When to plant and prune Rose (Shrub / English)
Rose (Shrub / English) flowers from late May to early October and the dates below cover planting, flowering and the pruning window.
Planting, flowering and pruning by region
Rose (Shrub / English) is grown to the calendar rather than to the frost, so the same dates apply across the whole UK and every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Plant | In flower | Prune |
|---|---|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| South Coast and Channel | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| South East and Home Counties | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| East Anglia | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| Wales and West Coast | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| Northern England | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| Northern Ireland | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | late October to late December | late May to early October | late January to late February |
Growing notes
David Austin English roses combine old-rose charm with repeat flowering; deadhead through summer for continuous bloom. Buy bare-root in winter for the best value and range.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 60 cm between plants
- Eventual height
- 150 cm
- Eventual spread
- 120 cm
- Hardiness
- H5
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- Yes, 40 litres or more
- Balcony rating
- 3 out of 5
Feeding
Feed in March/April before flowering and again in mid-summer after the first flush; roses in containers fortnightly mid-spring to late summer.
Pruning: what to avoid
Once-flowering old shrub roses (group 20) must be pruned in summer after their single flush, not in winter, or you remove the wood that would have flowered. Repeat-flowering David Austin/English roses (group 21) are pruned in late winter instead.
Pruning group
RHS pruning group 21 (repeat-flowering shrub/David Austin): reduce strong new growth by a third, shorten sideshoots
Bare-root season
Bare-root stock is lifted and sold while dormant, from late October to late March. Container-grown plants can go in at other times of year, but bare-root is cheaper and establishes well.
What usually goes wrong
- black spot
- aphids
- powdery mildew
- rose replant disease
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for rose (shrub / english).