Ground cover roses are low-growing shrubs with a spreading habit and are considered by some people to be landscape roses. Their canes run along the surface of the soil and form a beautiful carpet of flowers. They really bloom brilliantly! How to inPlanting garden ground cover rosesand should be maintained, find out in this article.
Where should you plant ground cover roses?
Roses are robust plants that can cope with unfavorable conditions. However, to thrive, ground cover roses prefer a sunny spot in well-drained, fertile soil. Some also cope with partial shade. Ground cover roses can also do well in a large container as long as it is generously sized and the soil is well-drained.
Ground cover roses are the perfect gift. With their long flowering period and neat growth, they look tempting in the garden center when grown in pots. If you buy them as potted plants, you should not leave the plants in the sales pot. Repot them into a larger pot or directly into the garden.
Bare-rooted plants are purchased in fall and winter. Plant bare-root roses on a dry, frost-free day. Dig a hole at least twice as deep and wide as the root ball and add well-rotted organic material into it. Pull out the roots and place the plant in the hole. Make sure they are planted at the same depth as in the pot, or use a soil mark on the plant as a guide.
Refill the hole, secure it with the heel and water well.
Propagation and varieties
Because ground cover roses spread through the soil, they can take root as they grow. The easiest way to propagate them is to look for a rooted shoot in spring or fall, cut it off from the mother plant, dig up the new roots and pot them up. To encourage the stems to root, stick a piece of the stem into the ground and cover it with soil.
Did you know?? For seamless coverage, you can tie the stems to the ground with bent wire. These roses are an ideal attraction for wildlife. Birds feed on the autumn rose hips and the low branches provide shelter for many small creatures.
Ground cover rose varieties:
- Rainbow Happy Trails – beautiful mixed pink and yellow flowers
- Sunshine Happy Trails – incredibly bright, with a lemon yellow color
- Sweet Vigorosa – deep bluish pink with white
- Electric Blanket – cozy warm coral red
- Red Ribbons – long lasting bright red
- Scarlet Meidiland – bright red
- White Meidiland – pure white
- Happy Chappy – Mixtures of pink, apricot, yellow and orange
- Wedding Dress – pure, bright white
- Beautiful Carpet – deep pink
- Hertfordshire – cheerful pink
Tipp:There are many other varieties that you can find online, but be careful and be sure to read the growth habit of these rose bushes. To make your life easier, visit a rose garden, admire the scents and note which varieties you liked.
Problem solving and care
Problem solution:Roses should not be planted in soil where another rose previously lived. Grafting disease in roses is a little-known problem, but plants often struggle with it. Like all other roses, ground cover varieties are susceptible to black spot, aphids and powdery mildew. However, the risk of infection can be reduced through good garden hygiene. Remove fallen leaves and trim the plants with clean pruning shears. Because many ground cover roses are modern varieties, many of them are resistant to common rose problems.
How to fight aphids on rosesfind out here!
Care – Cut ground cover roses: Shrubby varieties require very little, if any, pruning. Cut out dead, diseased and damaged wood in March. Some gardeners simply go over the plant with secateurs after flowering.
Rambler roses, which produce meter-long shoots, may require pruning after flowering. Shorten the length of the shoots by cutting them just above an upward-facing bud. This means the plants stay in their assigned space.
If space is not an issue, you can forego regular pruning.
Planting ground cover roses – conclusion:
These sprawling shrubs are ideal for an embankment, rock garden or the front of a border. They are an attractive option for covering bare ground between other plants.
- Look:They form low, billowing carpets of mostly single flowers that form along the flexible stems. They either bloom repeatedly or produce attractive red rose hips in the fall.
- What they like:Give them a sunny location in easy-draining soil. They also thrive quite well in poor soil and are very tolerant of exposed locations.
- What they don't like:Avoid waterlogged soil and shady locations.
You can get more care tips for rosesread here!
