Breeder: David Austin, 2007.
Blossom: Continual flowering.
Flower diameter: Approximately 9 cm.
Fragrance: Strong.
Adult dimensions: Height up to 90 cm, width up to 75 cm.
Foliage: Deciduous.
Type of soil: Rich and free draining.
Climate: Very hardy.
Site: semi shade.
Planting spacing: Every 60 cm.
Properties and uses:
New deep crimson roses are always a welcome addition to our collection. The flowers of this variety are in fact light crimson in the bud but, as the centre gradually reveals itself, it becomes a very deep velvety crimson while the outer petals remain rather lighter in colour. They are of large size and cupped at first, becoming shallowly cupped with time. As the flower ages we get glimpses of the stigma and stamens amongst the petals.
The growth is quite bushy, forming a broad shrub with good disease-resistance. The leaves are mid-green; the younger leaves being red-bronze to form a nice contrast.
There is a strong Old Rose fragrance with a fruity note. Our fragrance expert, Robert Calkin, assesses this as 'warm and fruity with blackberry, blueberry and damson'.
Munstead Wood was Gertrude Jekyll’s own garden in Surrey where she worked on her many gardening books.