Why hasn’t my rose flowered much this year?

There are a few common reasons as to why a rose may not perform as well as hoped including…

1. Incorrect pruning – pruning encourages strong new growth and more flowering shoots. Training of climbing and rambling roses so that the stems are lying more horizontally also helps to encourage many more flowering shoots. If a rose is not pruned hard enough (or not at all) then the plant can lose some of its vigour, will not be as bushy and may flower less. For more advice on pruning and training click here.
2. Loss of nutrients in the soil – roses are very hungry plants and can use up a lot of the nutrients in the soil especially if growing roses in pots. Regular feeding is hugely beneficial to encourage greater plant health and more flowers. If growing roses in pots then we also recommend changing the compost every couple of years to replenish any lost nutrients.
3. Not enough sunlight or being overcrowded by other plants – most roses do best in full sun. Many roses will do well in part shade, but flowering could be affected if they do not get enough sunlight.
4. Growing a rose where another rose has grown in the past - rose sickness, or specific rose replant disease, can occur if a rose has been planted where a rose has previously been growing. This can have a severely negative effect on the health of the new rose causing it to underperform and stopping it from properly establishing and flourishing. For more information and ways to avoid rose replant disease click here.
5. Rose planted at the wrong depth – if a rose has been planted too high then there is a risk that the roots can become exposed. This will affect the performance of the roots and their ability to maintain the health of the rose. Planting a rose too high can also encourage suckers to develop from below the graft point. Roses are grafted onto a vigorous root stock and a sucker is a shoot produced from the root. Suckers are not normally an issue but are best to remove as if left to flourish they can become vigorous and begin to steal nutrients away from the main rose and negatively affect its health and vigour. For advice on planting at the correct depth please click here for helpful tips and videos.