Surprise your friends and neighbours with an arrangement of Christmas roses for the festive season! Beautiful blooms at a time when little else is available. From seed you can have a group quite close together in a way which would cost you a great deal if you bought the plants. They flower in about three years from seed and invariably produce stronger, healthier plants.

Sow any time of year in a 7.5cm (3in) pot of seed compost or a free draining peat/sand mix. Sow the seed on the surface of the compost and cover with a little well rotted leaf mould or fine peat. Cover the pot with glass and place in a coldframe or sheltered position with the pot sunk up to its rim in soil. Germination is very slow and can take up to 18 months.

Prick out into individual pots when the seedlings are large enough to handle, grow on for a season and plant out the following autumn or spring in a rich, moist well drained soil and part shade. They take 3-4 years to commence flowering.

Harmful if eaten/skin irritant