By David Westwood www.garden-gardening.co.uk

Have you ever tried to grow roses - not easy. All looks well in the nursery until planted in your garden when disease or insects take over!

Do we fuss and tender the roses, regularly spraying for diseases or do we just buy roses that are easer to grow. Can we grow neighbours - relatives roses from cuttings - the answer is YES.

Roses are universally favourite plants. The bright vibrant hues give gardens a splash of colour. You can smell the heady perfume of roses during summer as they fill the air. With so many different varieties to choose from rose gardening is a marvellous experience.

While it's true that there many roses that you can choose from, the type is not important. What is important is that you plant them where you can reap the benefits later on. Roses are hardy plants. With so many gardeners breeding new hardy varieties, roses can now grow in any type of condition. Difficult soil and garden problems are no longer a barrier to well grown rose gardens.

The key to rose gardening lies in buying plants that are at least two years old, that have been field grown and are budded. If your young rose plants are pruned then the heavy stems need to be 1/4 inches in diameter at the top. On the other hand if the rose plant is not pruned, then there should be three or more heavy stems that are 18 inches in diameter.

You need to plant your roses in a sunny, well-drained spot. You should trim of all the bruised and broken stems off. In rose gardening roses needed to be eased into the ground. You first dig a hole 6 inches deeper than the rose roots need, then make the hole wide and big all around so that the roots will not grow crowded or bent.

The bottom of the hole should have small rocks or pebbles in it. This rock formation will aid in the drainage for the roses. After the stones have been placed, mix one tablespoon of fertilizer over the stones. Above this lay good fertile soil until the level is where you will plant your rose plant. In the mound of soil make a small hole and carefully plant your rose bush in there. You will need to make sure that the hole has room for the roots. Then cover the roots with soil, firming the soil every so often.

Rose gardening requires that you feed your roses at regular intervals to ensure healthy growth. The first feeding should therefore be given in early spring, before the roses bloom. The second feeding will come after the first heavy blossoming is finished. The third feeding occurs in late summer. If you are lucky there might be roses that will bloom until about November. If this is the case, then feed your plants a fourth time around

While all this care does help in rose gardening, chemical pesticides are needed to prevent sucking and chewing insects from damaging your roses. This pesticide also works to cut down on the fungus that likes to grow on roses.

There are roses for every garden and you can grow beautiful roses that do not need spraying or looking after more than any other of your plants