Climate change and busy lifestyles have shifted the focus onto garden plants that are low on maintenance and are strong growers even in relatively poor conditions.
In medium to large gardens there’s always a need for shrubs or climbers to fill a space, usually towards the back of the garden or to soften a wall or fence.
With that in mind, rose grower Ludwig Taschner has sought out shrub roses with ultra-vigorous growth, tough leathery leaves, strong spreading roots, and pickable blooms. He has also factored in disease resistance for low maintenance.
The two types of shrub roses are the upright bushy GrandiRosa varieties and the more spreading, informal Panarosa’ varieties with arching growth that can also be trained onto a trellis or other support.
GrandiRosa …what’s to like.
‘GrandiRosa’ roses generally grow 1.8m to 2m high and produce clusters of large full blooms. They can be used as stand-alone shrubs, at the back of borders, as living screens, in shrubberies and as hedges.
One such rose is ‘Just Joey GrandiRosa’ which is comparable to the favourite ‘Just Joey’ hybrid tea but on a much larger scale. It commands attention, wherever it is planted. It is a powerful growing rose that produces bunches of pickable roses on strong canes.
‘Lioness GrandiRosa’ was one of the first roses introduced in this category. It grows up to 3m high and will easily screen walls and fences. The strong stems sprout from all levels and carry clusters of large, full blooms.
Other impressive growers are ‘Red GrandiRosa that produces clusters of three to five large red blooms that do not fade even under the hottest sun and ‘Carmine GrandiRosa’ which has magnificent carmine-pink blooms. Because of the vibrancy of their blooms, both roses are ideal for use as focal points or features.
GrandiRosa roses also work well hedges, like the apricot ‘Fruity GrandiRosa’ that is a neat bush that flowers repeatedly. The spent flowers drop off cleanly, it is highly disease resistant and it is an ideal choice for background planting, as a hedge or screen and as additional security when planted against a fence.
Panarosa roses
Panarosa roses grow into free-standing specimens, 2m to 3m high and wide with flowers on every cane, providing a panorama of roses. The flower shapes can vary from hybrid tea to double and the old-fashioned shapes. They are hardy and drought tolerant.
They have many uses in the garden, as single specimen plants or as a group in a large garden, as a hedge or along a fence. If used as a hedge they are planted 2.5m apart.
Like a climbing rose, they can be trained up a pillar, over an arch or a pergola, and will outperform climbing roses because they are neater growers and flower more prolifically.
Suggested varieties are ‘Artista Panarosa,’ ‘Fairest Cape,’ ‘French Panarosa,’ Gülilah,’ ‘Salmon Panarosa,’ ‘The Ridge School,’ ‘and Walter Sisulu.’
For more information visit Ludwig’s Roses
Article and images supplied by Alice Coetzee.
