How to choose a ground cover rose?

Choosing a ground cover rose based on flower colour

Roses offer a wide range of colours. Beyond the classic white, pink, or red flowers, some ground cover roses are adorned with less common hues. Some varieties even boast incredible multicoloured blooms.

Red Ground Cover Roses

A true symbol of love, the timeless red rose is very prominent among ground cover roses.

Among them, we can mention:

• ‘Black Forest Rouge’, with its semi-double cherry-red roses, supported by dark green foliage;
• ‘Cascade’, a beautiful bright red illuminated by a heart of golden stamens;
• ‘Rigo Rotilia’, with abundant carmine red blooms;
• the ‘sans contraintes Toscana’ rose, which offers large double raspberry-red flowers;
• ‘Marondo’, with very soft velvety pink flowers and golden yellow stamens.

Pink Ground Cover Roses

Pink roses are essential in romantic gardens. Their shades range from pastel pink to bright pink, catering to all tastes, such as:

• ‘Rigo Bonaparte’, with a pink hue featuring salmon notes;
• the ‘Sans Contraintes Sweet Knirps’ rose and its pompom flowers in soft tender pink;
• ‘Country Dream’, which is adorned with semi-double bright pink flowers;
• ‘Larissa’, with flowers reminiscent of old roses, displaying a very delicate porcelain pink;
• ‘Mirato’, with a beautiful fuchsia pink;
• ‘Pink Flash’, offering a flashy magenta pink with a heart of golden stamens;
• the reliable ‘The Fairy’ rose, whose pink flowers become paler as the season progresses;
• ‘Topolina’, whose beautiful bright pink reveals a white halo that makes its nest of golden stamens sparkle.

White Ground Cover Roses

Like pink-flowering roses, white roses are a symbol of romance and are essential candidates for rose gardens or French-style gardens.

‘Aspirin Rose’ is adorned with a multitude of double white roses with a slightly pink heart, while ‘Rigo Diamant’ produces pure white roses supported by a nest of sunny stamens.

‘Swany’ offers a perfect white, while the small white flowers of the ‘sans contraintes Rose du soleil’ rose contrast beautifully with their golden heart.

Other Colours to Discover

But ground cover roses do not stop at “classic” colours and can also wear other beautiful shades.

This is the case, for example, with the ‘Rigo Aprikola’, with apricot-coloured flowers, taking on pink hues during flowering. ‘Weg der Sinne’ produces rare violet-purple flowers with an intense yellow heart.

On the side of yellow ground cover roses, we can mention ‘Amber Sun’, whose name aptly evokes the colour of the sun, ‘Décorosiers Célina’ offering light yellow flowers with a covering habit, or ‘Golden Border’ with round bright yellow flowers.

Multicoloured Ground Cover Roses

These roses with incredible shades bring a joyful and colourful atmosphere both in pots and in garden beds:

• ‘Star Profusion’ produces flowers in eglantines splashed with white, with petals edged in red and a golden heart;
• ‘Happy Chappy’ blends shades of pink, orange, and yellow;
• the dwarf rose ‘Bordure Camaïeu’ offers beautiful double flowers in the same shades of pink, yellow, and orange.

At the top Rosa ‘Black Forest Rouge’, Rosa ‘Aspirin Rose’ in the centre, Rosa ‘Rigo Diamant’ on the right, at the bottom Rosa ‘Rigo Aprikola’ and Rosa ‘Star Profusion’ on the right.

Choosing a ground cover rose based on flower shape

Ground cover roses offer several flower forms: in briars, single, semi-double, or double.

Ground cover roses with single flowers

These roses are adorned with cup-shaped single flowers, featuring around 4 to 7 petals and revealing a heart of stamens that is typically yellow or golden.

Among them, we find the white rose ‘Sans Contraintes Rose du Soleil’, the sparkling ‘Topolina’, ‘Dolomiti’ with its pink flowers and white heart, or the flamboyant rose ‘Nectar Garden Alexander von Humboldt’.

Ground cover roses with semi-double flowers

These semi-double roses offer frilly flowers, made up of several petals that give a light floral appearance. The ‘Décorosiers Emera’ is covered in bouquets of semi-double fuchsia flowers, just like the ‘Décorosiers Calizia’ with its orange roses.

Ground cover roses with double flowers

They reveal true pom-poms of numerous petals, reminiscent of old roses.

This is the case with the rose ‘Aspirin Rose’ with its large, very refined white flowers, ‘The Faun’ with its double flowers displaying a beautiful pink gradient, or the immaculate ‘Swany’.

Ground cover roses with large flowers

The flowers of ground cover roses generally measure between 3 and 5 cm, but some varieties reward us with larger blooms.

