Rose ‘Albertine’ (Rambling Rose)

Where to Plant Roses
Choose a position in full sun or partial shade with fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. ‘Albertine’ is a vigorous rambler, so allow plenty of room and provide a strong structure such as a large wall, fence, pergola or sturdy arch. It can also be grown through an established tree.

Planting Bare Root Roses
Before planting, soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours. Dig a generous hole wide enough for the roots to spread out naturally without bending or crowding them. Position the rose so the graft union – the swollen point where the stems meet the roots – sits around soil level, then backfill, firm gently and water thoroughly.

Planting Potted Roses
Water the rose well before planting and dig a hole slightly wider than the root ball. Remove the plant carefully from its pot, position it at the same depth it was growing previously, backfill with soil and gently firm around the roots. Water thoroughly after planting.

Watering & Feeding
Keep newly planted roses well watered while they establish. Feed established plants as growth begins in spring and again in early summer to support healthy growth and flowering. An annual mulch of well-rotted manure or garden compost will help retain moisture and improve the soil.

Top Tip
Give ‘Albertine’ plenty of room from the start. Begin tying in its long young stems while they're still flexible, spreading them across the support to build a broad framework for flowers.

When to Prune
Established rambling roses are best pruned after flowering in summer. Start by removing dead, damaged, diseased or badly placed growth.

Pruning Rambling Roses
Remove some of the oldest flowered stems at the base where necessary and keep the strongest young shoots that have developed during the season. Tie these new stems into the support while they're still flexible, positioning them where you want future growth and flowers.

Keep Growth Under Control
On mature plants, thin congested growth and remove stems that are growing into unwanted areas. When ‘Albertine’ is growing through an established tree, pruning can be lighter, concentrating on controlling its size and removing unwanted or damaged stems.

Top Tip
Keep the best long new shoots rather than cutting them back. Tie them into empty areas of the support after flowering to build up the framework for future displays.

Complement the Salmon-Pink Flowers
The warm salmon-pink flowers of ‘Albertine’ work beautifully with blue, purple and soft white planting. Clematis can share a large support, while nepeta, hardy geraniums, salvias and campanulas bring complementary colour around the base.

Add Colour Through the Seasons
Spring-flowering bulbs can provide colour before ‘Albertine’ reaches its midsummer display. Later-flowering perennials will then continue the interest around the base once the rose has finished its main show.

Plant Around Large Structures
When growing ‘Albertine’ over a pergola or large arch, use lower-growing plants around the base to soften the structure and connect the rose with the surrounding border.

Top Tip
If you're pairing ‘Albertine’ with a clematis, give each plant its own planting space rather than putting both root systems into the same hole. They can then be trained together once established.

Your Rose – Rambling Rose
‘Albertine’ is a Rambling Rose, producing long, flexible stems capable of covering a substantial area. Ramblers are particularly good for large pergolas, arches, fences and walls or for growing through established trees. ‘Albertine’ creates a magnificent midsummer display of fragrant salmon-pink flowers.

Other Types of Rose

Hybrid Tea Roses
Hybrid Tea roses are prized for their large, beautifully formed flowers, usually carried individually or in small groups on strong stems. Many are highly fragrant and their strong stems make them particularly good roses for cutting.

Floribunda Roses
Floribunda roses produce their flowers in generous clusters, creating plenty of colour over a long period. They usually have a bushy habit and repeat flower through summer, making them excellent choices for beds, borders and larger containers.

Shrub Roses
Shrub roses develop into naturally shaped bushes and are particularly useful for adding height and structure to borders. Their flowers vary from simple open blooms to large, fully double roses, depending on the variety.

Climbing Roses
Climbing roses produce long flowering stems that can be trained over walls, fences, arches and other supports. They don't cling by themselves, so their stems need to be tied to a suitable support as they grow.

Ground Cover Roses
Ground cover roses have a low, spreading habit, making them useful towards the front of borders and for covering banks, slopes and larger areas. Planted in groups, they can create a broad carpet of flowers while helping to cover bare ground.

Flower Carpet Roses
Flower Carpet roses are a range of ground cover roses bred for their spreading habit, long flowering season and good garden performance. They're particularly useful for creating low-maintenance colour in borders, banks and larger planting schemes.

Persica Roses
Persica roses are instantly recognisable by the contrasting eye at the centre of their flowers, a characteristic inherited from Rosa persica. Modern varieties combine this unusual colouring with repeat flowering and strong garden performance.

Bare Root Roses
Bare root roses are supplied during autumn and winter while they are dormant. Although they may look simple and leafless when they arrive, the plants have stored energy in their roots ready to support fresh growth once conditions warm in spring.

How They Arrive
Your bare root rose will arrive without a pot or compost around its roots. Unpack it promptly and aim to plant it as soon as possible.

If You Can't Plant Straight Away
Keep the roots covered with moist soil in a cool, sheltered place and keep the stems dry. Aim to plant within seven days, avoiding frozen or waterlogged ground.

Planting Bare Root Roses
Soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours before planting. Dig a generous hole, improve the soil with compost or well-rotted organic matter and position the rose so the graft union sits around soil level. Backfill, firm gently and water well.

Potted Roses
Potted roses are established plants supplied ready to plant and can be planted at almost any time of year, avoiding frozen, waterlogged or extremely dry conditions.

How They Arrive
Plants are carefully selected and pruned where necessary to encourage a strong, open framework. The pot is protected during transit to help retain moisture and safeguard the roots.

If You Can't Plant Straight Away
Place the pot in a sheltered outdoor position and water regularly to keep the compost moist until you're ready to plant.

Planting in the Ground or Containers
Dig a hole slightly wider than the root ball and plant at the same depth as it was growing in the pot. Improve the soil with organic matter where needed, firm gently and water thoroughly. Roses suited to container growing can also be planted into a large pot with good drainage.

Seasonal Appearance
The appearance of your rose will naturally vary depending on the time of year. In spring you'll see fresh new growth, while during summer plants may arrive in leaf or flower. In autumn and winter they may have yellowing leaves or be completely leafless as they enter dormancy. Fresh growth will appear again when conditions improve.

Growing On
Once established, ‘Abracadabra’ develops into a compact, upright Floribunda approximately 90cm high × 50cm wide.