Roses

We all appreciate roses as being spring/summer flowerers but what many gardener’s don’t realise is that many roses will in fact produce a second flush of beautiful blooms in autumn. To encourage your roses to produce that second flush, once they have had that first flush - dead head your plants i.e. remove the spent flower stems, cutting down as far as the first set of leaves that have five leaflets on it. This will encourage a new flower stalk to be produced. An application of fertiliser at this time is also a good idea. Remember not to leave it until late autumn, as new growth will be susceptible to damage from the cold.