The Flower Carpet story
Two decades after the inaugural Flower Carpet ‘Pink’ started a rose revolution, the world is still in love with Flower Carpet roses. Global sales now exceed 75 million plants.
A rose of our time
Spring 2013 saw the New Zealand release of the ninth Flower Carpet Rose variety. Also the the two millionth Flower Carpet Rose was sold in New Zealand - a good time to reflect on the history of a phenomenally successful line of roses.
The Flower Carpet story starts back in the eighties when Australian nurseryman, Anthony Tesselaar was introduced to German rose breeder Werner Noak. Many years earlier, the insightful rose breeder had sensed that low maintenance; disease resistant plants were the way of the future. His work produced the first Flower Carpet Rose and laid the foundation for all the Flower Carpet Roses that followed.
It was Anthony Tesselar who took the Flower Carpet Rose to the world. “Of course when we saw it, we knew enough to understand it would be a great rose. What we never anticipated was the tens of millions of roses that would be sold,” says Anthony.
Looking back, he attributes that enormous success to a great rose coinciding with perfect timing. “I remember the era before Flower Carpet Roses, when gardeners were focused on the bloom but not so concerned if the plant itself was a beast to grow. They were used to this and they had the time and knowledge to deal with the necessary pruning and spraying of traditional roses. But the next generation had little time for romantic, high-maintenance plants and when the first Flower Carpet Rose arrived on the scene – a rose that declared itself to be easy care - people absolutely embraced it.”
As they raced out of garden centres in their distinctive pink pots, Flower Carpet Roses more than lived up to their claims: They grew like rockets, covered themselves in gorgeous flowers and they didn’t need to be sprayed. They could be crudely hacked back with the hedge trimmers to fill out again beautifully in spring and thrived in surprisingly harsh climatic extremes.
And as a result, gardeners have kept coming back for more.
Flower Carpet Pink Splash
Like all Flower Carpet Roses, this spectacular bi-colour in two shades of pink is a low maintenance disease resistant shrub. Flowering commences in November and continues through until April or longer, peaking in spring and then again in autumn.
The compact form and thick glossy growth offers huge versatility in the garden. Use it to create a dramatic display in a large pot or hanging basket, as a colourful border carpet or bank cover, as colour spots among other shrubs or in a mixed flower border. ‘Pink Splash’ will grow in sun or part shade but for the best blooms, position it in full sun.
Feature article from www.tesselaar.com
8-Nov-2013
Flower Carpet Pink
Flower Carpet Amber
Flower Carpet Pink Splash
In the Garden
