Autumn rose maintenance

Cut back, mulch and remove diseased stems, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

OUR roses have done brilliantly this year, especially the wonderfully scented Gertrude Jekyll (Ausbord') climber in the front garden.

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, our ancient red floribunda rose, which looked old when we moved into the house 12 years ago, was attacked by black spot late in the summer. Despite a fabulous start to the season with lots of deep-red flowers, it moved into the autumn looking a sickly mess, with fallen flowers and leaves.

At least this gave me the incentive to cut it back instead of leaving the hips to redden into autumn.

Cutting back shrub roses by a third is common practice at this time of year because it helps to keep them stable and protect their shallow roots when they are blasted by strong winds and storms over autumn and winter.