Growing roses is relatively easy in the UK, especially with the right care and varieties. These rewarding flowers will flourish in borders, containers, or even as climbers, but they are prone to specific diseases. A landscaping and horticulture expert has urged gardeners to check roses this month.

Jamie Shipley, managing director at Hedges Direct Ltd, said: “Replant disease is a common problem if a plant is bought to replace the same type of plant in the same soil. The new shrub suffers from poor growth, struggles to establish roots and might even die.” Jamie continued: “While we don’t know exactly what causes replant disease, we know that roses are particularly susceptible to it.”

The general consensus amongst gardeners and biologists is that the disease is caused by a build-up of root pathogens in the soil during the original plant’s lifetime.

Bare-root roses, which should be planted between October and April in the UK, are particularly at risk if planted in soil where roses were previously grown.

This sickness starts from the roots but is not always obvious above ground. However, the most obvious symptom is severe stunting, where the rose grows only about 50% as much as it should.

According to Ashridge Nurseries, rose shoots affected by replant disease “will be thin, spindly, with short intervals between leaf nodes”.

Some leaves might be reasonably healthy looking, but sparseness could indicate sickness.

If you suspect the disease, the best course of action is to move the rose to soil where that plant has never been grown before.

The plant nursery experts elaborated: “When you dig up a rose with replant disease to wash and inspect the roots, they will not have grown much, and you should see that fine roots are rotted and black-brown, not healthy and dirty-white colour.”

When moving affected roses, swap the soil with fresh soil from another part of the garden.

Be sure to shake off the old soil before replanting roses in another site where the species has not been grown. Using this method, “the plant will often recover”, said the Royal Horticultural Society,

If moving your roses is impossible, Jamie suggests removing “as much of the surrounding soil that may have come into contact with the previous plant and adding fresh soil to the site instead”.

Good rose care can prevent replant disease from recurring. This includes adding lots of well-rotted manure or good garden compost to the soil where roses grow.

Many experts suggest treating new roses with mycorrhizal fungi, either by brushing it on, putting it in the hole, or soaking the roots in it.

Gardeners should avoid chemical drenches or all-in-one rose treatments because they can harm the soil.