Rosa "Variegata di Bologna", 2 l pot

• Type: Bourbon rose
• Latin name: Rosa
• Cultivar: Variegata di Bologna
• Mature height: 1.2–1.8 m
• Pot: 2 L
• Light: sunny
• Winter hardiness: USDA 5–9 (with winter protection in Estonia)

Planting Plant in spring (May) or autumn (September) in a sunny, airy, sheltered spot with fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil; sites with standing water are unsuitable. Dig a hole about 40–50 cm deep, mix the soil with compost and plant so the graft union sits 3–5 cm below soil level; water generously. Space plants 1–1.5 m apart.

Watering Water less often but generously (10–15 l per plant), at the roots and preferably in the morning – leaves should not stay wet, which helps prevent leaf spot and powdery mildew. Mulch the soil with compost or bark.

Pruning In spring remove frost-damaged and dead shoots and shorten side shoots to 3–5 buds; thin if grown as a shrub. On a support, tie shoots in horizontally.

Feeding and winter care Feed in spring with a rose fertiliser and repeat in late June – July; stop nitrogen in mid-August and give a potassium-rich fertiliser so the shoots ripen before winter. In autumn (late October – November) mound dry soil or compost 20–25 cm up the base of the bush and cover with spruce boughs; remove the cover gradually in spring once hard frosts have passed.