The semi-double flowers of ‘Weg der Sinne’ reach 7 cm, just like ‘Knock Out Radrazz’, ‘Pink Knock Out (Rodin)’, and ‘Nectar Garden Roseromantic’.

Above Rosa ‘Calizia’ and Rosa ‘Dolomiti’; below Rosa ‘Pink Knock Out’ (Rodin) and Rosa ‘Swany’

Choosing a ground cover rose based on its fragrance

Ground cover roses may not be the most fragrant, but some varieties exude sweet floral notes.

If you wish to adopt a ground cover rose for its fragrance, consider ‘Rigo Rotilia’ and ‘The Faun’ with their subtle wild floral notes.

‘Happy Chappy’ and ‘Knock Out Radrazz’ offer light scents that intensify in warm climates.

Finally, ‘Rigo Aprikola’ and ‘Satina’ exude fruity and spicy notes.

Rosa ‘The Faun’ and Rosa ‘Happy Chappy’

Choosing a ground cover rose according to the flowering period

The flowering of ground cover roses generally occurs in summer, from June to September-October. However, some varieties begin to flower as early as May and extend the pleasure until the first autumn frosts.

Most varieties are perpetual, meaning they bloom several times almost without interruption throughout the summer and autumn seasons.

Early Flowering Ground Cover Roses

Roses from the ‘Décorosiers’ collection, such as ‘Kadora’, ‘Opalia’, or ‘Suneva’ have an early flowering period starting in May. These are French-grown roses, recognised for their floribundity, ease of cultivation, and vigour.

This flowering then continues until the first frosts, usually in October or November, providing a floral display lasting nearly 6 months.

The roses ‘Tapis Rouge’, ‘Pink Knock Out (Rodin)’ or ‘Rigo Diamant’ also reward us with a long flowering period from May to October without interruption.

Late Flowering Ground Cover Roses

‘The Fairy’ flowers late, at the end of July, but offers a beautiful display that continues until the first frosts.

On the right Rosa ‘Opalia’; on the left Rosa ‘Suneva’ and Rosa ‘The Fairy’

Choosing a ground cover rose according to its size

Ground cover roses have an average height of 40 to 60 cm, but some varieties can reach nearly one metre. This is the case for ‘The Fairy’, ‘Aspirin Rose’, and ‘Larissa’, which reach 80 cm in height. ‘Garden Escimo’ measures 90 cm in height, while ‘Country Dream’ can even reach 95 cm at ripeness.

Among the smaller ground cover roses, we can mention the ‘Sans contrainte’ range, featuring roses that do not exceed 30 cm in height, as well as the small ‘Nozomi’, ‘Tapis Rouge’, and ‘Topolina’ (35 cm in height with a spread of 60 cm).

These mini-roses are ideal candidates for dressing the most confined spaces.

Pot Culture

Spreading roses thrive in pots, containers, or beautiful bowls: they create true little cascading floral waterfalls.

This is true for ‘The Fairy’ and ‘Knock Out Radrazz’, with their semi-evergreen foliage in bronze green or glossy green, which can remain decorative all year round.

Rosa ‘Nozomi’ (photo Wikipedia) and Rosa ‘Knock Out Radrazz’

Choosing a disease-resistant ground cover rose

Roses are particularly sensitive to fungal diseases caused by fungi, such as powdery mildew, Marsonia, and rust. These are generally the result of a combination of humidity, heat, and lack of ventilation.

However, more and more varieties are recognised for their strong resistance to diseases. This is the case for those that have received the prestigious ADR label. This award, given to the most vigorous, aesthetic, and floriferous roses, also guarantees resistance to diseases.

The entire range of ‘Décorosiers’ has received the ADR label. The ‘Sans contraintes’ and ‘Nectar Garden’ ranges from the rose breeder Kordes are also known for their very good resistance to diseases, such as the varieties ‘Knirps’, ‘Rose du soleil’, or ‘Toscana’.

Rosa ‘Toscana’ and Rosa ‘Rose du Soleil’

Decorative fruiting ground cover roses

Sometimes, the decorative appeal of roses goes beyond their flowering or foliage. Provided their flowers are not pruned as they fade, some varieties produce lovely decorative fruits at the end of autumn, known as hips.

These fruits add a beautiful splash of colour at a time when the garden loses its lushness and also delight the birds.

Among these varieties, we find roses from the ‘Nectar Garden’ series, such as ‘Rekord Naturen’, which produces large round orange fruits that accompany part of the winter, and ‘Lilliput Lupo’, with its small round fleshy red fruits.

‘Dolomiti’ and ‘Marondo’ also adorn themselves with small decorative red fruits.

Fruits of Rosa polyantha Nectar Garden ‘Lilliput Lupo’