Rosa The Mayflower

Rosa The Mayflower is undoubtedly one of the best creations from the famous breeder David Austin. Everything about this variety is admirable: the robustness and vigour of the bush, its natural resistance to diseases, the exceptional abundance of its pink double flowers, the old rose fragrance, and the elegance of its foliage. It blooms continuously from June to October, with beautiful roses on spotless green leaves. It is an excellent rose to display in the garden.

The Mayflower is part of a group of hybrids created by David Austin that carry the genes of old roses. Its habit is bushy, well-branched, rather upright but natural, and it grows rapidly and regularly. At maturity, it will reach between 1.2 to 1.5m (4 to 5ft) in height with a spread of 1.2m (4ft). The flowering is continuous from June until October. At the end of the young branches, double flowers grouped in small bouquets are born, 8 to 9cm (3 to 4in) wide. These are cups composed of numerous slightly crumpled petals. Their colour is a bright medium pink, which is lighter on the periphery of the corolla and warmer in the centre. These flowers exude an old rose fragrance with sweet, fruity, and powdery notes, with a light to medium intensity depending on the time and ambient temperature. The matte green foliage, composed of 5 to 7 small leaflets, is finer than that of many English varieties. It perfectly resists rose diseases. This rose is a deciduous shrub that loses its leaves in late autumn.

Plant The Mayflower in groups of 3 for a beautiful display. Plant a few clumps of blue or violet salvias, nepeta, bellflowers, or perennial Geranium 'Rozanne' in front of the bed. Like other English roses, it can be planted in a bed of flowering shrubs, perennials, or annuals with light flowering. This reliable rose can be integrated into a small hedge, used as a standalone plant in a lawn, or border a patio. Its romantic roses look sublime in a vase.

Bred by David Austin in 2001.