FFF311 - RHAPSODY IN BLUE

Rosa 'Rhapsody in Blue' is a bushy shrub rose with light green leaves and very fragrant, cupped, semi-double purplish-blue flowers fading to slate-blue, with a paler reverse, flowering in summer and autumn. It is currently blooming in our garden and looks wonderful in the Spring sunshine. One can smell these roses from a distance and the bees like their cup shape that allow them to harvest pollen and nectar.

This shrub rose will grow in a wide range of situations but best in an open site with full sun and moderately fertile, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil. For best flowering apply a balanced fertiliser and mulch in late winter or early spring and a balanced fertiliser again in early summer. Propagate by hardwood cuttings in autumn or by chip budding in summer.

Roses can be pruned during late winter when growth is just resuming. Deadheading is carried out in summer after flowering. Unlike modern bush roses, shrub roses generally flower on older wood and should be allowed to develop naturally, maintained by light but regular pruning and with a balance of older wood and young, vigorous growth. Bear in mind that a large number of old garden roses have an arching habit and need adequate space; shortening stems simply to restrict spread spoils their graceful shape.

The main maintenance requirement is to keep the plants free of dead, diseased and damaged wood, crossing or rubbing branches, or spindly growth. Avoid excessive build-up of older, unproductive wood that is causing the centre to become crowded, removing one or two older branches from the centre if necessary. If they become leggy and bare at the base, remove one or two stems back to near ground level, which will usually encourage new growth from the base.

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