Flower Carpet Rose Collection

Where to Plant
Choose a sunny position with fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. Flower Carpet roses are naturally low and spreading, so give them room to grow outwards and develop their characteristic mounds of flowers and foliage.

Planting Bare-Root Roses
Unpack your roses promptly and soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours before planting. Dig a generous hole, spread the roots out naturally and position each rose with the graft union around soil level. Backfill, firm gently and water well.

Planting Potted Roses
Water well before planting and dig a hole slightly wider than the root ball. Remove the rose from its pot, gently loosen any tightly packed roots and plant at the same depth it was growing in the pot. Backfill, gently firm and water thoroughly.

Watering
Water regularly during the first growing season while the roses establish, particularly during warm, dry weather. Once established, water thoroughly during prolonged dry spells rather than little and often.

Feeding & Mulching
Feed with a suitable rose fertiliser in spring as new growth begins and again in summer to support their long flowering season. Mulch with well-rotted garden compost or organic matter to help retain moisture and suppress weeds, keeping the mulch clear of the stems.

Top Tip
For a broad carpet of colour, plant Flower Carpet roses around 50–70cm apart. As the plants mature, their spreading growth will begin to knit together and cover the ground between them.

Cover Bare Ground
Flower Carpet roses are particularly useful where you want to turn an open patch of soil into a low-growing sweep of flowers. Their spreading growth gradually covers the ground, while masses of blooms provide colour for months.

Beds & Borders
Use them towards the front of a sunny border where their lower growth can spread without hiding plants behind them. Planting several together creates a particularly impressive sweep of colour.

Banks & Slopes
Their spreading habit makes Flower Carpet roses a useful choice for larger areas, banks and gentle slopes where individual upright rose bushes can look too formal or widely spaced.

Large Containers
Flower Carpet roses also grow well in generous patio pots with good drainage. Their spreading stems soften the edges of containers, while regular watering and feeding will help keep the flowers coming through the season.

Plant for Pollinators
The semi-double flowers leave the centres more accessible than heavily filled roses, making these roses useful for bringing bees and other pollinating insects into the garden.

Pruning
Flower Carpet roses need much less formal pruning than traditional bush roses. In late winter or early spring, remove any dead, damaged or weak growth and trim the plants back as needed to maintain a neat, spreading shape.

Keeping Plants in Shape
Established plants can be trimmed back quite simply each year rather than carefully pruning individual stems. This encourages fresh growth and helps prevent the plants becoming too large for their allotted space.

Deadheading
There's very little need to remove individual faded flowers. Flower Carpet roses have been bred to keep producing new blooms without the regular deadheading often associated with traditional roses, making them particularly easy to look after through summer.

Summer Care
Water during prolonged dry spells and feed again in summer to support continued flowering. Their good disease resistance helps keep the foliage looking attractive through the season, although good growing conditions and airflow are still important.

Top Tip
Don't approach Flower Carpet roses as though they were Hybrid Teas. Their naturally spreading shape is part of their appeal, so concentrate on keeping the plant healthy and within its allotted space rather than trying to create a formal framework.

Add Height Behind Them
Use taller perennials such as salvias, penstemons and veronicas behind Flower Carpet roses. Their upright flower spikes provide a strong contrast to the roses' lower, spreading growth.

Mix with Ornamental Grasses
Compact ornamental grasses add movement and texture without competing with the roses for attention. Their fine foliage also makes a good contrast to the glossy leaves and colourful flowers.

Add Spring Colour
Plant spring-flowering bulbs through and around the roses to provide colour before the main rose display begins. Alliums are particularly useful for bridging the gap between spring bulbs and early summer flowers.

Create Sweeps of Colour
For the strongest ground-cover effect, allow groups of Flower Carpet roses to form the main planting rather than surrounding every plant with other low-growing perennials. ‘Amber’, ‘Pink Supreme’ and ‘Ruby’ already provide three contrasting colours that work beautifully together.

Bare-Root Roses
Bare-root roses are supplied during autumn and winter while dormant, without a pot or compost around their roots. They will usually arrive with woody stems and exposed roots, with little or no foliage. This is completely normal and fresh growth will appear as temperatures rise.

Potted Roses
Potted roses are supplied established in compost and can be planted for much of the year, avoiding frozen, waterlogged or extremely dry conditions. Their appearance will vary naturally with the season, from fresh growth in spring and leafy or flowering plants in summer to less active or leafless plants later in the year.

If You Can't Plant Straight Away
Keep bare-root roses cool with their roots moist and protected from drying out, and plant as soon as possible. Potted roses can be kept in a sheltered outdoor position and watered as needed until you're ready to plant.

What to Expect After Planting
Flower Carpet roses develop differently from upright bush roses, gradually spreading outwards to form broad, leafy mounds. The display becomes fuller as the plants establish and produce increasing numbers of flowering stems.

Mature Size
‘Flower Carpet Amber’ grows to around 70cm high with an 80cm spread, while ‘Pink Supreme’ and ‘Ruby’ grow to around 60cm high and 60cm across. When planted in groups, allow enough room for the plants to spread and gradually form a continuous carpet of foliage and flowers.