Landscaping roses
Excellent as underplanting for normal roses, ground cover roses are a low growing or prostrate form that have actually been around for a long time but ground cover roses have recently been promoted as ‘Carpet Roses’ and this is what they do.
Requiring similar conditions to other roses they thrive in a humus rich moist soil and grow well in full sun to part shade, around 6 hours of sun a day is regarded as a minimum for good flowering.
If you can arrange a position where they get morning sun, and then a little shade late in the afternoon when the sun is at its hottest they will thrive.
Many of the new cultivars are repeat flowering providing a virtual carpet of flowers from spring through summer and later. Care is fairly easy and fertiliser and watering are similar to other roses.
These low growing roses are suited for planting in pots and containers on a patio as well as in the garden border, rockeries or planted en masse, we have seen them used very successfully as median strip plantings.
Ground Cover Rose Varieties
Here we include two ‘ranges’ the Meidiland Range and the Flower Carpet Range as well as eight other popular ground cover or ‘landscaping roses’
- The Flower Carpet Range – Includes Amber, Coral, Pink Splash and Appleblossom
- The Meidiland Range – This includes Cherry Bonica, Livia and Cream Chantilly
- The Fairy – A David Austin variety that will reach around .75m and spread to 1m.
- Lavender Dream – Pink flowers that fade on a speeding bush rose to around 2.5 metres
- Red Meidiland – Red flowers on a low spreading bush, around .5 to .75m high spreading to 1m plus. One of the best for colder climates.
- Mainau Feur – A Kordes release, that will reach around .5m in height and spread to around 1 metre. Excellent lush red flowers with contrasting yellow stamens.
- Many Happy Returns – Early flowering with pink flowers, around .6 m in height.
- Eye Shadow – Mid pink flowers with a deeper centre, will reach around 60cm in height.
- Seafoam – Probably the very first ‘Landscaping Rose’, and still regarded as one of the best. This is a prostrate rose, masses of double white to creamy white flowers appear in clusters. Its a continual flowering type, from spring right through summer. Although widely used as a carpeting ground cover, it is also used as a weeping standard.
- Golden Touch – Deep green glossy foliage, golden yellow flowers and it will flower for around 9 months of the year. Reaches around 80cm and will spread to well over 1 metre.
Pruning Ground Cover Roses
All roses thrive on pruning, they flower better, and seem to stay a lot healthier with a good prune. Ground cover roses are a little different, they require less pruning. However that does not mean no pruning at all.
Start by making sure you cut back any dead or diseased wood, remove any tangled masses as well. Try cutting back some of the older wood each year to help promote new growth the rest is really sort of shaping. And yes they can be pruned again gently after flowering to help promote a healthier second flush of flowers.
If you need to regenerate ground cover roses you can generally cut back 1/3 to 2/3 depending on variety.
Ground Cover Roses are available for sale online from the following participating nurseries
Bare rooted and potted. Old World, David Austin, Bush & Standard Roses. Over 400 varieties available by Mail Order.
www.magicgardenroses.com.au
One of Australia's leading Rose suppliers. Large range of Bare root rose plants available for delivery Australia wide from June to August. For Rose care information and to order online visit our website.
www.treloarroses.com.au
400 Galston Road, Galston NSW 2159
Huge range of potted roses available all year - weeping, standards, climbing, groundcover, bush, David Austin, Smooth Touch, Old World, New Releases. Rose Garden Design Service.
www.greeneroses.com.au