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ashlie_neevel

How Many Flower Carpet Rose Plants Do I Need?

Ashlie Neevel
10 years ago

Ok so I have a weird shaped flower bed that is bordered by buxus and I would like to fill it with flower carpet roses but I am unsure of how many I need to plant to get the desired look Id like.

Ideally I would like the entire inside to be a bed of roses with out any ground visible. I would also prefer to have this effect sooner than later (i.e. not waiting x amount of years for the plants to mature and spread)

The measurements are 7.75wide at its longest 4.75ft wide at its shortest part and 3.5 ft in length. each square on the image indicates 6 square inches

How many plants should I plant to get the effect I am going for?

Comments (24)

  • Ashlie Neevel
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    bump

  • amandahugg
    10 years ago

    You shouldn't be planting any Flower Carpet roses. They will sulk in your heat. You should be planting Peach or Pink Drift...10,000 times better...on 2 foot centers.

  • Ashlie Neevel
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    It doesn't get hot here at all. I live in Amsterdam Netherlands and it if gets to 80 degrees F 3 times during the summer its a miracle. It usually right around 74-78 all summer long. I am trying to find someone that sells the drift roses here in Europe. So far I am not having any luck but I am determined. Someone just told me about the drift roses today and since i seen them those are the ones I would like to have.

    By 2 foot centers do you mean 2 ft between each plant center of plant to center of plant? Sorry I am new to gardening.

    I keep messing with the spacing trying to plot them out to create the effect that I want and I am finding that 7 plants is the most I can put in with still give the plants some sort of space between each other.

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    10 years ago

    two foot centers means two feet from the center of one plant to the center of the next plant.

  • Ashlie Neevel
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks :)

  • jacqueline9CA
    10 years ago

    Don't worry about the heat - we are much hotter than you here in Northern California, and I have a hedge of Flower Carpet roses which we put in 20 years ago. It gets little care. I hedge clipper it once a year, throw osmocote on it once a year, and it does get water during our 6 month Summer drought, but might not need that there, depending on your rain. It never gets much disease of any kind, and I do not spray it. The bed is frequently flooded in the Winter, and the hedge is thriving. Two foot centers sounds fine to me for a fast fill - we put in 5 plants in a bed which is 6 feet wide and 20 feet long and they filled it, but it did take a few years. Go for it!

    Jackie

  • Ashlie Neevel
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks Jackie! I'd love to see a photo of your flower carpet roses. Pictures on websites always look nice but tend to differ once they are in the ground at home. Would you mind sharing a photo?

  • jacqueline9CA
    10 years ago

    They just finished their first bloom, so unfortunately are not blooming right now. All of my roses and other plants in my garden are all intermingled. Here is an old picture I found - the flower carpet roses are the dark pink ones in the background of the valerian and the yellow/pink rose in front.

    Jackie

  • Ashlie Neevel
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Beautiful!!! How tall did your flower carpet get?

  • jacqueline9CA
    10 years ago

    Ashlie - My Flower Carpet roses get 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall, to answer your question. The picture I posted was taken from almost ground level, so look at it with that understanding -

    Jackie

  • Ashlie Neevel
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Windeux that is exactly what I was looking for. I want neatly trimmed buxus 1ft (30cm) high at the lowest section and the corners stagger in height up to 2ft(60cm) then to 3ft(90cm) at the very corners in a step formation. I was hoping for a mat of color from the roses that would get no higher than 2ft (60cm). I guess I was mislead by the name. Everything that I have been reading about them has said they get 2 feet to 2.5 feet high and 2ft wide. and with the 2ft wide i was thinking it was 1ft out from center on each side. I would have severely overplanted with that thinking and would have wasted a ton of money thanks for pointing that out for me.

    The appleblossom is my favorite of the flower carpet but is not available in europe. I can buy Flower Carpet from W Noack in Germany but that person only sells the European varieties which aren't so beautiful in my opinion.

    Is it possible to maintain the growth of the flower carpet and/or the drift roses at a height of 2ft and shapely?

    I am trying to achieve neatly trimmed perfect buxus beds filled with neatly shaped and completely filled colorful flowers in all seasons (save for winter)

    The space is so small and there is no way possible for me to plant standard perennials in any kind of varying planting pattern to get that effect. Also since I had posted this post I have decided to change the pattern of my buxus slightly to allow more walking room in the garden. Here is a picture. the four corner boxes are now 4ftx4ft on the inside and the center square is 6ftx6ft with a 5ft tall 3 tier fountain in the center.

    In the picture you see here. In the four corners i have in each corner box 2 pink roses and 2 white roses and then in the center I have 8 pink and 8 white. This would have been a big problem i'd imagine lol.

    Jackie thanks for the picture and explaing the view point from which it was taken. That did give me a better understanding on how they grow!

  • Ashlie Neevel
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Also just for comparison here is the old design for the garden with the weird shaped flower beds that I had originally started this post about.

