Your garden is a sanctuary and a place of beauty. If you have limited space, it can be challenging to find plants that thrive in smaller areas — especially ground covers. You don’t want that area to feel too cramped and hinder your plants’ growth. Fortunately, there are excellent options for covering the tighter spots in your yard with dense, attractive vegetation. The ‘Bossa Nova’ rose (Rosa ‘Bossa Nova’), also known as ‘The Faun’ and ‘The Fawn,’ is a beautiful and rewarding shrub rose that serves as the perfect ground cover.
‘The Fawn’ rose is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9. It blooms with medium to light-pink flowers, each with up to 80 petals, which almost entirely cover the green foliage. These roses can make your small garden appear more spacious. At maturity, these shrubs reach 4 feet in height and width, with a somewhat spreading habit. These qualities make ‘The Fawn’ an exceptional ground cover choice for stagnant, smaller areas. If you grow this rose cultivar as a ground cover, it will also help suppress weed growth.
How to grow and care for ‘The Fawn’ rose
Before growing ‘The Fawn’ as a ground cover, ensure that the tight location you want to plant it in receives a good amount of sun exposure. For example, if it’s a small space sandwiched between your shed and the fence, it may not get enough light, and you’d be better off planting a ground cover that thrives in shade. Once you’ve chosen the right location, dig shallow holes in the soil. Space them close together — about 1½ feet apart to achieve a decent ground cover. Then take the potted roses and fit them into the holes you’ve dug to ensure that the soil surface is level with the top of the pot. Finally, transplant the shrubs into the holes. Don’t bury the roses too deep; instead, pat the soil down around them to keep them in place.
Water the roses one or two times per week unless you receive a decent amount of rain. Once the shrubs start blooming, you’ll see how this ground cover not only creates a gorgeous little area within your garden but also adds drama to your yard. To keep them blooming, you’ll need to remove the spent flowers regularly. Deadheading in the first year after planting involves cutting back stems with faded flowers to just above the first set of leaves. Once the roses are mature, cut them to above the second node. Prune the bushes during fall to minimize harm over the winter months. Cut off any shoots that emerge from the roots or the rootstock (located directly under the plant, called suckers).
