Rosa "Bengali", 2 l ruukku

• Type: floribunda (bedding) rose, repeat-flowering
• Botanical name: Rosa 'Bengali' (KORbehati)
• Breeder: W. Kordes' Söhne, Germany, 2011; ADR 2010
• Height and spread: 60–100 cm / about 50 cm
• Flowering: June to frost, continuous; about 6 cm apricot-orange semi-double blooms in clusters
• Fragrance: medium, tea and fruit
• Light: full sun
• Soil: fertile, loose, loamy, well-drained
• Hardiness: about −23 °C (USDA 6); needs winter protection in Estonia
• Disease resistance: high (ADR)
• Use: groups, edging, low hedges, containers
• 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 40–50 cm (5–6 plants per m²) 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 remove frost-damaged and weak shoots and shorten the rest by a third to a half. In summer cut off spent clusters whole down to the first developed leaf – 'Bengali' quickly sets new buds. 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. Plant 'Bengali' in groups of 3–5 – the shades shifting from orange to pink create a 'living' bed. Good companions are blue and purple perennials: catmint, salvia and lavender.