Rosa "Caribia", 2 l vazonas

• Type: hybrid tea rose (large-flowered)
• Botanical name: Rosa 'Caribia'
• Origin: Harry Wheatcroft & Sons (UK, 1972), a sport of 'Piccadilly'; registered as 'Harry Wheatcroft'
• Height and spread: 60–100 cm tall, up to 60 cm wide
• Flowering: repeat flowering from June to October; yellow 10–12 cm flowers striped with red, yellow petal reverse
• Fragrance: light fragrance
• Light: full sun, at least 6 hours a day
• Soil: fertile, loose, loamy, pH 6–6.5, free-draining
• Hardiness: USDA 6b–7b; definitely needs winter protection in Estonia: mound with soil and cover with spruce boughs or fleece
• Disease resistance: prone to black spot, needs good air flow and preventive care
• Use: front of borders, rose gardens, cutting
• Size: potted rose plant

Planting. Potted roses can be planted from spring to early October. Choose a sunny spot (at least 6 hours of sun a day) with good air flow and fertile, loose, loamy, slightly acid soil (pH 6–6.5) that does not stay waterlogged. Dig a 50×50 cm hole and set the graft union 3–5 cm below the surface. Space plants 40–50 cm apart.

Watering and feeding. Water deeply but infrequently — 10–15 L per plant once or twice a week in dry spells, at the base, not over the leaves. Feed with a nitrogen or complete rose fertiliser in spring, a complete feed in June–July, and from late July only potassium and phosphorus without nitrogen so the stems ripen before winter. A compost mulch keeps the soil moist.

Care. In spring, after removing the winter cover, cut stems back to 3–5 buds (15–25 cm) and remove weak and frost-damaged wood. In summer cut spent blooms back to the first full leaf to speed up the next flush. In late October–November, after the first frosts, mound the base with soil or compost 20–25 cm high and cover with spruce boughs; remove the cover gradually in April.

Gardener's tip. Definitely needs winter protection in Estonia: mound with soil and cover with spruce boughs or fleece. To keep 'Caribia' healthy, plant it in an open, airy spot and clear fallen leaves in autumn.