Question
Hi Lynette, I am looking for a deep red groundcover rose to cover a retaining wall, approx. 35' x 8', sloped, full sun, bordered by a new raised kitchen garden. I am looking at 'red cascade' or 'fire meidiland'. This area will only be glimpsed from afar, by the owner from the house, so I would like to keep maintenance to a minimum. I am in zone 5b, in western MA. Thank you very much for your input.

Answer
Of the two that you mentioned, Fire Meidiland is the best of the two.  It has good disease resistance and will drape nicely over a slope. I wouldn't call the colour pure red more of a carmine red. Photos of red roses in most catalogues , always take liberties with the colour red, plus rose nurseries will describe lots of deep pinks  as reds to sell them. But it is a good colour and catches the eye when it is planted far away. Red Cascade has tiny one inch pure red flowers and does better in part shade because the leaves are so tiny when they first come out, hot sun tends to burn them. The flowers also dry up on the bush which makes it look untidy when they have gone brown.