Rosa "Carméline", 2 l pot

• Type: shrub rose (Generosa collection)
• Botanical name: Rosa 'Carméline'
• Origin: bred by Dominique Massad, Roseraies Pierre Guillot (France, 1999)
• Height and spread: 100–130 cm tall, upright habit
• Flowering: repeat flowering in flushes all summer; light pink, medium to large, full (26–40 petals) globular old-fashioned flowers
• Fragrance: moderate fragrance
• Light: full sun, at least 6 hours a day
• Soil: fertile, loose, loamy, pH 6–6.5, free-draining
• Hardiness: USDA 6b; needs winter protection in Estonia: mound the base 20–25 cm high with soil and cover with spruce boughs
• Disease resistance: a vigorous shrub; no official disease rating (ADR) exists for this variety
• Use: mixed borders, romantic and cottage gardens, specimen planting, 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 60–80 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 remove frost-damaged, weak and inward-growing stems and shorten the rest by a third. Every few years cut the oldest stems at the base to rejuvenate the shrub. Deadhead in summer. 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. Needs winter protection in Estonia: mound the base 20–25 cm high with soil and cover with spruce boughs. To keep 'Carméline' healthy, plant it in an open, airy spot and clear fallen leaves in autumn.