1/31/2015
Happy Birthday, Flower Carpet Rose!
Chris Beytes
This year brings the 20th anniversary of Flower Carpet Roses, considered to be the first successful internationally branded plant. Its trademark pink pot hit the U.S. in 1995, but Flower Carpet is older than that by a few years, having first been launched in Australia in 1992 by Anthony Tesselaar, a third-generation nurseryman.
Anthony, who partnered with Germany breeder Werner Noack, developer of Flower Carpet, recognized the plant’s unique attributes and didn’t want it to get lost as just another “new” rose variety. So he developed its pink packaging, established its high value to the gardener, and slowly but surely, launched it around the world, starting with his home country of Australia, then New Zealand, South Africa, Europe and the U.S. To date, Anthony Tesselaar International has sold some 80 million Flower Carpet roses.
GT