One of the joys of growing a business is giving new team members the opportunity to put forward ideas for projects they are excited about. Nina joined the company in September 2022 and came into the office one day saying that through Instagram she had discovered an unusual method of training roses. She showed me photos of work by a horticulturalist, Jenny Barnes, who has done this style of rose training to great effect.

I loved the idea, and I loved Nina’s enthusiasm for it. We were looking for a way of improving our seasonal planting service, and floriferous repeat flowering roses that cope with part shade seemed a perfect solution for the Summer months. I particularly loved that no one is commercially offering roses that are trained in this way, and it gave us an opportunity to offer our customers something truly unique as well as beautiful to look at.

The rose balls are created by tightly training climbing roses into a dome shape. It’s quite difficult, time consuming and very prickly on the fingers. I would love to say that I did a lot them, but it is simply not true; Nina took the lead on this occasion and worked solidly in our nursery in Hampshire for a whole month. This was no mean feat during the cold months of February when you’re not moving very fast. It was so cold that she even accepted several cups of tea which she is usually strongly opposed to!

The plants came to us in 25L pots and were trained onto vertical 2.5m canes. This meant that most of the roses that arrived had plenty of plant material to play with. The more flexible growth there was, the easier it was to create a tight dome shape. What is unique about climbing roses is that the flower buds are generated from restricting the flow of sap along the stem. We were able to maximise this flowering potential by training each stem at an angle that would slow the movement of sap. All we had to do was avoid snapping the stems while we were working on them.

The rose balls at our Hampshire nursery, with 4 weeks growth

Two months on, we have flower buds coming through and lush green leaves forming on our domes. In just a few more weeks we will have our first flowers and the roses will be ready for distribution to our clients.

It is always difficult to supply good quality decorative pots without incurring a very long lead time from order to delivery. Lead times typically vary from 10 to 25 weeks depending on the supplier. We have recently started working with an Italian supplier who offer a beautiful range of decorative, moulded pots that are very lightweight. They are made from recycled materials, have a lifetime guarantee and can be recycled again. The range we will be offering are available in a choice of 24 colours and are made to order. Lead times are generally 4-5 weeks from this supplier, which is considerably faster than any other supplier we use. As a result of their low weight, they are perfect for use on balconies where weight is usually a limitation. The 65L pots that we are growing our roses in, will be placed into the decorative pots that we will supply. This makes installation quick and impact instant.

We are currently working on a range of pre-grown seasonal planting schemes that can be used in succession throughout the year for this and a smaller pot range. The planting schemes are as follows:

Spring:

For March and April, we will be offering a selection of pots filled with colourful bulbs which will be a hand selected range of Daffodils and Tulips, punctuated with spring flowering plants such as Forget-me-nots and Wallflowers.

Summer:

Roses will be the focus of this scheme from May to August, and will be available in the 65L pots to be placed inside of the large decorative planters. To compliment the roses, we will offer smaller pots of Agapanthus, Fleabane and Lavender.

Autumn:

Colourful Dahlias will be the centre piece of this scheme and will be complimented with bursts of colour from a florist’s favourite Alstroemeria. The structural form of Pennisetum which is an elegant, small, ornamental grass will tie this together. These will be available in September and October before cold weather and frosts begin.

Festive Months:

In the run up to Christmas, we will offer a festive scheme through November and December. This will have lots of evergreen structure, accompanied by red berries from Cotoneaster and Gaultheria, soft foliage of evergreen ferns, and flowering colour of Cyclamen.

Late Winter:

In the new year, we will change the planting for a scheme that offers late winter colour. This will include a variety of flowers such as the tiny Iris reticulata and dainty Snowdrop, and the showy flowers of Hellebores. These flowers will punctuate evergreen Ferns and the structure of Skimmia.

These schemes may be subject to change, as plants often don’t do what they’re told, and substitutions may need to be made. We will have limited stock this year, so if you would like to receive a proposal for an annual scheme get in touch soon to avoid disappointment. You can reach us on 0207 305 7183 or email at enquire@alasteranderson.com