Carefree Wonder Rose

The carefree wonder rose really lives up to its name. Its definitely a nice choice for a newbie gardener or someone without a lot of time. Even though it is carefree, its still looks great.

It’s a Meilland rose so you’ll get a lot of those same traits.  Its a child of the nirvana, rustica, eyepaint, and prairie princess roses. Although it was first released in 1978, it took a few years to get over to the US.  Conard Pyle is now the chief marketer for it.  It grew in popularity here in the 1980s and eventually received an All-America rose selection in 1991.

The beautiful pink flowers are the main attraction for the Carefree Wonder.  It also has a very light pleasant fragrance, so its really a nice pick for cut flowers that won’t overwhelm the room where you place them.  It also is a magnet for butterflies so that can be another added bonus for it.  It tends to grow more compact and won’t reach more than 4 feet or so even in ideal growing conditions.  It’s a good choice for a border or hedge rose.

I’ve seen this rose rated down to zone 3, which seems a little extreme to me.  Zone 4 seems to be more appropriate, although it does seem to do better with winter protection, although some zone 4 gardeners have reported that it has done fine for them without it.  True to its name, it can do well with minimal pruning, maintenance, and disease protection, although obviously the more you can provide regular waterings and appropriate prunings, the better.  It also appears to respond well to deadheading.  Another bonus its that it also seems to be able to grow even in more rocky or claybased soils.