DOLCE – cyclamen-red bedding floribunda rose - Tanjga
Imagine stepping past DOLCE on a damp London morning, its cyclamen-red rosettes still beaded with rain, quietly thriving in typical British weather that swings from showers to summer warmth and challenging heavy soils. This compact shrub floribunda forms a neat, upright structure, clothed in glossy dark-green foliage that sets off each richly petalled bloom. Its fresh, fruity fragrance stays gentle enough for a front garden by the pavement, while the partially open centres offer accessible stamens for visiting bees and help support a more balanced urban ecosystem. As an edible rose from the Taste of Love® collection, its petals bring a refined, colourful accent to salads and desserts, holding their colour well when used in the kitchen. Grown on its own roots in our 2‑litre container, it is designed for a long-lived, sustainable place in your family garden: the first year quietly building roots, the second pushing stronger shoots, and by the third year settling into its full ornamental value with reliable, repeat flowering.
Usage options
| Target area |
Reasoning |
| Small front garden bed for London terrace |
The compact, upright shrub habit and 40–60 cm height make it ideal for narrow front borders where space is tight but colour is welcome, giving a refined garden look without dominating the pavement edge, especially suited to the beginner urban gardener. |
| Pollinator-friendly city planting |
Double but open rosette blooms with visible stamens attract bees even in paved, traffic-exposed streets, adding nectar interest from repeated flushes through the season for those wishing to support urban biodiversity. |
| Edible flower bed near the kitchen door |
Classed as an edible rose, its cyclamen-red petals keep their colour well during processing and make a striking garnish for salads or desserts, perfect if you want a decorative plant that also earns its keep in the kitchen. |
| Low, colourful flowering hedge |
At 25–50 cm recommended spacing, it forms a tidy, medium-height edging hedge that repeats well, giving a long season of colour along paths and driveways with moderate care levels manageable for busy householders. |
| Rainwater-conscious urban border |
Good heat tolerance, moderate disease resistance and a steady upright frame make it reliable in UK conditions that combine wet spells with warm, humid summers, fitting neatly into sustainable front gardens for time-pressed owners. |
| Container on balcony or paved front step |
In a large 40–50 litre peat-free container with good drainage, its modest spread and medium height give generous bloom displays without overwhelming the space, suited to those wanting impact from a single, easy feature plant. |
| Mixed bed with perennials |
The vivid cyclamen-red flowers and glossy foliage pair beautifully with cool-toned perennials like lavender, sage or nepeta, creating a soft, long-season tapestry that works well for hobby gardeners learning simple, reliable combinations. |
| Long-term family garden planting |
As an own-root shrub with hardy, H7-rated constitution, it is bred to reshoot strongly from the base after pruning or weather damage, offering dependable, renewing structure in a small family garden for years to come for cautious new buyers. |
Styling ideas
- Edible-border – Line a path near the back door with DOLCE and herbs like chives and thyme for quick kitchen access and colourful salad petals – ideal for food-loving city gardeners.
- Soft-contrast – Combine DOLCE with lavender and nepeta to cool the vivid cyclamen-red blooms and encourage bees along a sunny front fence – perfect for wildlife-curious families.
- Terrace-focus – Plant a trio of DOLCE in a 50-litre trough with peat-free compost for a structured, low-maintenance display on a small London terrace – suited to busy professionals.
- Neighbour-friendly – Use DOLCE in a neat, low hedge under a front window, keeping sightlines open while giving scented, repeat colour to the street – appealing to sociable homeowners.
- Season-long – Mix DOLCE with Geranium macrorrhizum and shrubby cinquefoil to extend interest from spring to autumn with foliage, flowers and hips – helpful for beginners wanting easy continuity.
Technical cultivar profile
| Characteristic |
Data |
| Name and registration |
Collection Taste of Love®, medium-sized shrub edible rose, commercial bedding floribunda. Registered as BOZREKA023, current trade name Dolce Taste of Love® BOZREKA023, premium gold authenticity-verified cultivar. |
| Origin and breeding |
Bred by Biljana Božanić Tanjga for PhenoGeno Roses, Serbia. Parentage unknown; registered 2023 with EU plant variety protection CPVO 64789 and introduced commercially after 2023 as a modern edible shrub rose. |
| Growth and structural characteristics |
Compact, upright shrub 40–60 cm high and 40–55 cm wide, moderately thorny shoots and moderately dense, glossy dark-green foliage. Best effect in sunny positions with regular watering during longer dry periods. |
| Flower morphology |
Medium-sized, very double rosette blooms with over 40 petals, borne in clustered inflorescences. Strong repeat flowering, with a notably abundant second flush providing extended seasonal colour in beds and edging. |
| Colour data and phenology |
Vivid cyclamen-red petals, RHS 58A outer and 58B inner. Blooms open deep and intense, then gently fade with a pinkish tinge, while generally holding colour well on the plant and during culinary use or processing. |
| Fragrance and aroma |
Mild, fresh fruity fragrance that remains subtle around doors and windows. Flowers are double yet sufficiently open to show stamens, giving moderate pollinator interest, particularly for bees in urban or suburban gardens. |
| Hip characteristics |
Produces moderately abundant, spherical orange-red hips about 5–8 mm across. Hips follow flowering where spent blooms are not removed, adding a small but attractive late-season accent for wildlife-friendly plantings. |
| Resistance and winter hardiness |
Rated to around −21 to −18 °C, RHS H7, Swedish Zone 3, USDA 6b. Exhibits moderate resistance to black spot, mildew and rust, performing best with basic cultural care and adequate air circulation in humid periods. |
| Horticultural recommendations |
Best in sunny beds, edging and edible plantings at 25–50 cm spacing, 10–11.6 plants/m² for mass effect. Maintenance is medium; may occasionally need plant protection and benefits from balanced feeding and mulch. |
DOLCE Taste of Love® BOZREKA023 offers compact repeat flowering, edible colour and pollinator interest in an own-root form that promises resilient, long-term structure in your garden; consider it where you want beauty with practical benefits.