auntie_biotic wrote:

I have just purchased a rose "Paul scarlet" rootball.

I don't know what a rootball is, but I love your nym!
Do you mean one of those bagged roses in sawdust? There
ought to be instructions on it.


Then realised I
don't know the first thing about planting, preparing soil, feeding etc. Any
advice will be appreciated. PS I live in north England where at present it
is quite cold and rainy.

I'd hate to tell you something wrong, as my climate is about
as different from N. England as it can be. But if your rose is
a bare root rose, you should plant it in cold weather. Basic steps:

1. Soak it for a few days in a clean yardwaste can full of water.
2. Dig a 2 ft x 2 ft hole with edges at least three feet away
from anything else. Make sure you dig it somewhere where there is
good drainage. After digging, fill the hole with water and see how long
it takes to drain. More than six hours is too slow. You can plant in a
raised bed if you have drainage problems. Rose need lots of water but it
has to drain off, they cannot sit in it.
3. Put good, rich, black soil in the hole (yours isn't? then buy some)
and mound it into a cone so that the bud union (knot) in the crotch
of the plant is just below the surface of the soil. Toss a handful
of bone meal on top of the mound. Water well. Reform the mound (don't
pack it down too hard) and place your rose in the hole. Fill with
more good rich black soil, and mound it up over the canes. Water well.
You want the canes to stay moist. Press the air bubbles out by
tamping the mound with your two hands. Water again. Mound mulch
(I like pine bark but pine straw is nice too) so that
the canes are covered. Keep it watered and keep an eye on it
and when you begin to see sprouts slowly remove the mulch.

Good luck!