale, in domestic gardens across the nation. “September is often a good time for roses to bloom but this year the late flowering season will be exceptional. Roses love lots of moisture at the roots so the plants have been getting stronger for the last few months. They didn’t flower well early on because of the lack of sun but they are now bursting with energy and flowers. A little more of this sunshine will help to finish them off really well” said Michael Marriott, Technical Manager at David Austin Roses. “We grow these roses to sell as plants. We’ll be digging them up soon and getting them ready to ship over the autumn and winter months. The plentiful rain has encouraged bigger, stronger plants and so increased the number of roses that are good enough to sell by at least ten per cent – they are the best I’ve ever seen,” he added. David Austin Roses grows one million roses - 800 varieties - in fields surrounding their farm and gardens in Albrighton, Shropshire. The multi award winning family business has been growing and selling roses across the world since 1969. The National Collection of English Roses is also held in their gardens, which are open to the public. “The gardens will be at their best in about ten days”, said Michael, who added: “These excellent flowering conditions should be reflected in most gardens across the country and next year’s plants will be stronger than ever – so it’s safe to say that things really are looking rosy”. All Rights Reserved - F Stop Press. Tel: +44 (0)1335


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