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Re: Underplanting Roses . . .

Susan 

Assuming you are in an area where frosts are light, you might try the
following if you want a less conventional under planting.  

Bacopa - newish varieties 'Snowflake' and 'Knysia Hills'.  Both are
low growing sub-shrubs forming mats less than 30cms. high, but
covering up to a square metre in a very short time.  Very small green
leaves with tiny white or lilac mauve flowers barely half a centimetre
across, but produced in thousands so the sum effect is most attractive
without being garish.  I've grown B. 'Knysia Hills' for a couple of
years and have been more than impressed by its vigour and quiet charm.
It seems to withstand light frosts of up to minus 2C. reasonably well,
especially on well drained soils.  Grows very quickly initially and a
young rooted cutting can be anything up to a metre across in little
over 3 months.  Easily controlled by pruning and any unwanted
seedlings can be hoed out.

Diascia species and hybrids.  These are superb South African
perennials in their own right with attractive flowers which are mainly
pink or reddish.  Good groundcover species are Diascia stachyoides -
dainty prostrate growth, small, hairy leaves with racemes of pale pink
flowers, D. mollis - vigorous & spreading with comparatively large,
glossy leaves and dense racemes of deep, almost ruby red flowers with
very dark centres, D. vigilis - slightly more erect than the former
with very showy, vivid pink flowers and its variety 'Jack Drake' which
is pale salmon, Diascia rigescens - densely leafy with wiry stems and
long, dense racemes deep pink flowers - extremely showy.   The only
species you should avoid on account of its excess vigour is D.
fetcainiensis.  Its a lovely thing, but would easily out-gun the most
rampant of mints and needs keeping under strict control.

There are now quite a few hybrids slowly getting onto the
international market with the very best being 'Blue Bonnet' which took
Chelsea by storm this year.  It is a very fine lilac with chamois pink
undertones, creating a most unusual effect. It is compact, vigorous
and almost everblooming.  'Sydney Olympics' is an excellent pale
apricot and 'Coral Belle' a stunning coral pink which glows in the
evening sun and glossy leaves which appear to sparkle.  These are very
much 'in vogue' in the UK at the moment and widely, if not
particularly imaginatively used in hanging baskets.

Diascias are generally tolerant down to around minus 3C for short
periods and will flower themselves silly during the growing season.
As soon as they start to look a bit tired, they can be trimmed back
quite heavily, top dressed with a light fertiliser and they will be
back in full flower within a month/6 weeks.  They will grow well in
full sun or light shade and appreciate well drained, moderately
fertile soils.  With the exception of D. rigescens which improves
dramatically with age, most are better replaced with new plants which
are easily raised from cuttings every 3rd year.  Interestingly,
Diascias appear to be resistant to slug and snail damage, with some
species appearing to be almost a deterrent to these pests.

David Poole
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