Episode: #10 4/11/06
Presenter: Fiona Bruyn

A trip to your local garden centre in late spring when roses are in full bloom can be a pretty daunting experience. You might find a flower you really love, but does the bush it comes from suit the plans you have for the garden.

The are many types of rose and within each type there are also many individual varieties so before you buy it is best to know a bit about each as some require more care than others while some are best left alone.

When most people think of a rose it is usually the hybrid tea which is the rose you get from a florist; they are the most popular with a large flower. The shrub grows from 3 ? 6 feet.

Floribundas are usually smaller plants with smaller flowers that tend to be in clusters, the most popular is the Iceberg (Rosa, Modern rose, Modern Shrub, Cluster-Flowered, ?Iceberg?).

Grandiflora roses are supposedly a combination of the Hybrid Tea and the Floribunda and usually have several clustered blooms.

Miniatures, as the name implies, are tiny replicas of larger roses and are ideal for containers, rock gardens and edging.

Climbing roses are usually very vigorous. They are also known as ramblers and they can reach great heights. They have very long canes which are perfect for training over arches, trellises and walls and are perfect for small gardens.

Any variety of spreading or low growing rose can be put in the ground cover category. They are often called carpet roses and they have a repeat flower and good disease resistance.

Heirloom also known as Antique or old roses are incredibly though. You will often find them growing in cemeteries or deserted gardens. They grow on their own root stock and they are well known for their beautiful fragrance.

Fiona?s pick of the bunch is Rosa Rugosa, which may not look like a traditional flower with its floppy flowers and crinkly leaves but it is incredibly fragrant and very tough. It also produces little rose hips, gorgeous in Autumn, you can make them into jams and jelly?s and they are very high in vitamin c.