Bonica Shrub Rose Bushes

Bonica Modern Shrub Rose

Rosa Bonica is a delightful small modern shrub rose which, if deadheaded regularly, flowers continuously the summer. It bears lovely small, double, soft pink flowers with frilled petals and a deeper pink heart which are borne in great profusion on vigorous arching stems. The foliage is a glossy light green with bronze tints and is very disease resistant. It is quite low growing, reaching a maximum height of 3', with a spread of 6' and, due to its growth habit, having a spread twice its height and a procumbent habit, is often considered a ground cover rose. It is a particularly charming and pretty rose with a delicate growth habit.

If you are looking for something a little larger, or even roses to plant alongside Bonica, do look at our extensive list of UK grown shrub roses here

Great in the Garden

Rosa Bonica is a gem of a shrub rose with a neat and tidy growth habit and a continuous show of lovely pink flowers all through the summer. It is perfect on its own, as a low growing hedge, or alongside shorter varieties of perennial such as nepeta and astrantia and it is excellent planted at the base of taller shrub roses where it will bring the eye down and hide the sometimes leggy growth of some specimens. When planted beside larger shrubs such as cornus and viburnum, it has the delightful habit of becoming a short climber, pushing its delicate stems through the foliage and flowering at anything up to 5'. As this rose never gets too top heavy, it also lends itself very well to being grown as a standard, either planted in the ground or in a large tub and, as such, it is perfect for a terrace or to bring colour to a formal planting scheme.

Features of Bonica Modern Shrub Rose

• Final height and width: 1m x 1.8m (3ft x 6ft)
• Colour: Delicate pink with a darker pink centre
• Flower type: Pretty double, frilled flowers
• Fragrance: Imperceptible
• Flowering season: Continuous summer flowering
• Rose type: Modern shrub rose
• Foliage: Light green with copper tinges
• Disease resistance: Excellent

Did You Know?

Rosa Bonica was bred by Meilland and brought to the market in 1981. In 1998 the Montreal Botanic Garden (Le Jardin Botanique de Montreal) carried out trials on its roses to determine resistance to blackspot, mildew and rust. Bonica proved to be an outstanding variety with a 0% to 5% infection rate. All data was taken from well established roses.

How to plant

You can order Bonica at any time. Our bareroot stock can be planted between November and April, and we have containerised plants available for the rest of the year.

Choose a spot in the border or shrubbery with at least half sun. Dig a hole deep enough to allow the graft union to finish at soil level and with plenty of room for the roots. Clean up the soil from the hole by taking out roots, weeds, large stones and other bits and bobs and mixing in a good measure of well rotted compost or manure. Spread Rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi over the bottom of the hole so it will make contact with the roots. If planting pot grown roses gently tease a few larger roots loose before planting.

Place your rose so its roots are spread out and the union is at the right height. Backfill the hole with the planting mix, firming it down as you go. Water in thoroughly.

Feed and mulch with well rotted manure in spring and keep well watered during dry periods for the first year.

Prune Bonica roses as follows:

Prune groundcover roses in late winter just as growth has re-started. Depending on where you are in the country this is usually between mid-February and the end of March. As with all rose pruning, remove all misplaced or poor growth (dead, diseased, damaged and weak branches). Most of the time that is all you need to do. However, if your rose has got too big you can prune it back quite fiercely. Reduce outsized upright branches by up to a third. Cut back side shoots to 3 buds. If the whole plant has become overcrowded it can be renewed by cutting it down to about 4ins (10cms) above soil level in February.