Plant Calendar
- Planting Time
- Flowering Time
Potted roses can be planted at any time of year; the planting window shown here is for bare-root roses.
Rose Features
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Fragrant
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Disease Tolerant
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Garden Merit Award
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Suitable for Pots
More roses like this
Great companion plants for Empress Josephine
Plants that grow well alongside Gallica roses like Empress Josephine.
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Lavender
Why grow this with Empress Josephine?
A classic rose companion: its silvery foliage and compact habit hide bare lower stems, and it shares roses' love of full sun and free-draining soil.
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Peony
Why grow this with Empress Josephine?
Flowers just before or alongside early roses, sharing the same love of sun and rich, well-drained soil, for a classic double-flowered pairing.
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Bearded Iris
Why grow this with Empress Josephine?
Flowers early in the rose season, its sword-like leaves contrasting with rose foliage, and shares roses' need for full sun.
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Lady's Mantle
Why grow this with Empress Josephine?
Soft, scalloped leaves and frothy lime-green flowers make an easy edging that catches morning dew and softens the front of a rose border.
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Lamb's Ear
Why grow this with Empress Josephine?
Soft, silvery foliage makes a low, weed-suppressing edging and offers a textural contrast to glossy rose leaves.
Frequently asked questions
Bare-root Empress Josephine roses are best planted during their dormant season, from November to March, which is also when we dispatch them. Potted roses are grown in containers and can be planted at any time of year — just avoid periods of hard frost or drought, and water thoroughly after planting.
Every rose we sell is covered by our 1-year Rose Guarantee, so you can plant Empress Josephine with confidence. See our Rose Guarantee page for the full details.
Often, yes — we grow our roses ourselves and stock varies through the season, so a variety that's sold out can come back. Use the "Notify me" button above to be emailed the moment Empress Josephine is back in stock.
Empress Josephine's mature growth range is 120cm x 120cm (4ft x 4ft). Growing conditions such as soil, sunlight, feeding and pruning can affect the final size, so treat this as a guide rather than an exact figure.
Old Garden roses are the historic classes bred before modern Hybrid Teas arrived in the 1860s — groups like Gallica, Damask, Bourbon, China and Moss roses. They’re prized for their old-fashioned charm, rich fragrance and, in many cases, tougher, more resilient growth than modern varieties.
Empress Josephine belongs to the Gallicas class, one of these historic groups.
Icon key
What the icons on our roses mean.
Fragrant
Has a noticeable scent. The product page tells you how strong it is.
Repeat flowering
Flowers more than once through the season, rather than a single show.
Disease tolerant
Naturally tolerant of common rose diseases such as blackspot and mildew.
Wildlife friendly
Flowers that provide pollen and nectar for bees and other pollinators.
Good for cutting
Long-lasting blooms on stems that suit cutting for the vase.
Ornamental hips
Produces decorative hips in autumn, which also feed the birds.
Award winning
Has won awards. They are listed under Key Information on the product page.
Suitable for pots
Happy growing in a container on a patio or balcony.
Grow up an arch
Can be trained over an arch, pergola or doorway.
Grow up a wall
Can be trained up a wall or fence.
Partial shade tolerant
Copes with a position that only gets sun for part of the day.
Icons only appear on roses that have the feature. Please use them as a guide: roses are living plants and can vary with your soil, sunlight and care.
