Floribunda rose vs Hybrid tea rose

More resistant than hybrid teas, but black spot in wet summers, powdery mildew in warm humid weather and rust still occur, and susceptible cultivars are half bare by late summer. A resistant cultivar gets by with a few preventive sprays and clearing away fallen diseased leaves; a susceptible one needs treating every two to three weeks. In spring aphids sit on shoot tips and buds, rose sawfly larvae eat the leaves and rose chafers feed on the flowers. In Central Europe the graft union and canes can be killed in hard winters without snow cover: set the union a few centimetres below soil level and mound 20 to 30 cm of soil over the base in late autumn. Remove suckers from the rootstock at their origin. Prune the canes back by half to two thirds (to 5 to 7 buds) in spring and cut off spent flower clusters in summer; a hedge also needs pruning every year.

The most disease-prone rose class: in wet summers black spot can strip the plant of leaves, powdery mildew strikes in warm humid weather and rust appears in places. Susceptible cultivars need spraying about every two weeks through the season; with a resistant cultivar a few treatments are enough, and fallen diseased leaves should always be cleared away. In spring aphids cover the shoot tips, rose sawfly larvae eat the leaves or bore into shoots, and rose chafers chew the flowers. In Central Europe the graft union is easily killed by frost: plant it about 5 cm below soil level and mound 20 to 30 cm of soil or compost over the base in late autumn, removing it in spring. After a hard winter the canes may die back to the ground. Suckers from the rootstock (paler shoots with more leaflets) must be pulled off at their origin or they will take over. It needs hard pruning to 3 to 5 buds every spring and deadheading through summer.