Rosa "Claude Monet", 2 l ruukku

• Type: hybrid tea rose, repeat-flowering
• Botanical name: Rosa 'Claude Monet' (JACdesa)
• Breeder: J. Christensen / Jackson & Perkins, Delbard, 1992
• Height and spread: 80–110 cm / 45–65 cm
• Flowering: June–September, repeat; 7–10 cm semi-double yellow blooms streaked pink and raspberry-red
• Fragrance: light, fruity
• Light: full sun
• Soil: fertile, loose, loamy, well-drained
• Hardiness: to −20 °C (USDA 6b); needs winter protection in Estonia
• Disease resistance: good (powdery mildew, black spot, rust)
• Use: rose beds, mixed borders, cut flowers
• 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, when the buds swell, remove frost-damaged and weak shoots and cut strong ones back to 3–5 buds – hybrid teas flower best on young wood. In summer deadhead to the first full leaf to speed up the second flush. 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. The colouring of 'Claude Monet' is most vivid in full sun and cool weather; blooms cut as opening buds last long in a vase and every one looks different.