Rose 'Carefree Beauty'
Rosa 'Bucbi' (Carefree Beauty) · Rosaceae
Large, semi-double, scented flowers of rich coral-pink, repeating all season, followed by big orange hips.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid June to early October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around rose 'Carefree Beauty'
The planner designed this bed around rose 'Carefree Beauty' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why rose 'Carefree Beauty' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Rose 'Carefree Beauty' × 1, pink
- 2 Cottage pinks × 17, white
- 3 Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet' × 16, lavender
- 4 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 5 Foxglove beardtongue × 5, white
- 6 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 7 Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece' × 3, yellow
- 8 Allium 'Globemaster' × 4, purple
- 9 Asiatic lily × 4, yellow
- 10 Easter lily × 3, white
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are daisies, spires, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only pink.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does little bluestem.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 17 weeks. From mid June to early October.
- Fills a gap. For four of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 9 of the 10 groups (90%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is tied together by its repeats: three kinds come round again along it, among them cottage pinks and Robin's plantain 'Lynnhaven Carpet'. White runs through the planting: 3 of the 9 kinds grown for their flowers have it.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where rose 'Carefree Beauty' goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
Bred by Griffith Buck in Iowa to survive prairie winters without protection or spraying. A parent of the Knock Out roses, and named an Earth-Kind rose for its toughness.
- A hardy, disease-free shrub rose
- Hedges
- Hips for winter
What to plant with rose 'Carefree Beauty'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Russian sage: in flower together for 10 weeks, from mid July.
- Catmint 'Six Hills Giant': in flower together for 13 weeks, from mid June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for 11 weeks, from late June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about rose 'Carefree Beauty'
Does rose 'Carefree Beauty' need sun or shade?
Rose 'Carefree Beauty' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does rose 'Carefree Beauty' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does rose 'Carefree Beauty' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to early October. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to early October |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid June to early October |
| Zone 6 | Mid June to early October |
| Zone 7 | Early June to early October |
| Zone 8 | Early June to early October |
| Zone 9 | Late May to early October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should rose 'Carefree Beauty' be planted?
3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many rose 'Carefree Beauty' plants do I need?
At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 3 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is rose 'Carefree Beauty' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like rose 'Carefree Beauty'?
Rose 'Carefree Beauty' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Virginia rose: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 8 in wider, flowers mid June to mid July.
- Summersweet 'Ruby Spice': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in taller, flowers mid July to mid August.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after rose 'Carefree Beauty'?
Rose 'Carefree Beauty' is over by early October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Tatarian aster 'Jindai': from early October to early November, 4 ft tall.
- Chrysanthemum 'Sheffield Pink': from late September to early November, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Swamp sunflower: from late September to late October, 6½ ft tall.
What does rose 'Carefree Beauty' look like in winter?
Rose 'Carefree Beauty' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches: it is grown for hips for winter. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Rosa
- Carolina rose Rosa carolina
- English rose Rosa (English shrub roses)
- English rose 'Gertrude Jekyll' Rosa 'Ausbord' (Gertrude Jekyll)
- English rose 'Graham Thomas' Rosa 'Ausmas' (Graham Thomas)
- Floribunda rose Rosa (Floribunda Group)
- Groundcover rose Rosa (Drift Group)
- Hybrid tea rose Rosa (Hybrid Tea Group)
- Hybrid tea rose 'Peace' Rosa 'Madame A. Meilland' (Peace)
- Redleaf rose Rosa glauca
- Rose 'Bonica' Rosa 'Meidomonac' (Bonica)
- Rose 'Double Knock Out' Rosa 'Radtko' (Double Knock Out)
- Rose 'Flower Carpet Pink' Rosa 'Noatraum' (Flower Carpet Pink)
- Rose 'Iceberg' Rosa 'Korbin' (Iceberg)
- Rose 'Julia Child' Rosa 'Wekvossutono' (Julia Child)
- Rose 'The Fairy' Rosa 'The Fairy'
- Rugosa rose Rosa rugosa
- Rugosa rose 'Blanc Double de Coubert' Rosa 'Blanc Double de Coubert'
- Rugosa rose 'Hansa' Rosa rugosa 'Hansa'
- Shrub rose 'Knock Out' Rosa 'Knock Out'
- Virginia rose Rosa virginiana
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid June to early October; open bowls; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Rich, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
- Family
- Rosaceae
Checked against ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.