Rose 'Hot Chocolate'

• The roses can be kept in their pots throughout the winter provided they are kept well fed and watered, however ideally, they should be planted out as soon as possible. Because plants are dormant throughout the winter, they do not produce any new roots until spring, so don't be alarmed if the compost falls away from the roots when you take them out of their pots.
• They will already have been cut back so no further pruning will be required, apart from removing any tips that have died back.

• To prune, just remove any dead, dying, damaged and diseased stems and also deadhead regularly. Traditionally, you would cut just above a leaf joint with a sloping cut away from the bud, however, this isn't necessary, and don’t worry about pruning too much - roses are very resilient and will grow back.
• When pruning, make sure that your secateurs are clean and sharp to prevent squashing stems and introducing disease.
• Add mycorrhizal fungi to the roots when planting to help the plant establish quicker.
• Roses can be planted at any time of the year, as long as the soil is not frozen, waterlogged or drought-dry. Plant your rose where it can get plenty of sun for at least half of the day, and where it will be sheltered from the wind.
• Roses tolerate wide range of soils but thrive in deep, humus-rich, moist but well-drained soil, so add plenty of well-rotted manure into the hole if necessary and plant so that the graft union (the swollen area when the stems meet the roots) is around 3cm below soil level.
• Water well every other day - daily if the weather is hot and dry.
• Established roses can be watered around once a week through spring and summer - more if the weather is hot.
• For best results, feed roses in late-March/April and again in late July.

Please allow us 3-5 working days to dispatch your order. Pre-ordered items will be sent as soon as possible after the date quoted and we'll generally ship your entire order with your pre-ordered items. When your order is dispatched, we'll send you another email with details of how to track it.

Most orders are sent on a fully-tracked courier service with Yodel. To avoid perishable items being stuck at depots and deteriorating, no signature is required, and our courier is asked to leave your order in a safe place on your property.

We'll send a tracking link when we dispatch your order, so you know when its due to arrive. Please note, once delivered we cannot be held responsible for loss or theft from your property. If you have any specific delivery instructions, please let us know - there's an option to enter a short message for the courier at the checkout.

Smaller, lighter, single-item orders may be sent through the post with Royal Mail - in which case no tracking is available.

Our experienced nursery team will always send your plants nursery fresh in the perfect condition to thrive when you plant them, so although most plants are very tough and will not be affected by all but the most extreme frosts or heatwaves, we avoid dispatching the most perishable plants if extreme weather is forecast, or over Bank Holiday weekends.

Please note, we cannot guarantee delivery on a certain day or time. Delivery to outlying postcode areas may take 1-2 days longer, dependent on your location.