Autumn is the ideal time to take a good look at your rose garden and think about pre-ordering your Bare Root Roses for winter. It’s also time to remove any weak plants and prepare your garden beds!

Knight’s Roses are the Australian Agent for some of the world’s most renowned Rose Breeders – Rosen Tantau in Germany, Guillot in France, Harkness in England and James Cocker & Sons in Scotland. We are very proud to introduce new top quality roses every year and are now taking Pre-orders, so jump online and order now to avoid disappointment.

View our extensive catalogue online, listing many favourites and describing the varieties available or phone 1300 1ROSES or (08) 8523 1311.

Saturday, 3rd May, 2025 from 10am-2pm

All are welcome to join our Autumn Open Day to see beautiful roses, get inspired and have some fun.  Hosted by Proprietor, Daniel Knight, this is a chance to explore our large display rose garden which features the best rose varieties, both old and new, showing off their peak autumn blooms. Enjoy coffee or tea, sample delicious food and speak with some of our experienced team and Rose Society members.  We can’t wait to see you there!

Saturday, 14th June, 2025 from 10am-2pm

You are invited to our Winter Open Day which promises to be a hive of activity on 14^th June from 10am to 2pm. This year we have added two free rose pruning demonstrations, run in conjunction with the Rose Society of SA. This is a great opportunity to brush up on your rose pruning skills and learn from the experts. Rose pruning is an essential part of rose maintenance and will rejuvenate your plants for the next 12 months. The Open Day will provide an opportunity to purchase bagged and potted roses and meet members from the Rose Society who will be in attendance to provide rose growing advice.

Eisvogel

Just like the dazzling kingfisher bird, which is its namesake in German, this highly fragrant Nostalgic® hybrid tea rose is unique and enchanting.  The fully-double, rosette-shaped blooms open in a cool violet with a warm copper-orange coloured centre, then blending to pink. The exotic fragrance of the flower is equally stunning as its contrasting colours, showing notes of rose and lily with a base of sandalwood and musk. Ideal as a cut flower for arrangements, Eisvogel brings the charm of nostalgic roses and fragrance into your home. Growing up to 1.2min height, this new variety is easy to grow and has excellent disease resistance.

Paprika

This rose produces clusters of blooms in vibrant brick red, resembling paprika, creating an eye-catching display. Healthy, dark green foliage contrasts the bright red, cupped-shaped flowers. The large (6-8cm diameter) long-lasting blooms have a slight fragrance, a lovely velvety sheen and do not fade with age. This is a very floriferous, dense, bushy shrub rose, up to 1.3m tall, with a long flowering period over the entire season.

Ideal for mass planting, this rose is extremely resistant to common rose diseases, such as black spot and mildew. Its robust growth habit and attractive bright colour has made it very popular overseas. Awarded a Certificate of Merit at the National Rose Trial Garden of Australia in 2024.

Silver Flash

Such a striking rose deserves a spot in every garden. This new release is not only beautiful but a top performing rose with great disease resistance. These luminous red blooms have amazing flashes of white on the petals, making them a standout. Silver Flash is a bushy, well-shaped hybrid tea featuring fully double flowers enhanced by an intense fruity fragrance, growing 1m tall. Blooms are produced  singly and in small clusters all through the season. Awarded a Bronze Medal in the Adelaide Trial Garden in 2021.

The Sacrament Rose

Fragrant and beautiful, ‘The Sacrament Rose’ is a tribute to the Sacraments of the Holy Church. It has large blooms of pure white with a creamy yellow centre complemented by healthy, glossy foliage. The classic flowers have a mass of petals per bloom enhanced by strong citrus notes of lemon and peach with a heart of myrrh in its fragrance. It is an upright Hybrid Tea with good disease tolerance, growing  to 1.2m in height, producing both single flowers on a stem and lovely attractive clusters.

David Austin Roses are loved and admired around the world. David C.H. Austin OBE (1926-2018) began breeding roses as a hobby, on the family farm, in Shropshire England in the1940s. He decided his calling was rose breeding and not sheep!  David wanted to create an entirely new kind of rose with the look, fragrance and beauty of old world roses combined with the desirable qualities of modern roses, with their repeat flowering, wide colour range and improved disease resistance. It took many years but eventually he achieved his goal and he called them English Shrub Roses. He produced over 230 varieties and made a real impact in the world of roses. Here are six highly recommended cultivars to try in your garden.

Ambridge Rose – One of the best Austin performers with prolific repeat flowering.  It has medium-sized flowers in pure apricot with a lovely English rose myrrh scent. It has a neat bushy growth habit with attractive dark green foliage. Excellent cut flower. A tough, attractive rose  bush growing to 1m x 1m.

Sophy’s Rose –  This is a free flowering, strong and vigorous plant which excels in both hot and cold climates. It has large (12cm),rosette-shaped, rich cerise blooms with up to 80 petals complemented by a light tea rose fragrance and excellent repeat flowering ability.  It can be adapted to many garden uses, such as a mass planting, hedge or container. This rose grows to 1.5m tall x 1.2mwide with an upright and bushy growth habit.  Best Shrub Rose and Silver Medal in Adelaide Trial Garden.

