GROUND COVER
Ground-cover roses were developed mainly for mass planting. In the late 1900s, traditional hybrid tea and floribunda rose varieties fell out of favor with many gardeners because they were thought to be labor and chemical dependent. Ground-cover and Drift roses were developed to fill the consumer desire for disease- and pest-resistant free-flowering roses that are also drought and shade tolerant. Technically, ground-cover roses could be included in the “Shrub, Landscape, and Hybrid Musk” category, but they are often separated due to marketing efforts.
‘Flower Carpet Amber’ (NOA97400A)
Noack Rosen of Germany introduced ‘Flower Carpet Amber’ in 2011. The only fragrant member of the Flower Carpet family, it has a sweet, light scent. ‘Flower Carpet Amber’, along with ‘Flower Carpet Pink Supreme’ and ‘Flower Carpet Scarlet’, belongs to the Next Generation Flower Carpet collection. In addition to the excellent disease resistance typical of all Flower Carpet cultivars, the roses in this new series have improved heat, cold, humidity, and shade tolerance.
ZONE 4
COLOR: Peachy amber
GROWTH HABIT: Bushy
SIZE: 2’–3’ h. × 2’–3’ w.
PETAL COUNT: Semidouble
This is the original Flower Carpet rose and was developed by Werner Noack, a German plant breeder, in the late 1980s. Combined with the marketing techniques of Anthony Tesselaar, who sold the roses in distinctive bright-pink pots, ‘Flower Carpet Pink’ revolutionized the rose-breeding movement. To date, 10 different Flower Carpet roses—not necessarily of the same parentage—have been introduced. All the cultivars have exceptional disease resistance, even in part shade. With the exception of ‘Flower Carpet Amber’, they have no fragrance, but they constantly produce charming little flowers in clusters from spring to the first hard freeze, making these roses excellent for mass planting or container gardens.
ZONE 4
COLOR: Pink
GROWTH HABIT: Bushy
SIZE: 2’–3’ h. × 2’–3’ w.
PETAL COUNT: Double
Introduced in 2011, ‘Sweet Drift’ has flowers that seem to float in clusters atop disease-resistant glossy dark-green foliage. ‘Sweet Drift’ has the highest petal count of all the Drift roses. The entire series is meant for mass plantings and container gardens.
ZONE 4
COLOR: Pink
GROWTH HABIT: Low bush
SIZE: 1½’–2’ h. × 1½’–2’ w.
PETAL COUNT: Double
Drift roses are a cross between full-size ground-cover roses and miniature roses. From the former, they kept toughness, disease resistance, and winter hardiness. From the miniatures, they inherited their small size (growing only 1½ to 2 feet high and wide) and their repeat-blooming nature. The series is composed of seven cultivars, each of which is a different color: white, coral, apricot, peach, pink, Sweet Drift (pink double blooms), and red.
