Peach Drift® Rose – Tree Form

Tree roses are wonderful ways to bring instant height to small beds, or for using in tubs and planters. They bring the beauty of the rose right up where you can admire it, so they are especially useful for smaller bushes, turning a low edging plant into a beautiful specimen in your garden. Of course, you want continuous blooming, especially in a plant you are using in a prominent place, so we turned to the Peach Drift Rose, a glorious bush with pink and peach miniature roses that come in wave after wave all summer. Our expert nursery growers attached this beauty to a sturdy trunk, creating beautiful small trees with a semi-cascading crown of lush leaves and garlands of flowers – the perfect specimen for your garden.

Growing the Peach Drift® Rose Tree

Size and Appearance

The Peach Drift Rose Tree is a small tree with a single central trunk, topped by a rounded, slightly cascading crown of many branches. It reaches its full size of about 4 feet in the first year, and each year stays the same, so it doesn’t grow larger and outgrow its space. The crown of leaves and flowers will be about 2 feet across, making a perfectly proportioned plant. The small glossy leaves are a rich, healthy green, and that is how they will stay all season, because this plant has been bred for resistance to all the common rose diseases – Mildew, Black Spot and Rust – so no spraying and no leaves turning yellow or moldy and falling off.

Starting in early summer, shortly after the new leaves develop, this rose begins to flower. It continues to bloom right into the fall, with a constant succession of blooms, in waves. The small flowers are born in loose clusters, each one with dozens of roses in it. They spill out and downwards, giving the plant a semi-cascading look. Each flower is a perfect miniature rose, with 15 to 20 petals. In bud, and when they begin to open, the blooms are a delightful soft pink color. As they open fully, and the petals spread out, a flush of peach spreads from the heart of the bloom out into the petals, creating a wonderful display of tones. Older clusters look peachy, and new ones look pink, giving a delightful blended effect to the whole bush. As one wave of blooms is fading, another is right behind it.

Using the Peach Drift® Rose Tree in Your Garden

This perfect small tree is ideal as a specimen among smaller bushes in a bed. A pair on either side of a doorway or gate would be superb. Plant one at the corner of a path, as an accent. Grown in large pots or planters it will enrich your terrace or patio with a glorious display. This charming plant could be used to line a path or driveway, in front of a hedge or fence, or almost anywhere. It is also the perfect gift for someone special in your life, a special delight to be remembered, and that keeps on giving for years.

Hardiness

While the Peach Drift Rose is winter hardy when grown on the ground, it is less so in a tree form. This tree is completely hardy outdoors all year in zones 7 to 10. In colder zones it is best to overwinter it in a cold place, which must be below 40 degrees for proper development of the buds for the next year. It does not have to have light, as the tree will be dormant. You can also lie it down and bury it in a trench, covered with peat moss and straw, and then lift it up and replant in spring.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Choose a spot in full sun for your Peach Drift Rose Tree to grow in. Shade will reduce blooming significantly. The soil should be rich, but it can be of any kind, including heavy clay, which roses love. Dry, sandy soils should be enriched with plenty of rich compost or rotted manure for the best results.

Pruning and Maintenance

Regular fertilizer and watering will keep your rose tree growing and blooming all season. Use a granular rose fertilizer for a tree in the garden, and a liquid type for a tree in a planter. Blend about one-third garden soil with regular potting soil to grow it in a pot and be sure there is a drainage hole. Water your bushes regularly, as periods of dryness will stop them from blooming. It is resistant to rose diseases, and so it needs no spraying. Insect pests may be seen, but its vigorous growth usually means they are not significant.

Remove the spent flower clusters for neatness once the petals have fallen. Cut just above the first full-sized leaf. In spring, before new growth begins, remove small, twiggy or damaged stems, and trim back the main branches to an outward-facing bud, removing about one-third of the stem length. No other care is needed.

History and Origin of the Peach Drift® Rose Tree

The Drift roses are the creation of a famous rose-breeding family in France, called Meilland. Their goal was to create a new type of rose, low and broad, with a wide-spread, resistant to diseases and continuous flowering. The complex breeding involved four other roses; ‘Paul Crampel’, a low-growing rose from the 1930s, with orange blooms; ’Lady Gay’, a vigorous spreading pink rose from 1905; a pink to white rose called ‘Grouse’; and ‘Red Minimo’, a tiny rose only 6-10 inches tall. All that work paid off, with an amazing plant you will adore.

Buying the Peach Drift® Rose Tree at The Tree Center

This very special tree rose is the product of careful raising, with multiple grafts and rootstocks involved. This highly-skilled work means that the supply of these plants never keeps up with the demand, and they sell out very fast. Don’t miss out – order yours now.