Molineux   –  Healthy and easy to grow, Molineux has an even upright growth about 1m tall. It produces long lasting bright yellow blooms, with a musk and Tea Rose fragrance and flowers all the way to the end of June.  Named for David Austin’s local football club, ‘Molineux’ being the name of their Ground.

Troilus  – This rose has an unusual buff colour and is well suited to our climate. The large blooms are ideal to cut. Troilus has very attractive, large, globe-shaped blooms and a sweet fragrance. The top quality, honey-coloured blooms repeat well. The bush is well-shaped, up to 1.5m, with abundant dark green foliage. This rose is an excellent performer in our warm, dry climate.

Emanuel  – This Austin variety makes a colourful display, always blooming and it’s very easy to grow. It produces clusters of fragrant flowers on long stems for cut flowers, on a well branched bush.  The pale pink-apricot flowers fade to pale cream as they age.  Hardy, vigorous and moderately resistant to disease.

Eglantyne – Large, beautifully formed, saucer-shaped blooms with a strong sweet ‘Old Rose’ fragrance. The bush is upright and well-rounded and after deadheading can repeat flower throughout the season. Grows to 1.4m tall.

Fertilising

If an application of Sudden Impact for Roses pellets was not applied in February, ensure the rose plants receive it in March. Once applied, it should be “watered in”. If possible, and given favourable weather, apply just before forecast rain, which will assist in ensuring the fertiliser is taken to the root zone. If you can’t rely on rain or a sprinkler system, use Sudden Impact for Roses Liquid Fertiliser applied in fortnightly applications until the end of March. Neutrog Go-Go Juice will certainly provide an additional boost to plants after enduring a long hot dry summer.

Pests and Diseases

Our autumn seasons are generally warm to hot and dry until the end of April and these are favourable conditions for rose growing. As far as pests and fungal diseases are concerned, usually no preventative or curative remedies are required.  With the change in season to wetter weather, cooler nights and even heavy dews, in late April or early May, some fungal diseases may emerge. You can choose to do nothing and tolerate some infected foliage or apply a preventative organic oil or fungicide spray mid to late April to ensure plants remain clean well into late autumn and early winter.

Planting New Roses

Autumn is the best period to commence soil preparation for new roses, including the removal of underperforming old plants. Where a rose plant is to be removed, commence the process in April or early May by removing the old plant. Endeavour to dig-up as many of the old rose roots as possible. If you can, take a half a barrow of old soil out and replace with soil from elsewhere in the garden which has not grown roses. Then apply an application of10cm of Whoflungdung plus Neutrog Seamungus and Go-Go Juice to the area to be planted with the new rose(s). This should be dug into the ground to at least the depth of the spade or even deeper if possible. If the soil is lumpy from a high clay content, an application of gypsum maybe required.

Repeat the application of Go-Go Juice every few weeks until the end of May. Keep on digging over the soil to reduce weed growth and to encourage the earth worms and beneficial microbes to remain very active.

New rose beds or locations should be prepared in the same way, except the removal and replacement of soil is not required.  These should be in full sun and free of root competition from trees or shrubs. Preparation should commence on or before Easter.

Visit the Rose Show at the Adelaide Botanic Garden on

25^th & 26^thApril  – Free Entry!

Autumn is a great time for roses in South Australia. The Adelaide Botanic Garden will be buzzing with excitement as exhibitors stage their best roses.  The public always enjoy the charm and beauty of the roses on display and this year the community is invited to get involved.

The 2025 Autumn Rose Show will be held by the Rose Society of South Australia at the Noel Lothian Hall, Adelaide Botanic Garden, (near Hackney Road entrance) on Friday, 25 April from 12 noon to 4pm and Saturday, 26 April 10am to 4pm.

The public is invited to participate in the community class: “The Advertiser – Best Rose Competition” by staging their best rose blooms on Saturday 26^th between 10am – 11 am. Bring along your home-grown garden roses (in water) to enter your blooms with stem and foliage which will be placed in bottles ready for judging. The first prize will be $200 for the winner. For more information visit the Rose Society of SA website.

While at the Adelaide Botanic Garden, there is another competition (with prizes) being run by the National Rose Trial Garden of Australia, known as the People’s Choice Award. The public is invited to participate in the People’s Choice judging on Friday, April 25 from 12 noon to 4pm, Saturday 26 and Sunday 27,10am to 4pm. Simply choose your favourite five roses in the trial.  Roses are entered by local, interstate and overseas breeders and planted in the trial garden for two years where they are regularly assessed. The National Rose Trial Garden is located within the International Rose Garden in the north-eastern corner of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.

To contact Knight’s Roses  – phone +61 8 85231311 or email retailsales@knightsroses.com.au or visit our website www.knightsroses.com.au