Red Drift® Groundcover Rose

Where to Plant

• Sunlight: Place your rose where it will receive a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight daily for maximum flower production and dense, healthy foliage. While partial shade is acceptable (four to six hours), the trade off will be slightly diminished color intensity and fewer blooms overall.
• Soil: Red Drift® performs best in rich, loamy soil that drains well, as roses intensely dislike sitting in soggy conditions. If your garden has heavy clay, incorporate liberal amounts of coarse compost and pine bark fines into the planting area to significantly improve aeration and drainage.

Watering Requirements

During the first growing season, water deeply two to three times per week, soaking the area to encourage a robust, deep root system that can handle summer heat. Once established, this rose is quite drought tolerant but performs best with about an inch of water per week from rain or irrigation. Inconsistent watering during peak summer will cause stress, leading to smaller individual blooms and fewer subsequent flowering cycles.

Pruning Tips

Like all modern landscape roses, the Red Drift® blooms exclusively on new wood that is produced during the current season. The ideal time for major pruning is in late winter or very early spring, just before the new growth buds begin to swell. Simply use sharp pruners to cut back the entire shrub by approximately one third its size; this hard, rejuvenating cut removes old canes and ensures a vigorous flush of bloom ready for spring.

Fertilizer Needs

Apply a balanced, slow-release granular rose fertilizer, or an all purpose blend like 10-10-10, in early spring as soon as you see new growth emerging. A second, lighter application after the first major bloom flush in early summer is all your mature plant needs to fuel continuous flowering. What you must avoid is applying any high nitrogen fertilizer after midsummer, because it stimulates tender new growth that will be easily killed off by the first hard frost.