Rosa Tapis Volant - groundcover shrub rose

Rosa Tapis Volant is an adorable variety of shrub rose appreciated for its good health, generous flowering, and beautiful hips. With a spreading and gracefully trailing habit, this bush forms a generous ground cover covered with clusters of small pink and white single roses with delicately scented golden hearts. They bloom for 5 to 6 months in successive waves, on elegant dark green glossy foliage. Highly disease-resistant, it requires little attention and care. This variety works well in front of rose beds or taller shrubs, in large borders, along pathways...

Rosa 'Tapis Volant' shrub rose is a creation by L. Lens dating back to 1982. It is derived, among others, from the musk rose (Rosa (x) moschata), a spontaneous hybrid probably originating from Asia Minor or the Middle East. Similar to polyanthas and floribundas, roses in this family produce clusters of flowers, but their colours are more refined and they have a more flexible and graceful habit. 'Tapis Volant' is the result of a cross between (Rosa luciae x seedling) and (Rosa multiflora x 'Ballerina'). This creation received the Certificate of The Hague and Le Roeulx in 1981, as well as the Gold Medal in Courtrai in 1987. The rose has rapid and vigorous growth with a bushy habit wider than it is tall, supported by very flexible stems. Ultimately, it reaches about 60-70 cm (24-28in) high and 1.50 m (5ft) wide. Its leaves are divided into fairly dark green, slightly glossy, sometimes reddish, and disease-free leaflets. The flowering begins in June and continuously renews in summer if faded clusters are cut off as they appear. The plant generally has two major waves of flowers, in June and August, and sporadic flowering throughout summer and autumn. The large pyramidal clusters are composed of 30 to 50 small single flowers with a diameter of 4 cm (2in). Their colour is a mixture of pale pink and white. The centre of the corollas is occupied by golden stamens, accessible to bees and other pollinators. The flowers have a fruity and musky fragrance. This variety produces small decorative hips at the end of the season. The hardiness of this rose is excellent, down to at least -15°C (5°F).

The 'Tapis Volant' rose adapts to all soils that are not too dry and all climates, allowing it to be grown in many regions. It works wonders as a border plant, in flower beds, or on a large slope where it will cover the ground. It can also be planted in groups of 3, arranged in a triangle, or as a specimen on a lawn. Plant it en masse or combine it with pink ground cover roses (Maman Turbat, The Fairy) or white ones (Opalia, Escimo, Rose du Soleil) to highlight the layout of a pathway or shrub beds. For example, it can be paired with perennial geraniums (Geranium Blue Cloud, Anne Folkard, Nimbus, Orion), catmints, snapdragons, foxgloves, or other perennial salvias. It blends perfectly with pink or white flowering bush roses in a romantic garden.