"Ron" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am in southern California, sandy soil with no amenities and at least
6 hours a day of sun. The lantana and rosemary is very drought
resistant and we water twice a week. soil dries completely in one day.
We are looking for a ground cover that is low maintenance and not as
woody as the lantana or rosemary. some one suggested carpet roses ???
Thanks,
Ron

Hi Ron -

I have heavy black clay soil so very different soil
conditions from you! However, from rose books
I know roses can grow in almost any soil but
you need to add amendments (like compost).

There are usually available several different
rambling roses that eventually make a good
"carpet". One I use is Red Cascade. I think
The Fairy is another, but a local nursery that
deals in roses should have recommendations.
Or you can google "rambling rose" (ignoring
the music sites g).

Key is to make sure they get a good start,
which means more frequent watering. Although
if you amend the planting hole(s) with compost
that should help water retention a bit.

If you plant now (summer), you should water
at least every other day, or even daily. With
sandy soil, as you noted, water runs out pretty
quickly. Newly planted roses tend to be
sensitive to the sun at first so you might get
some leaves drying out, but as long as you
have more green than brown leaves, and new
growth (leaves) in a few weeks, the plant is
probably doing ok.

Don't use fertilizers when planting roses at first.
Do use seaweed (if you can find it and you
should be able to where you are). Follow
instructions on the bottle for transplanting,
generally 1 tbl seaweed per gallon of water. It
makes a great (and safe) root stimulator and
is good for all plants.

Depending on the space you want to cover,
figure on the mature size of any roses.
Ramblers can sprawl quite a bit. My
Red Cascade, if not cut back, will send out
canes up to about 6-8' in length!

It takes a few years to get dense coverage,
so you need to be patient if you want to use
roses for this purpose.

There are various basic articles at the American
Rose Society web site: www.ars.org

HTH - Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8