Groundcover Roses By Mary C. Weaver, special to HGTV.com
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Groundcover roses like this Flower Carpet Coral can provide a fuss-free sweep of color.
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The so-called groundcover roses could be considered the hobbits of the genus. Short in stature, spreading in girth, these roses are for the most part robust, hardworking garden plants. Like all roses (and all hobbits), they appreciate generous feedings, but in other respects they're undemanding customers. And those of you who have better things to do than lug around a sprayer will find that most of them can do without fungicides. What constitutes a groundcover rose? Rose experts recognize no official class by that name, but marketers and growers have come to apply the term to any rose that's shorter than average (typically topping out at one to three feet) and wider than tall--particularly when the plant is free-blooming and easy-care. "Groundcover" is more or less code for "compact, fuss-free, and puts on a great show in the landscape, but don't expect huge long-stemmed blossoms." No rose truly behaves like a groundcover, of course, so it won't choke out weeds or form dense mats as would ivy, vinca or pachysandra. Plant groundcover roses where you want low-growing splashes of color--as with beds of annuals--or a low shrubby border to accent a path, a highlight for the front of a bed, a swath of bloom to cover a gentle slope, or an accent plant to flow from a container. Here are half a dozen garden-worthy varieties to consider:
Flower Carpet Coral
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Flower Carpet Red, the first of the series
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Flower Carpet Coral: Sporting a gorgeous new shade in the series that put groundcover roses on the map, Flower Carpet Coral bears single, ruffled, coppery-pink blooms with golden stamens. Introduced in 2002, the plant is said to be as disease-resistant as the original Flower Carpet. Its leaves are glossy and medium-green; blooms are produced in generous clusters that darken to a reddish-coral as they age. Plants grow two to three feet tall and up to four feet wide. Hardy to USDA Zone 5.
'Baby Blanket': This gorgeous little shrub's softly frilled pink blossoms look good enough to eat. But don't let the cutie-pie name fool you: this baby is tough enough to resist both disease and cold. A product of the Kordes nursery in Germany, 'Baby Blanket' has won three gold medals. The foliage is small, shiny and dark green; the bush is shrubby but diminutive, reaching a height of three feet and a width of five feet. It repeats well, producing generous clusters of bloom. Hardy to Zone 4.
'Electric Blanket': Here's another promising Kordes offering, new to the United States in 2002. Lush, double, salmon-pink blooms with a light, sweet scent cover this 18-inch-tall floribunda. Plants spread to about two feet, with healthy dark-green foliage. 'Electric Blanket' won honors in Germany's ADR trials, which test roses in a number of microclimates over a three-year-period with no spraying. Survivors are by definition ironclad. 'Happy': When you want a rich red rose, consider 'Happy', a polyantha introduced in 1954 that deserves rediscovery as a groundcover. Named, believe it or not, for one of the height-challenged characters in Disney's animated Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 'Happy' grows only 12 to 15 inches in height, with a spread of about 18 inches. Its small semidouble currant-red flowers have no fragrance but plenty of presence, appearing in generous trusses. Its leaves are dark and glossy. Hardy to Zone 4. 'Nozomi': Technically a miniature climber, the dense and spreading 'Nozomi' becomes a groundcover when you let its trailing canes sprawl. It blooms only once a year but for an extended period, covering itself with clouds of tiny single pearl-pink blossoms. 'Nozomi' is disease resistant, with small, dark-green, glossy leaves that are tinged with purple as they emerge. Grown as a groundcover, it reaches a height of two to three feet and a width of up to six feet. Hardy to Zone 5. 'Red Cascade': Hybridizer Ralph Moore of California's Sequoia Nursery, renowned for his excellent miniatures, introduced this climbing mini in 1976. If allowed to spread rather than trained up a support, 'Red Cascade' reaches a height of one to three feet and a width of five to eight feet--making this an excellent choice for draping dramatically along a slope. The small crimson blooms are fully double, with a mild fragrance and good repeat. The leaves are small, leathery and disease-resistant. Hardy to Zone 5. Other good low-growing roses worth consideration: 'The Fairy', 'Petite Pink Scotch', Rosa wichuraiana, Flower Carpet Pink, 'Paulii', 'Ralph's Creeper', 'Max Graf', 'Charles Albanel', 'Snow Carpet'. Mary C. Weaver, the quintessential lazy gardener, writes and gardens in Knoxville, Tennessee. Her book Roses: A Growing Guide for Easy, Colorful Gardens (Hungry Minds Inc.) was published in 1998. Photographs: Flower Carpet Coral provided by Anthony Tesselaar; Flower Carpet Red by Monrovia; 'Baby Blanket' and 'Electric Blanket' by Jackson & Perkins.
Resources information on making gardening easy
Anthony Tesselaar International
URL: http://www.tesselaar.com/
gardening plants and gifts
Jackson & Perkins
Website: www.jacksonandperkins.comRoses: A Growing Guide for Easy, Colorful Gardens
by Mary C. Weaver (ISBN: 0028626362)
Hungry Minds, Inc; (December 1998)
Available at book stores | |
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