Rosa "Arifa", 2 l ruukku

• Type: floribunda rose, cut-flower type, repeat-flowering
• Botanical name: Rosa 'Arifa' (TANafira)
• Breeder: H. J. Evers, Rosen Tantau, Germany, 1994
• Height and spread: up to 120 cm / about 60 cm
• Flowering: June–September, repeat; ivory blooms edged pink, high-centred
• Fragrance: light
• Light: full sun
• Soil: fertile, loose, loamy, well-drained
• Hardiness: approx. USDA 6b (about −20 °C); needs winter protection in Estonia
• Use: cut flowers, bouquets, rose beds
• Size: potted rose plant

Planting. Choose a sunny, airy spot (at least 6 hours of sun a day) with fertile, loose, loamy soil that never stays waterlogged, pH 6–7. Dig a hole about 50×50 cm and add compost or well-rotted manure at the bottom. Set the graft union 3–5 cm below soil level – in the Estonian climate this protects it in winter. A potted plant can be planted throughout the season, from May to September; space plants 50–60 cm apart.

Watering and feeding. Water deeply but not too often – 10–15 l per plant once a week, more often in hot weather, ideally in the morning and at the base without wetting the leaves. In spring give a nitrogen-rich or complete rose fertiliser, again a complete feed when the buds form and after the first flush, and from mid-July only potassium-phosphorus feed without nitrogen so the shoots ripen before winter.

Care. In spring, as the buds swell, remove frost-damaged and weak shoots and cut strong ones back to 3–5 buds. When cutting flowers for a bouquet leave 2–3 leaves on the stem so the bush produces a new flush sooner. For winter, once light frosts have set in (around −5 °C, usually late October–November), mound dry soil or compost 20–25 cm high around the base and cover with spruce branches or horticultural fleece; remove the cover gradually in April.

Gardener's tip. For the vase, cut 'Arifa' early in the morning at the tight coloured-bud stage and put it in water straight away – Tantau cut-rose varieties hold their shape for a long time.