Peat-Free Champions: Why We’re Peat-Free (And How You Can BeToo)
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a celebration of horticultural excellence, and this year, we are pleased to share an important milestone from the Grand Pavilion. David Austin® Roses has been recognised by the RHS as a peat-free champion, reflecting a long-standing commitment to protecting vital ecosystems and reducing environmental impact.
For more than 15 years, we have been carefully trialling peat-free composts in our nurseries, and for the past two years all our roses have been grown and shipped in 100% peat-free compost. With a few simple adjustments, gardeners can achieve world-class results while helping to preserve Britain’s irreplaceable peatlands. Here is how we do it - and how you can achieve Chelsea-standard results in your own garden.
The Secret Beneath the Surface: Understanding Peat-Free Compost
Peat-free gardening isn't about compromise; it’s about understanding a new rhythm. Modern blends use sustainable ingredients like bark, wood fibre and coir. These provide the structure and air your roses need, but they behave differently than traditional peat. Because we have worked with these mediums for over 15 years, we know that once you master a few simple habits, your roses won’t just grow - they’ll flourish.
Master Watering: Knowing When Your Rose Truly Needs It
In a peat-free world, looks can be deceiving. The surface of your pot might appear bone-dry while the roots below are still perfectly moist. Before you reach for the hose, use the “finger test”- simply feel an inch or two beneath the surface, or check the weight of the pot.
Feed for the Spotlight: Supporting Healthy Growth and Abundant Blooms
To achieve those lush leaves and heavy flower heads, a little extra fuel goes a long way. While our compost contains enough nourishment to help your rose settle in, a regular feeding routine is the secret to a truly spectacular display.
Whether you prefer liquid seaweed or a specialist rose feed, consistent feeding ensures your plant has the energy it needs to keep producing those iconic blooms all season long.
Refresh and Renew: Keeping Peat-Free Compost Performing Beautifully
Over time, the woody elements in peat-free compost naturally settle. To keep your roses thriving, a little maintenance makes all the difference.
Annual Mulching: Add a layer of mulch once a year to help keep roots cool and moist, while also suppressing weeds.
Re-potting: Every few years, refresh your rose by re-potting it into fresh compost, ensuring the roots continue to enjoy excellent drainage and air.
Choosing the Right Bag: Selecting Quality Peat-Free Compost
When buying compost, look for the Responsible Sourcing Scheme label to ensure it has been produced with care for the environment. Choose fresh bags wherever possible, and avoid any that feel unusually heavy or waterlogged, as this may suggest they have been stored outside for too long.
A thoughtfully chosen compost gives your roses the very best possible start.
Growing with a Lighter Touch: Protecting Precious Peatlands
By planting in peat-free compost, you are helping to protect a landscape that has been quietly serving us for centuries. Peatlands are among Britain’s most precious ecosystems, storing carbon, supporting wildlife and safeguarding natural beauty.
We are thrilled to be recognised as RHS Peat-Free Champions, but the real reward lies in knowing that together, we are gardening with a lighter touch on the earth.
Our Promise to Grow Responsibly
Rooted in care and guided by purpose, BLOOM brings together all our social and environmental commitments under one thoughtful plan. As growers of natural products, we recognise our responsibility to nurture the environment and use our business as a force for good.
Because beautiful gardens should help the world flourish too.
-
Growing Roses With Solar PowerWe have installed photovoltaic solar panels on the roofs of our production facility, offices, and cold stores to reduce our environmental footprint and adopt cleaner energy sources. These solar panels are crucial in our efforts to achieve greater sustainability.
-
Our Water-Recycling Scheme: Ensuring Sustainable GrowthAt David Austin®, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. Through our BLOOM initiative, we are committed to caring for the environment while ensuring our beautiful roses thrive. One of the key ways we achieve this is through our water recycling scheme.
-
Cultivating Harmony Through Thoughtful Pest ControlWe’ve implemented an Integrated Pest Management system across all six of our themed gardens and our nursery- home to the breeding of our world-renowned roses.
-
Twelve Years in the Making: Breeding an English RoseA new English rose, over a decade in the making, is ready to make its debut in the Great Pavilion at the Chelsea Flower Show. After years of careful cultivation, it will finally share its beauty with the world in full bloom, for the very first time.
-
New for 2026: Sir David Beckham (Ausa34b16)Sir David Beckham (Ausa34b16) is a rose shaped by natural beauty, quiet strength and a deeply personal story. Created to mark a milestone year and inspired by a touching request from Harper for her father’s 50th birthday, this remarkable new English Shrub Rose is rooted in something deeply meaningful, a living symbol of family, resilience and enduring love. Yet beyond the story behind its name, Sir David Beckham is, above all, a rose of great garden beauty and presence.
-
How to Water Your RoseAs the warmer months arrive, ensuring your roses remain well-hydrated is the most effective way to maintain their health and vitality. Regular watering supports the plant’s natural resilience, allowing for a consistent and beautiful display of flowers throughout the summer.
-
Peat-Free Champions: Why We’re Peat-Free (And How You Can Be Too)The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a celebration of horticultural excellence, and this year, we are pleased to share an important milestone from the Grand Pavilion. David Austin® Roses has been recognised by the RHS as a peat-free champion, reflecting a long-standing commitment to protecting vital ecosystems and reducing environmental impact.
-
David Austin at Chelsea: A Look Back at Our Five Most Recent Rose LaunchesAs Chelsea draws near once more, so too does that unmistakable sense of anticipation. Each year brings with it something new, but never something hurried. Every David Austin® rose released at Chelsea represents years of patience, often requiring more than a decade of careful breeding, observation and quiet conviction.
-
Managing Powdery Mildew on Your Roses: The Ghost in the GardenThere are few sights more disheartening for a rose grower than watching fresh, vigorous growth suddenly falter. You’ve spent weeks monitoring a promising new shoot as it reaches for the sun. Then, almost overnight, the leaves begin to pucker. A strange, silvery dust settles over the buds like a ghostly velvet. This is Powdery Mildew.
-
The Story Behind the Sir David Beckham RoseWith Sir David Beckham’s birthday this weekend, it feels like the perfect time to share the heartfelt story behind a project that has been quietly blooming at our Shropshire nursery. While the official debut is still to come, the journey of this new variety began last year when Sir David celebrated his milestone 50th birthday. His daughter, Harper, wanted to give a truly unique gift: a rose that would reflect her father's love for the British countryside and the hours they share together in the family garden.
