A Rose That Lives Up to Its Name: Carefree Delight
Written: Apr 07 '09 (Updated Apr 07 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Disease resistant, colorful, repeat bloom all season, attract good insects
Cons: No fragrance, single layer petals
The Bottom Line: The perfect choice for easy rose growing for any level gardener.
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| cmaw63's Full Review: Garden Roses - Rosa Carefree Delight™ P... |
When I first started growing roses it was a disaster. I did not do any research on garden zones, disease resistance or size. It should not have been a surprise when after one Illinois winter I lost over half of my roses. After all, their only requirement had been to be pretty.
Building a New Rose Garden
After I became a rose mass murderer I decided I wanted something simple to care for that would add color to my garden all summer long and survive zone 5a winters. With the rose reputation of being hard, or a lot of work, to grow you would think I would have found something else to fill my garden.
Luckily, I discovered the 1996 AARS winner Carefree Delight. It is advertised as being a hardy rose that grows in zones 4 to 9 or 5 to 10 depending on where you looked. Its size varies from place to place with anywhere from two and a half to four feet tall by three to five feet wide. What everyone did seem to agree on is that this rose blooms all season and is disease resistant.
In My Yard
I have three Carefree Delight bushes in my wide open, country yard. I planted them on the west side where they endure the brunt of wind and cold during winter, wind and heat during summer. Yet, these three plants never fail to...well, delight me. This will be their third season in my yard and with spring barely here they are the first to show signs of life. Where my other roses are sticks in the ground, my Carefree Delights are becoming green and sprouting new leaves.
With the some-what harsh winters my plants average two and half feet tall with a spread of three feet. This will be their third summer in my yard, with the general consensus that a rose bush doesn't "come into its own" until the third year, I'm hoping to see a bit more growth.
From spring to fall all three plants have covered themselves in cute "single petal" flowers. (There are actually 4 to 8 petals, but there is no layering to them as what you might think of in a more popular, store bought rose.) The 2 to 3 inch, non-fragrant, flowers are edged in pink with a white center and a burst of yellow stamens. While not as showy as some of my other rose bushes, Carefree Delight makes up for it in quantity and quality.
The leaves, stems and canes of these bushes are always a healthy green. I never have to spray them for any diseases or pests. All I ever do is weed and water. I enjoy having an area of my garden that is safe for good insects; bees, butterflies, lady bugs and praying mantis. They seem to enjoy it as much as I do.
Easy, Breezy
I would never have thought rose growing could be easy if I hadn't tried Carefree Delight. They don't have the showy, fragrant flowers of the more popular roses. But, they are a reliable, healthy, colorful choice.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cmaw63
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 in Pets, Home and Garden, Books |
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Member: Julie
Location: Illinois, USA
Reviews written: 307
Trusted by: 71 members
About Me:
Looking forward to my first grandbaby. She's due November 24!
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