TAPIS PERSAN – red bedding floribunda rose – McGredy
Step out to TAPIS PERSAN and feel that gentle, rain‑washed contentment as its clusters of scarlet blooms light up even a small Irish front garden. This floribunda’s single flowers show a playful cream-white eye, giving an instantly recognisable, hand‑painted character that works beautifully in a “girly” cottage border or a neat city railings bed. Its remontant habit means you enjoy reliable, repeating colour from early summer well into autumn, while bees and other pollinators are drawn to the open, nectar-rich blooms. Growing on its own roots, TAPIS PERSAN is bred for long-term stability, quietly rebuilding after any winter knock-back and holding its shape for years with modest maintenance. It settles well in Irish conditions, coping gracefully with frequent showers and cool summers where repeat flowering really matters, especially when you give it decent drainage in heavier clay to avoid waterlogged soil.
Usage options
| Target area | Reasoning |
|---|
| Front-of-house cottage border |
TAPIS PERSAN’s vivid red-and-cream clusters create instant kerb appeal in narrow cottage-style beds, flowering repeatedly through the season with only light deadheading for tidiness; ideal for those seeking joyful colour without complex rose care, particularly beginners. |
| Pollinator-friendly mixed bed |
The single, open blooms with clearly exposed stamens make this rose an easy nectar stop for bees, adding wildlife interest and movement to family gardens while still reading as a neat, ornamental shrub that fits well beside perennials for nature-lovers. |
| Own-root long-term feature shrub |
As an own-root floribunda, TAPIS PERSAN develops a stable framework that recovers well from pruning or winter damage, giving a dependable, repeating display year after year for gardeners who like planting once and enjoying the benefits for decades. |
| Small urban garden or terrace |
The bushy, slightly spreading habit and moderate height let this rose fill limited spaces with colour rather than bulk, suiting compact front gardens where you want a cheerful focal point but have time only for straightforward, occasional care as a busy homeowner. |
| Containers 50–60 litres on patios |
In a large 40–50+ litre pot with good drainage, TAPIS PERSAN performs as a showy container rose, producing clusters of eye-catching blooms while remaining manageable, allowing renters and balcony gardeners to enjoy a “proper” shrub rose as mobile city-dwellers. |
| Season-long colour in family play areas |
The remontant flowering habit provides a long season of bright red blooms with cream centres that children quickly recognise, creating a cheerful backdrop by lawns or play corners while parents appreciate the straightforward routine of light pruning and feeding for families. |
| Irish clay soil borders with drainage improvements |
Once planted into improved, free-draining clay, this medium-resistance, hardy shrub gives solid performance in our cool, damp climate where summers are short yet it still repeats strongly; it handles regular rain as long as roots are not sitting in soggy beds for practical gardeners. |
| Gradual garden build-up over several seasons |
This own-root plant starts by focussing on roots, then throws stronger shoots in year two, before delivering its full hand-painted carpet of colour from about year three onwards, suiting those happy to watch a garden mature at a gentle pace as patient hobbyists. |
Styling ideas
- Cottage-Scarlet – Thread TAPIS PERSAN through low box edging with foxgloves and hardy geraniums to echo old-fashioned cottage charm in small Irish front gardens – ideal for nostalgia-seeking homeowners.
- Bee-Border – Combine with Echinacea ‘Delicious Nougat’ and dwarf asters to build a nectar-rich strip that hums with pollinators yet stays tidy along paths – perfect for wildlife-focused families.
- Terrace-Glow – Plant one rose per 50–60 litre pot with airy grasses and white lobelia to soften railings and steps in Dublin terraces – suited to style-conscious city dwellers.
- Girly-Drift – Mass-plant in drifts with soft pinks and whites, echoing a printed fabric border that feels playful yet elegant around a small lawn – appealing to colour-loving beginners.
- Season-Carpet – Line a front path with evenly spaced shrubs, underplanted with spring bulbs, for a long-flowering, almost tapestry-like band of colour – great for busy gardeners wanting impact.
Technical cultivar profile
| Parameter | Data |
|---|
| Name and registration |
Floribunda shrub rose, commercial type floribunda bedding rose; registered as MACeye, traded as TAPIS PERSAN, also known on the show bench as ‘Eye Paint’ in exhibition floribunda classes. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Samuel Darragh McGredy IV from cross ‘MACyeleye’ × ‘Picasso’; introduced after 1976 by McGredy Roses International, with registration recorded in 1976 and breeding work begun in the late 1960s. |
| Awards and recognition |
Highly regarded exhibition floribunda, with a Gold medal at Baden-Baden and a merit certificate in New Zealand in 1976, plus Belfast awards for best cluster-flowered rose and a further merit diploma in 1978. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Bushy, slightly spreading shrub reaching about 120–180 cm in height and 65–95 cm spread, with moderately dense dark green foliage and moderate prickliness, forming a full, colourful presence in beds or borders. |
| Flower morphology |
Single to semi-double, flat blooms with 5–12 petals, produced in clustered inflorescences; flower size small at 1–4 cm, yet very numerous, with remontant flowering giving a strong second flush after the first main display. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Vibrant scarlet-red petals with a distinct cream-white central eye; red tones lighten as blooms age while the pale centre usually persists, creating a hand-painted, carpet-like effect across the shrub in full flower. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Fragrance is very weak and barely perceptible, so it is selected primarily for visual effect and pollinator value rather than scent, suiting gardeners prioritising colour, flower form and repeat blooming over perfume. |
| Hip characteristics |
Produces moderate numbers of egg-shaped hips, around 11–15 mm in diameter, coloured RHS 33B, offering additional late-season interest and a modest wildlife resource if spent flowers are left untrimmed in autumn. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Hardy to approximately −21 to −18 °C (USDA 6b, RHS H7), with good resistance to powdery mildew, medium resistance to black spot and good rust resistance, plus moderate tolerance of heat and drought given regular watering. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Suited to flowerbeds, borders, hedging, specimen use and large containers; prefers an open, well-ventilated site, reliable watering in dry spells, and improved drainage on heavy soils, with moderate overall maintenance needs. |
TAPIS PERSAN offers long-season clusters of vivid red-and-cream blooms, reliable pollinator-friendly colour, and the resilience of a long-lived own-root shrub rose, making it a thoughtful choice for Irish gardens seeking lasting charm.
