Susan Harris over at Garden Rant did her usual exemplary job in an article on garden roses. Tons of information in the Rant’s direct style, of which I am a huge fan. Susan took the time to recommend roses that have a bit of shade tolerance. So…here’s a recommendation in homage to Susan’s article. Shrub rose Scarlet Meidiland is somewhat shade tolerant (all things being relative). It would be accurate to say that Scarlet Meidiland is more tolerant of shade than many of its brothers and sisters, but this should not be received as a recommendation to plant it in the middle of one’s fern garden. Oh, and it’s almost infallibly disease resistant.

Scarlet Meidiland has a primary flush of bloom in late spring or early summer, followed by intermittent repeat flowering for the rest of the growing season. The semi-double flowers have fifteen to twenty petals and are borne in clusters. Growth habit is vigorous and spreading, and the foliage is dark and disease resistant. Cold hardiness is good; fragrance is not good at all, unfortunately.

Introduced: 1987, Meilland, France
Class: Shrub
Zones: 4-9
Parentage: ‘Meltiraca’ x ‘Clair Matin’
Flowers: Bright cherry red, 1-2″, semi-double
Size: 2 feet high x 6 feet wide
Fragrance: None
Of note: Uniform growth habit and good disease resistance make for an excellent low-maintenance ground-cover shrub.