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What type of rose is a Blue Moon?

zsedenyzsedeny Posts: 32
in Plants
I'm looking to buy a rose but I'm getting very confused about the different types. I'd like a groundcover/bushy rose, as opposed to one that looks more like a tree (a long stem and then a round ball of roses at the top). Is that just to do with the way you prune it? I've spotted a rose I like the look of that's described as 'Blue Moon hydrid tea (bush)'. So could I prune that to stay quite low to the ground?

Posts

  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    Hybrid teas are usually upright, narrow, flowering as single roses or small clusters on top of long stems which are good for cutting. These are the traditional florist roses.
    Floribundas are bushier and cluster flowering.
    Groundcover roses are a different class, these are roses which grow wider than tall, some of them significantly.
    Then there are shrubs which is a category for many roses not fitting anywhere else but generally, these are bushy, larger than most floribundas (but not always) and can have various types of flowers. They are good for mixed borders.
    All of these can be grafted on top of a long single stem and made into standard tree roses.

  • zsedenyzsedeny Posts: 32
    Thank you. It sounds like floribunda is what I’m after so I think I’ll go for a ‘Novalis' (Floribunda). 
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    A floribunda is a better choice, no way could you keep a hybrid tea low, they want to grow tall! Floribundas can still grow to a metre or so in height, so it does depend how low you want it to grow, but can be pruned back by about a third when they are dormant in late winter/early spring. Ground cover roses are generally lower by nature, as edhelka says, also patio roses but they can be just small all round, not spreading so might be too dinky.

    Novalis looks lovely, but as with most lavender coloured roses, they can be sensitive to too much hot sun and can discolour in heavy rain too, so a sheltered spot with plenty of morning sun, not afternoon sun, is best if you have it. Have a look at ‘Blue for You’ as well of you like that colour range.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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