Rosa Xanthina ‘Canary Bird’

Masses of marvellous, musk-scented, single, yellow flowers on reddish-green arching stems in May and fern-like, grey-green leaves. ‘Canary Bird’, a pretty shrub rose, makes an excellent, informal hedge for an open, sunny site. One of the first roses to flower, the distinctive, fern-like foliage is perfect for floral arrangements.

All our roses are grown in an open field and then dug up when the weather conditions are right in October or November. Ideally they should be planted out as soon as possible. They will already have been cut back so no further pruning will be required, apart from snipping off any tips that have died back. Routine pruning can begin in late winter the year after planting.

Remove the plants from their pots and gently spread out the roots before placing them in the centre of the hole. Try to ensure that the ‘bud union’ (the point where the cultivated rose has been grafted onto the rootstock, and from where the shoots emerge) is at soil level. You can judge this quite easily by laying something flat, like a spade handle or bamboo cane, across the top of the hole. When they are at the right height, back-fill the hole, firming the soil down gently before watering the plant well.

Water generously until well established, and apply a specialist rose fertiliser (following the manufacturers instructions) each spring. They will also benefit from a generous mulch of composted farmyard manure in spring, but make sure this is kept away from the stems.

As most shrub roses tend to flowers best on older stems, they only need a little light formative pruning. Hard pruning should be avoided unless absolutely necessary as it can often ruin the plants shape. The best time to prune is in late summer after they have finished flowering. While wearing tough gloves, remove dead, damaged, diseased or congested branches completely. If the centre of the shrub is becoming congested, remove one or two of the older stems to their base. If they have become too leggy, then you can often encourage new growth to form by cutting one or two stems back to within 10 – 15cm above ground level.