On the subject of roses, let’s start with how they are grouped.

I mentioned climbers and ramblers last week but did not tell you about pruning. Ramblers generally flower once only but hugely prolifically. They are often so large as to make conventional dead-heading almost impossible, so the best way to get new fresh growth is to remove one of the oldest stems right out from the base.

You may need a pruning saw rather than loppers or secateurs depending on the age of the plant.

When you have picked out an old stem, take it right down and then grasp it and pull. Wear safety glasses or at least keep your head down, as much detritus will come with it. As a rule, this can be done once flowering is over rather than in the spring.

You can also apply this tactic to old climbing roses, but leave this until spring.

With climbers you must also shorten the lateral side shoots back to an outward facing bud or leaf joint. Cut at an angle away from the joint or bud, being careful not to leave a long snag, nor to cut at so much of an angle that you damage the developing bud on the other side of the stem. Again, this method of cutting back should be applied to all roses.

You will have heard of floribundas and hybrid teas but may not know the difference. Hybrid teas are roses that have the conventional button-hole tight scrolled bud and blooms that are generally pointed in shape.

Often there is one large flower per stem. Many have good scent and they come in a myriad of colours. A couple of new ones for us this year are ‘Rachel’, which is peachy/pink with large frilly blooms and a good scent. Another is ‘Tequila Sunrise’, which is a zingy yellow in bud but gradually takes on red tints as the flowers open.

Floribundas are exactly what they say – lots of blooms carried on a single stem, so more clustered than the hybrid teas.

‘For Your Eyes Only’ is a new introduction and has been chosen as the Rose of the Year 2015. It is a stunner with single blooms described as ‘sunset shades and dark petal bases’. It is fragrant, has a long flowering period and will be welcomed by the bees. Another new one is ‘Night Owl’, a semi-double with dark purple petals and prominent yellow stamens. It has a spicy scent and can be grown as a short climber as well.

The term ‘shrub roses’ seems to cause a problem because hybrid teas and floribundas are technically shrubs as well, but here I mean the historic roses, many of them bred in France in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They are robust and their full-petalled blooms have the best fragrance of all.

Such corkers as ‘Reine des Violettes’ and ‘Felicity Parmentier’, ‘Charles de Mills’ and ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’ knock other roses into a cocked hat.