  • windeaux
    10 years ago

    Ashlie -- What a wonderful design! I think the "formal simplicity" of a well-proportioned parterre garden is especially effective in small spaces. Yours promises to be stunning.

    I think you will find that 'Appleblossom Flower Carpet' is available in Europe identified as either 'Sommermelodie' or 'Mareva'. At HelpMeFind, Belle Epoque Rosenursery/J.D. Maarse & Sons B.V. in the Netherlands is listed as a supplier.

    Re your question about pruning: The majority of the canes on 'Appleblossom' are quite lax, but occasionally it produces stiff upright canes that rapidly grow to 3+ ft in my garden. To maintain the height you prefer, consider pruning those errant canes very low on the plant. As the plants mature in a mass planting, you may find that (given your growing conditions) you will be more concerned with pruning to control horizontal, rather than vertical, growth.

    'Appleblossom' responds well to regular JUDICIOUS pruning, but avoid heavily pruning the entire plant at any one time. 'Appleblossom' is the only one of the Flower Carpet series I'm familiar with. Other varieties in the series may respond differently. I hope we've been helpful -- and regardless of what you opt to plant, I also hope you'll come back to post photos of your garden . . .

  • reemcook
    10 years ago

    Hi jacqueline3,

    I love the show of your flower carpet roses! Could you please share what are the other plants amongst the the gorgeous bed of roses?

    Thank you.

    Reem

  • reemcook
    10 years ago

    Hi jacqueline3,

    I love the show of your flower carpet roses! Could you please share what are the other plants amongst the the gorgeous bed of roses?

    Thank you.

    Reem

  • jacqueline9CA
    10 years ago

    Reem, the purply/pink flowers which are not roses in the foreground are centranthus ruber (aka Valerian or Jupiter's Beard). Centranthus ruber also comes in white and a darker red. In our area, no one every plants it - it just shows up magically. I cut it back to about 2 inches after its large Spring flowering, and back it comes every year.

    The yellow and pink roses are all the same rose - it opens yellow/peach, and fades to pale pink. I am embarrassed to say I have no idea who it is - someone brought it to me as a hostess gift years ago, and I stuck it in this bed, which is way out by the street (the rose is planted about 5 inches from the curb & gutter), and forgot about it. A couple of years later, I noticed it because it is so pretty - now I take better care of it, and it blooms & blooms all Spring & Summer.

    Jackie

  • bloomer_grower
    10 years ago

    Hi Ashlie,
    I just planted some more Flower Carpets and have one of the labels. There it says that they can be planted 3-4 ft apart and that you can plant 13 in a 100 sq foot area. Here in northeastern US my older varities (Appleblossom and Coral) don't seem to get as big as the newer ones of Pink Supreme or Scarlet but either way I think you'll find with the 3-4 ft rule of thumb. Also, I have a Drift rose and unfortunately it doesn't seem to be as self-cleaning as Flower Carpet. After the blossoms die, they just hang on to the plant rather than dropping to the ground and look kind of icky.

  • meredith_e Z7b, Piedmont of NC, 1000' elevation
    10 years ago

    Your parterre sounds so lovely!

    I have a suggestion for the roses that you can find in Europe but not so well here any more. They are the Poulsen groundcover series that was called Towne & Country roses.

    I have grown two of them for years (Pebble Beach and Natchez), and they are very special groundcovers, imho. You can definitely cut them shorter and they will still bloom profusely. The foliage is miniature and perfect! They bloom in a ton of shade for anyone who needs that, which I do.

    The flowers aren't as big as the ones you are considering, though. They are very charming and just great roses, so I thought I'd mention them. The effect is like a miniature version of The Fairy.

    The names used vary, so check them out on Help Me Find. I'd probably check for Poulsen groundcover roses at any nursery you are considering and look them up to see if they are part of this series, because the marketing on these seems all over the map.

    More in the series whose names I remember:

    http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.3840.4

    http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.24749.3

    They spread sideways but no so much up. Groundcovers like to get very tall here, so the low growth is nice. They are just the best roses!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pebble Beach (Poulen Towne & Country series)

  • Ashlie Neevel
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you all for your help I really appreciate it.

  • pat_bamaz7
    10 years ago

    Here's a pic of my Coral Drift rose so you an get an idea of what bloomer was saying about it's self cleaning vs flower carpet. Mine gets about 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall and 3 1/2 to 4 ft wide. I don't deadhead it at all, so it's always covered in the new bright coral blooms and the faded blooms, as well. It blooms so much all season that it would be a choir to try to keep the faded flowers snipped off if you don't like the look of them...something to consider when choosing the best rose for you.

  • pat_bamaz7
    10 years ago

    I meant chore, not choir...long week...LOL

  • harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania
    10 years ago

    Flower Carpet roses grow quite large here without any added fertilizer. Flower Carpet Red is now 5' tall and 7' across. Below is a picture from a few years ago.

    {{gwi:257918}}

  • Ashlie Neevel
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you both for the pictures. They are very beautiful.