Crop type: Radishes
Raphanus sativus ‘Rose d’Hiver de Chine’
Common name: Radish ‘China Rose’
Crop slug: radishes
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile and its linked crop guidance. Check the sources and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘China Rose’ is the familiar synonym of the accepted cultivar ‘Rose d’Hiver de Chine’. It is a winter radish producing tasty, medium-to-large oblong roots. The crop guide distinguishes it from quick salad cultivars: sow in late summer, allow a longer growing period and harvest during the cool autumn and winter season.
The exact RHS cultivar record is sparse and does not publish detailed size, position, hardiness or pest fields. This guide therefore keeps that absence explicit and uses the linked RHS radish guidance for practical cultivation rather than inventing profile attributes.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Ultimate spread
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Time to maturity
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Root
- Medium to large and oblong
- Crop class
- Winter radish
Allow around 15–20cm between plants, the spacing advised for larger winter roots. The oblong crop needs loose soil beneath it as well as room for leafy tops to develop.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Moisture
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Preferred pH
- Not stated on the exact profile
Following the linked crop guidance, choose finely prepared, stone-free, moisture-retentive soil with free drainage. Consistent watering supports even swelling and prevents splitting. Avoid compacted ground and overcrowding.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Aspect
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Exposure
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Hardiness
- Not stated on the exact profile
Use an open sunny bed, as recommended for radishes generally. Protect roots left in the ground with fleece, cloches or cardboard during freezing weather, or lift them for cool storage in November.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
The variety is traditionally represented by elongated oblong winter roots with rose-pink to deep pink-red skin and crisp pale flesh, attached to substantial green radish foliage. The exact profile itself specifies the oblong size class and cultivar identity but does not publish a colour description, so the illustration should remain restrained: medium-large pink oblong roots, one cut section, no round scarlet globes, black skin, purple salad roots or long white daikon form.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Brassicaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Habit
- Not stated on the exact profile
- Name status
- Accepted
- Accepted name
- Raphanus sativus ‘Rose d’Hiver de Chine’
- Synonym
- Raphanus sativus ‘China Rose’
Genus
Raphanus includes annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous plants, often with lyrate glaucous leaves, small four-petalled flowers and indehiscent fruits. Edible forms are cultivated as annual radish vegetables.
Safety
Roots and young leaves are edible. Wash them thoroughly and discard damaged or decayed material.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Sow directly in July or August, following the linked winter-radish method. Make drills about 2cm deep, leave approximately 15cm between rows and thin seedlings to 15–20cm apart. Avoid earlier sowing that may encourage bolting.
Keep the bed weed-free and evenly moist. Harvest from autumn through winter. Roots can remain in protected ground and be lifted as required, or be lifted in November for refrigeration or a similarly cool store. Eat raw, grated or sliced, or cook in stews and stir-fries.
Propagation
Propagate by seed sown directly where the root will mature.
Suggested locations
- Allotment winter-root bed
- Deep raised bed
- Open productive garden
- No-dig bed with a fine sowing surface
Pruning
No cultivar-specific pruning information is published. Remove premature flowering stems from an edible-root crop.
Pests
No cultivar-specific pests are listed. Winter radishes may be damaged by slugs, flea beetles and cabbage root fly; fine insect-proof mesh helps exclude the fly.
Diseases
No cultivar-specific diseases are listed. Radishes may be affected by brassica downy mildew and club root, so rotate crops and avoid overcrowding.