Zepeti Rose

Zepeti Rose (Rosa 'Zepeti') is the rose for gardeners who like roses but not the spraying. It is a compact bedding variety holding at about 80cm tall and 60cm wide, covered through the warm months in small deep red blooms and bred for disease resistance rather than for the show bench. That makes it one of the easiest roses to keep looking good in a pot or a border.

Why you'll love it

• It flowers hard and keeps going. Clusters of deep red blooms repeat from spring to late autumn, not in one short burst.
• Bred to resist black spot and mildew. A modern disease resistant selection, so a fortnightly spray routine is not part of owning it.
• Small enough for a pot. At 80cm by 60cm it holds its shape in a container without constant cutting back.
• Not toxic to cats or dogs. Foliage and flowers are safe around pets, and the thorns are the only thing to think about.
• Bees work it. The open flower centres are accessible, so it earns a place in a pollinator garden.

Where it works best

Pots, balconies and courtyards. Use a pot of at least 400mm with real drainage. One plant fills it, and the low habit will not overbalance in wind.

Borders and edging. Plant 50cm apart along a path for a ribbon of colour that stays below knee height and never needs staking.

Mass planting. At the same 50cm spacing, a bed of six or more merges into a solid block of colour.

Growing Zepeti Rose in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, six hours minimum, with air moving around the plant. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and it is frost hardy once established. In humid summers keep the spacing generous, because still air brings on leaf spotting even in a resistant variety.

Soil. Well drained soil enriched with compost and aged manure. Roses dislike sitting wet, so raise the bed on heavy clay and mulch 50mm deep, kept clear of the stems.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then weekly in dry weather. Flowering drops off if it dries out badly. Feed a rose or complete fertiliser in early spring and again after the first heavy flush.

Pruning. Cut back by about a third in winter while it is bare, taking out dead and crossing wood. Through the season, snip spent clusters back to the first strong leaf.

What to expect when it arrives

Zepeti is grown in three sizes: 140mm in packs of ten, 200mm in packs of six, and a single 300mm pot. The packs are the value option for a border run or a mass planted bed, and those young plants still flower in their first season. The 300mm plant suits a single pot on a balcony.

This is a deciduous rose, so a plant sent in winter may arrive with bare stems, which is normal rather than a fault. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Expect new shoots within three to four weeks in the growing season, and the first flowers six to eight weeks later. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full rose range
• Low growing plant ideas for garden borders
• More plants that are safe around cats and dogs
• Compact plants suited to pots and containers

Common questions

How far apart should I plant them in a bed?

Fifty centimetres apart. The plants touch at the shoulders and read as one block of colour, while still leaving enough air between them to keep the leaves clean.

Will it really grow well in a pot?

Yes, and it is one of the better roses for it. A 400mm pot with a quality mix suits a single plant, though potted roses dry out fast, so plan on watering most days in summer.

Does it need spraying?

Not as a routine. It was bred for resistance to black spot and mildew, the two problems that make most roses hard work. In a humid summer you may still see the odd marked leaf.